Jolly Pumpkin - Calabaza Blanca

It's two days before "All Hallow's Eve" and what better brand of beer is there to review than Jolly Pumpkin out of Dexter, Michigan.  Not only does their name make them an obvious choice, but their often eerie bottle art and unusual flavors make them a brewer that stretches comfort zones and pushes the boundaries for many a burgeoning craft beer drinker.  Today's review will be for their "Calabaza Blanca" (translated:  "White Pumpkin"), an artisan white ale allegedly "brewed in Belgium's biere blanche tradition," according to the label.  Jolly Pumpkin tends to focus on open fermentation and barrel aging, so one comes to expect a bit of sour goodness when cracking any of their bottles.  This particular bottle is from batch 853 and was bottled on 7-28-2011.  Let's pour!

Aroma 11/12

My first whif from the bottle elicited a "Wow, that's funky!"  However, things settled much more pleasantly in the glass.  Overall, it is a very floral brew with a distinct sour note behind it.  The sour in the aroma evokes more sour green apples than it does the pungent orange peel used in its brewing, but that is not an unwelcome development.  A very earthy coriander complements things nicely... or is that a coriander that blends well with an earthy hop variety?  No matter, it all adds up to a classic gueuze type aroma.  Ooh, and the orange blossom floral qualities open up even more as the beer warms.  This is not a light aroma!  It's got some oomph behind it.

Appearance 3/3

Everything on the mark for the style.  A bright, high clarity, sunshine yellow gleams in the glass and is capped by a noisy white head that fizzes quickly to a ring around the surface.  OK, so normally one expects some haze in a witbier, but with how long this bottle has been again all that sediment on the bottom is going nowhere.  The clarity and color seem awfully summery for this time of year, but I won't hold that against it.

Flavor 17/20

Wow!  The sour invades your personal space like an exuberant uncle at a family reunion.  The blast of intense lemony lactic flavor dulls when held in the mouth, as does the angrily aggressive carbonation, and one is left with the earthy, slightly bitter fragments of the sour-splosion that just occurred.  Unfortunately, little else takes place.  The bitter could just as well be from lemon peel as it could orange and any coriander spiciness is wanting at best.  The finish, of course, tends to emphasize the bitter a tad more than in the backbone of the beer, but that's about the only change.  It is of course ridiculously dry, but that is aided gradually by the sour left in the mouth that inspires a helpful dose of saliva.  Very tasty and not light on flavor, but extremely simple aside from the sour and earthy bitter.

Mouthfeel 4/5

The body in this beer is nearly nonexistent.  I mean almost water, people.  That is fixed a bit once the zealous carbonation has quickly died, but even then the beer can be called very light at best.  Normally, a carbonation level this high would interfere tremendously with the texture of the beer, but with a beer this light it really can't do much damage.  Any further negative effects of such high carbonation, even for a bottle conditioned beer, are lessened by the simple fact that the bubbles are so damned tiny.  I have no idea how they did it, but they did.  A mouthfeel like this and the accompanying low ABV of 4.8% lead me to think of this beer as more of a simple gueuze or a musty berliner weisse than any sort of white ale or witbier.

Overall Impression 7/10

This is well made, robust in both aroma and flavor, and definitely something for someone getting into sour beers to try.  Its body, sour flavor, and high carbonation all keep it a refreshing beer, while the low ABV and light body mean you could probably drink quite a few if the flavor wasn't so intense.  In fact, this brew is probably meant to be drank in quantity or popped like champagne, but its simplicity doesn't quite fit the bill as something to sit down and savor.

Total 42/50

This is a tasty beer.  Or rather a tasty sour champagne that is barely less dry than real champagne - and with less alcohol.  This is a refreshing change of pace from big IPAs and some of the pumpkin/yam beers of the season, but probably not enough to keep me coming back.  Ultimately though, it IS something that I would buy to show to my friends how different and unusual beers can be.  It also may be something that a drinker heavily into lambics could branch out to try.  Good work Jolly Pumpkin.  You've made a refreshing beer that doesn't skimp on the intensity of its flavor, but now I'd like to request some complexity.

New Holland - White Hatter

Here's another installment from New Holland Brewing's "Hatter" series.  It seems like just about every type of Hatter imagineable has come forth: Imperial Hatter, Regular Hatter, Rye Hatter, Farm House Hatter, Black Hatter, White Hatter, Oak Aged Hatter, and even a Hatterday (see what they did there?) tour at the brewery (actually scheduled for this upcoming Sautrday, June 16, 2012).  It seems like an awful lot of their eggs are in this one basket.  I am a little confused on the plethora of styles present here, but I've never held a little creativity against a brewer and I'm not about to start now.  Let's pour! 

