Costa Dei Villa
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

RB transfer

Poured from a bomber into a tulip glass. Slightly cloudy yellow color with a beautiful foamy white head and great lacing. Funky, lemony smell and taste. Taste of tart apples and pepper. Great with cheese.

 

this is brilliant beer, grossly underrated here, a cool collaboration and another wonderful expression of the jolly pumpkin yeast. its kind of cool having one of their beers without any weird fruit or spices or anything, i feel like for awhile there it was lime and hibiscus in just about everything they made, so this is a little bit back to basics, although its still a righteously complex brew, with some cool dry hopping and a neat multigrain mash. its washed out yellow in color, pale straw shade with some haze but no visible sediment. there is a tall white head on the initial pour, but it relaxes quickly. the aroma here is juicy hops up front, i get the galaxy pretty distinctly, and its neat because there is a bitter element to this as well, not all dry hoppy but also packing a bit of a punch. some white wine and oak tannins, notes of kiwi and melon, and an earthy dry grain base. the flavor is all of this, i get the raw wheat and pils malts all the way through it, some body from the oats, and kind of a fuller starchy feel to it, majorly unexpected in such a low alcohol brew thats this dry. i get cool fruity nuance here from chardonnay to rainier cherry, lots of citrus too from the hops and then some mid range juniper sort of botanical bitterness at the very end with the wood. its funky and bretty, mildly tart, and with a neat freshness from the fruity hops. effervescent carbonation makes it alive and summery, and we all really enjoyed this with bbq chicken, not too light for the big grilled flavors there. overall another epic beer from these guys, mature and funky and interestingly hopped. glad i have another bottle!

edit: this continues to age extremely well, summery and dry and delicate, strong white wine character, really increasingly complex without any sign of falling off. yum! this one gets me every time...

edit: 2017 still drinking awesome almost three years later, tart and effervescent and still tasting fresh to me, even in its obvious maturity. citrus everywhere, rad funk, bone dry. i adore this beer, the perfect drinking saison, and dynamite with a classic cajun boil! money!

edit: now five years old, 2017 vintage continues to impress, wow. its dry as they get, still funky, and the bottle conditioning is just so prime, holds a head, has nice clarity, tiny bubbles, pretty lace, looks as good as it smells and tastes, striking for something this old and low alcohol, its even still hoppy, which lends credence to the brett and oxygen theory, really freaking special still, maybe even better now than it has been at any step along the way before, just incredible beer, one of their best! adored by all who tasted it today!

 

 

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 11/8/2017. Pours slightly hazy medium golden yellow color with a 2 finger fairly dense and rocky white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big lightly tart lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, passion fruit, mango, melon, berry, red/green apple, white wine, citrus peel/rind, peppercorn, pine, oak, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of leathery/musty funk, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/spicy yeast, citrus/earthy hops, moderate pale/wheat malts, and oak barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of big lightly tart lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, passion fruit, mango, melon, berry, red/green apple, white wine, citrus peel/rind, peppercorn, pine, oak, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, leathery/musty funk, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy bitterness; peppery yeast/oak tannin spiciness; and light Brett tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, passion fruit, mango, melon, berry, red/green apple, white wine, citrus peel/rind, peppercorn, pine, oak, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, light leathery/musty funk, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy yeast, citrus/earthy hops, moderate pale/wheat malts, and oak barrel flavors; with an awesome malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and no puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from bitter/tart/spiciness and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, moderately crisp, and bready/grainy/sticky/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is fantastic. Light lingering resins/rinds and acidity after the finish. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 4.6%. Overall this is an outstanding hoppy session wild saison! All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/spicy yeast, citrus/earthy hops, moderate pale/wheat malts, and oak barrel flavors; very smooth, crisp, and refreshing to drink with the modestly bitter/spicy/drying finish. Chinook, Cascade, Crystal, Galaxy, Vanguard hops. Amazingly balanced juicy/dank/earthy hops and classic JP house Saison/Brett funk; nice pale/wheat malt backbone and oak presence. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazing style example as expected. They have really been nailing these collaborations in the last year.