Jolly Pumpkin Beers - Old on shelf

Could you tell me how La Roja changed in your eyes? I received 2 bottles as a gift a while back. Tried one, didnt love the vinegar notes, and i've been sitting on the 2nd bottle now for about a year. Did the vinegar note become more pronounced or fade?

 

They taste different batch to batch which sux. I've had la Rojas that were a 4.6-7 or as good as supplication IMO and I've had some that are flat n plain drain pours. It's my biggest gripe

 

Not according to Ron Jeffries. Listen to the intervew with him on CYBI about Madrugada Obscura. He directly addresses this saying that their beers are blended for the highest level of consistency possible and that people only complain about inconsistency because they are comparing beers of different ages or that were stored in different conditions.

Of course, YMMV. Either way, it's a good interview and there is another intervied on the Bam Biere episode.

 

They're just too expensive that's why they sit

 

Picked up a 12/10 bottle of Bam Biere at my local bottle shop yesterday. The manager gave it to me at his cost because they've (obviously) sat for a while and have not really moved. I'm planning to grab the other remaining bottles over time.

 

I love, love, love JP beers with about 3-4 years on them. After the 3+ year mark (and not knowing if stored properly) they tend to start dropping off, though are still good (obviously my opinion).

The 2009's and 2010's I've been cracking recently have been fantastic - however, all of those I purchased myself and have been stored in optimal conditions.

If I see old JP's on the shelf, I pick them up. I'm not sure what happened to some of the beers other's have mentioned were bad/inconsistent, because to be perfectly honest, I have never had a "bad" bottle (as in the beer itself went bad) of JP. I may not thoroughly enjoy every bottle they put out, but all have been good in their own way.

IMO, some of the best with 2-4 years of age is Biere de Mars, Calabaza Blanca, and Bam Biere. The last two will often (from experience) take on almost champagne like qualities. Very enjoyable on a hot summer day.

 

I had a two year old La Roja a few days ago that was just sitting on the shelf. It was good.
The two year old E.S.Bam i had a few months ago was a gusher though...

 

My local (not terribly local, but kick-ass) distributor has had about 5-6 different JP cases up on the shelf for a while... several since 2011. My ONLY hesitation is the temperature flux... their place goes from 40 in the winter to 80 in the summer. Should I still pull the trigger on a $150-170 case that has been thru 6-9 seasons of fluctuation? p.s. I love JP, and would hate to drain pour 12 750's.

 

Just last weekend, I had a Maraciabo Especial that was bottled in Oct. of 2010 so it was almost 2 1/2 yrs. old. I never had a fresher one for comparison but this one was outstanding and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one aged again.