iO Saison
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

L- A deep and full amber hazy beer with nice lively bubbles throughout. A nice full-circle head laces around the glass. The beer looks beautiful.

S-Funky barnyard upfront, brettanomyces, floral hibiscus and rose petal follows, herbal tea-like notes are present with a nice woody oak note towards the back end. Other notes I pick up are cracked peppercorn and Pinot Grigio grape.

T-Follows the nose pretty well. Funky and tart, yet sweet with floral notes very much there. Hints of fruity berry is there as well. Herbal hibiscus tea notes, yerba mate, and white wine is found. Subtle fruity cracked peppercorn is there at the back end with a nice oaky woody finish.

My biggest fault for this beer is it just may be a little too tart at the end. I don't mind a saison that has the tart aspect, but this just seems like overkill. It takes away from the floral notes that I would think would be the focal point, and kind of puts them in the back seat.

F-Medium bodied almost chewy feel, yet drying end. This beer is much higher in ABV then a typical saison.

O-My first Jolly Pumpkin beer. Ultimately, this was a really solid and entertaining Saison. Fun to drink, and rewarding. A bit too tart at the end, which hindered the floral notes throughout the beer, but it was still very solid. I would absolutely have this again, and I'm excited to try more from Jolly Pumpkin!

 

 

 

Looks pink when pours from the can, but in the glass it looks more like amber. Opaque with a small white head.

Smells sour; plum vinegar, balsamic vinegar, funky, mildewy, a bit of barnyard; raspberry compote, sour cherry, oak, hint of red wine.

The taste follows the nose. Medium-plus sourness and acidity, plum, balsamic vinegar, dried raspberry, sour cherry. Funky and oaky. Lingers a bit with sourness and plum.

Medium-full bodied, slight heft, well rounded, good carbonation, moves quickly across the palate.

Good fruited sour saison. Excellent execution.

Canned 11/18/23; drank 3/28/23 @ the Yarchives.

Murky orange/brown appearance.

A rough pour yielded a nice, noisy khaki head; strong lacing.

Tart lemon, soft wheat, mild floral & faint cherry notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Tart cherry & floral flavors up front; lemon notes on the finish.

Balanced & tasty. I'd have another!

The beer looked fairly pink when pouring from the can. In the glass it's a darker red color. When I hold it up to the light, there's no clarity in this beer. The head that forms is 2 finger, and off white, with red notes to it. The head retention is ok, and there's a bit of lacing on the glass.
The nose is quite strong, and very floral. Lots of roses in here. There's another aroma that I get that must be the hibiscus.
I have to think a bit about what I'm tasting before I write. There's a lot of bitterness to this beer, and it lingers, but it is also pleasing. The rose isn't as strong as the aroma suggests, but it's there, and it's the main flavor. The hibiscus plays a bigger role than the nose let on, and it's a close second to the rose. The hibiscus provides more of an earthy flavor to this beer. There's a bit of sweetness that comes in the middle, but doesn't linger and is replaced by the bitterness that lingers. There's also a tartness that shows throughout this beer.
The body is crisp feeling. The tartness ans sourness lingers in my throat, and coats it.
I do like this beer, but I can also see why some would not like it.