Jolly Pumpkin Beers - Old on shelf

I have always figured they sat on a shelf for a while do to price.... however, I never find myself complaining about a JP beer with a little age. Their yeasts normally develop nicely over time.

 

Only had one bad beer out of many from JP (sadly it was my favorite, but it had to go down the drain); don't remember the date. Just open them all over the sink and have a dish towel on hand.

 

I just picked up an Oro De Calabaza and Madrugada Obscura both from Feb. 2012. I was a little concerned at first but as the previous post said they age nicely.

 

Bam, Bam Noire, Calabaza Blanca, Oro de Calabaza, and La Roja are their only beers that they brew year round. The rest are the seasonals and you can only find the fresh versions at the right time. The current seasonal is Madrugada Obscura with Biere de Mars being the next release. As for the age, since they are bottle conditioned and use wild yeast and bacteria the bottles will only keep getting better and better. I would pounce on any bottle that is 1-2 years old.

 

No this is not normal for their lineup in stores. Clearly a problem with the store and/or the distributor.

 

I never flinch when coming across older bottles of JP on the shelves. I would actually be happy to find some older gems on occasion. Some beers to better with age than others but I have not had one "go bad".

Speaking to the potential of gushing, I will offer this advice. Refrigerate the bottle for 24 hours, do not disturb the bottle and open right out of the fridge. You will dramatically decrease your chance of loosing beer.

 

I found a 4-5(champagne style) year old bottle of Oro tucked back on a shelf this past fall and was ecstatic to have it. I am actually thinking of drinking it soon.

 

i just had a year old-ish la roja AMAZING but wth that being said ive had other bottles of la roja that just tasted flat and gross both with and without age. had a 2011 lucienerga vintage reserve which i think is a blend rather than a regular aged bottle, anyways it was very good. IMO these beers dont get better with age rather i think their batch variations make the difference. hope this helps

 

oh and also just had a la roja grand reserve 2012. had one fresh within 3 months bottling and the second one was exactly one year post bottling and the fresh one was great, the aged one was not so great.

 

I'd love to find some aged Jolly Pumpkin brews. The older the better.

 

JP is one of those breweries where you gotta take a chance on. You could really find some interesting tastes and unexpected turns in their beers.

 

I recently had a couple 2010 Luciernaga's that I found on the shelf and they were both fantastic. I will also agree that these things can be gushers. I now have the habit of opening every JP over the sink with a glass ready. Ironically the two older bottles I've popped recently, a La Roja Grand Reserve 2012 and a Baudelaire IO 2012, didn't go crazy. The La Roja actually had zero head/low carb. while the IO let me pour two glasses nicely but then a little while later had foam curling out of the top of the bottle despite being half empty!.

 

Most and maybe all JP beers improve with age. Don't hesitate to buy one that was bottled a year or two ago. They don't seem to get skunked from light exposure. Pretend it was in your cellar for a year or two.

 

I never bother to buy any for the cellar because two of the botte shops I go to have a pretty good selection of JP, mostly from 2012. As above poster said, don't take the cage off until your ready to pour and probably over the sink.

 

I had a La Roja that I bought at Total Wine that was from Aug. 2010. Tasted great!

 

Just had a la roja and ora de calabeza from 07 and they were both very good!

 

I also drank my La Roja GR on it's birthday! 3/13? I've never had it fresh but it wasn't at all what I was expecting. I still really enjoyed it but it was pretty flat and had a strong wooden cranberry taste to it.

 

Solid stuff fresh or aged