Unfortunately, I was at a local pub and was unable to
take my usual round of photos.  Sorry!

Aroma 9/12

The fresh hop cones are very forward and are rich with spice, pine, resin, and a lesser bitter grapefruit.  For a beer that also claims to be also a pale ale AND a Belgian white, I’m getting very little none of either of those styles.  At this point, I’d have guessed that I’m smelling an IPA.  The malts are non-existant and what little sweetness I can detect could just as easily be from the hops’ citrus.  Does any of this make this a bad smelling beer?  No, just underwhelming given its claimed style.  The beer has to warm quite a bit before the Belgian yeast becomes detectable at all.

Appearance 1/3

This is utterly indiscernible from an adjunct lager except that the macrobrews have a better head. Granted, this is on tap, but I still expect a little something.  The color is a light, golden yellow with extremely high clarity (if you can read reversed text, you could read looking through this glass).  To be honest, it looks more like cider than ale.

Flavor 15/20

Thank goodness the flavor is interesting!  Frankly, that’s the way I prefer it (hence the weighted scoring of this category).  The beer begins by with a little bit of Belgian yeast sweetness and really nice dry, crackery malts.  There also appears appear to be a scuffle amongst all the spices present (peppery hops, cloves) in which no one is a winner and the effect is a jumble in the mouth.  It doesn’t take long before adding an undeniable lemon zest citrus and foaming up in the mouth very pleasantly.  The citrus flavor along with a substantial mouthfeel would have me believe that the wheat percentage of this malt bill is fairly high.  The finish drops out the citrus (and all other sweetness) all together and shows a reprise of the dry, crackery malts.  It also adds a nice bitter, which is complimentary and never threatens to overthrow the malt flavors.  Though in the aftertaste, all that lingers is that same bitter, made all the more intense by the fact that it’s unaccompanied.  As a pale ale, this is a decent, citrusy version of the style.  As a Belgian, it’s virtually non-existent; even more so than in the aroma.  At least in the aroma, it had the decency to show up as the beer warmed up.  In the flavor, it is all but completely AWOL.

Mouthfeel 5/5

The carbonation is a high point of this beer!  It’s crispness really compliments that of the malts and its moderate foaming action in the mouth never contradicts the beer by feeling thick & silky or way too light & mousse-like.  The body feels very full, undoubtedly a contribution of all those dry malts.  No detectable warmth or flaws.

Overall Impression 6/10

This is the story of a better than average beer made less by under-delivering on a promising sounding style.  Had the sweetness from the “Belgian white” come through to sweeten the pale ale portion of the brew, you’d have yourself a interesting combination and probably some great aromas.  Instead, it stands as a pretty decent pale ale with a twist (Get it?  Like a twist of lemon?  Get it… oh nevermind).  However, the mouthfeel is awesome for the pale ale style and the carbonation is spot on.

Total 36/50

I think the “Overall Impression” section says it all. If you drink this for a combination of styles, I think you’ll be disappointed. If you drink this as a pale ale, you’ll probably dig it. The malts are everything they should be for a pale ale: lightly bitter, dry, and crisp. The hops are nicely aromatic, but contribute little other than citrus and spice to the flavor. This is a beer that should’ve been better than the sum of its parts… and the sum of its styles.

Warning: Colors in advertisement's glass may be darker than they appear.

Dogfish Head - red & white

After interviewing Dogfish Head's founder and president, Sam Calagione, only days ago (yeah, I'm still pretty proud of that), what other brand of beer could I review than the one that hails from Milton, DE?  Not only are they an American brewery (during a weekend when  certain Belgian breweries still produce American lagers in  American flag colors), but they are also quite revolutionary; something I think we can all appreciate during this Fourth of July weekend.  Heck, today's review is even named "red & white."  That's 2/3 of America's colors and I think you could only get more patriotic if you named a beer "George Washington's Monster Truck-Corn Fed-Flag Waving-Commie Hating-Baseball Playing-Muscle Car Democratic Ale."  Keep in mind that a "Democratic Ale" would be a lot like an "Imperial Ale," but without a czar or other assorted monarchies.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

Aroma 9/12
The aroma changes fairly dramatically as this beer warms.  As some have noticed/confirmed with DFH's "Festina Peche" the initial scents are quite tart, but in this beer they are almost like a strawberry.  That aroma quickly gives way to a darker aroma akin to black currants and even that aroma is eventually supplanted by a more earthy tone of dark, ripe berries - a certain nod to the pinot noir berries.  Though they are a bit sweeter and not as vinous as would be expected given their common use in wine.  Orange makes itself apparent as well, but in a darker form than one would find in a grocery store.

Appearance 3/3
If it were possible to rank this higher, it would receive that rank.  This is beer falls in beautiful shades of dark orange and copper, perhaps hinting that there may be more orange in this beer that the aroma may have told us.  The glass is also swirling with a pulp-like sediment and ascending bubbles, giving the illusion that the pint is in perpetual motion.  In only one other beer have I seen this kind of sediment, but the pulp was larger, stagnant, and a bit unappetizing.  The head was generous and long-lasting as a stiff foam on top of the glass.  This beer surpasses all expectations in appearance!

Picture is my own.

Flavor 18/20
A bold flavor is rife from the get go!  The first sip is a powerful dose of oak, vanilla, and dark orange flavors.  It quickly, but smoothly transitions to the main structure of the beer where we are introduced to alcoholic warmth, coriander, gobs of caramel and/or dark vanilla,  and an interesting marriage of berries and orange peel.  The orange flavor (and aroma, for that matter) are so dark, the nearest comparison to make would be to a drizzle of Gran Marnier.  A quick "wine taster's slurp" reintroduces the alcohol warmth in bold fashion.  The finish transitions the "berry" sweetness of the pinot noir into a bit more of a vinous bite (a very nice touch) as it slides over the back of the tongue.  It also gives a bit more of the warmth and dark orange flavors (again evoking a less potent orange liquor) and combines them with a spicy Belgian yeast.  Coriander?  Orange?  Belgian Yeast?  More and more this is coming to resemble an Imperial Witbier with the added touches of pinot noir and oak aging, though the esters that show are clearly orange-related and do not take any of the banana esters typically associated with Belgian yeasts.  The aftertaste is surprisingly clean for how warm and sweet this beer is.  It gives a light hop bitter, woody oak, and the spicy yeast.  Besides a light sour/tart left of the sides of the tongue, this beer leaves one ready for another sip.  Oddly, it is the only time besides the initial sips that the beer gets to show off any of the oak involved in its brewing process.  Though when present it is perfectly placed and replaces the customary citrus+hop combination to aid in cleansing the palate.

Mouthfeel 4/5
Only the unabashed warmth keeps this beer from earning its perfect score.  Body is medium-full and has very appropriate lower level of carbonation, not as easy task in a beer with such a high ABV (10%).

Overall Impression 8/10
This is one of Dogfish Head's big, complex beers and it delivers; huge flavors and lots of them.  The aroma is deceivingly mellow when considering the rest of this beer and the oak makes welcomed cameos, but never truly takes center stage.  The warmth may keep this from being a "anytime" beer and force it to be reserved for more select occasions, but its range of well blended yet distinct flavors perhaps make you want to save it for those special occasions anyway.

Total 42/50
A pretty impressive offering from DFH, no surprise there.  Technically superior, complimentary flavors, complex, robust, alcohol laden, American, and tasty as all get out... what more could one ask for?  Well, a few things, actually.  When DFH does crazy, interesting things with their beer I want to taste those things.  Pinot Noir juice in a beer?  Awesome.  Let's make sure that gets showcased and not lost.  Not that it was completely lost, but the dark orange citrus was definitely the star of the show.  If you take the time and effort, and therefore money, to ensure that this brew is "89% aged on oak barrel staves," I might like that to be a bit stronger.

Most suggestions I feel pretty confident in, but not for this beer.  For example, I feel like I was expecting more of a wine-like beer.  More dryness, more oak, etc.  There are some things I can say with certainty I would like to see in a beer.  I am not sure how more wine-like dryness or oak flavors would effect this beer.  Actually, the oak I'd still feel more than OK suggesting, but wine-like dryness in a beer?  It is an interesting concept (as many things are), but I cannot say that even I might like the results if such an end were achieved.  However, if there was a brewery out there with the skill and know-how to make it work, I think a number of us could agree that DFH would easily be a top, if not THE top, suggestion.

This result makes me feel that they could have just used dark berries and achieved a similar result.  The use of pinot noir juice allows me (and other drinkers, I'm sure) to assume that a more wine-like flavor profile will be present.  That said, it is a pretty nit-picky point on which to focus.  This is an extremely tasty beer that I shared (albeit sparingly) with all the in-laws here for the Fourth of July celebration.  Even though they are not deeply involved in the craft beer scene, they were glad that I did.  Cheers DFH!  Keep up the great work.