Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales is a brewery in Dexter, Michigan founded by Ron Jeffries in 2004. It operates three pubs, one in Ann Arbor, one in Detroit and the other in Traverse City. Jolly Pumpkin produces a variety of unfiltered and unpasteurized "rustic country" beers.
Jolly Pumpkin ages their beers in wine barrels which contain naturally occurring microbiological cultures including brettanomyces. These cultures produce a complex flavor profile in their beers, which includes flavors described as leathery, earthy, wild, funky, or even "sweaty horse hair character", and which may approximate how some beer tasted before the advent of pasteurization and industrialization. This style of beer has been described as "farmhouse ale" or American wild ale.
Their Oro de Calabaza won the 2004 Gold and the 2005 Bronze Medal in the Belgian- and French-style ale category at the Great American Beer Festival. Their Bam Bière won the Bronze Medal in the 2009 Great American Beer Festival and was named the 21st best beer in America by Men's Journal.
Oro de Calabaza ("Pumpkin gold") (8% abv), described as a Franco-Belgian-style strong golden ale
La Roja (7.2% abv), a Flanders red ale
Bam Bière (4.5% abv), described as a light farmhouse ale or saison
Calabaza Blanca ("White pumpkin") (4.8% abv), a Witbier
Bam Noire, a dark farmhouse with flavors reminiscent of dark plums and burnt sugar.
Seasonal beers include:
Madrugada Obscura ("Dark Dawn") (8.1% abv), released in January, described as a Belgian-style stout
Bière de Mars ("March Beer") (7% abv), released in March, a Bière de Garde
E.S. Bam, released in April. A "hoppy" Farmhouse, hoppy to higher levels than regular Bam Biere.
Luciernaga ("Firefly") (6.5% abv), released in June, described as a spiced Belgian pale ale in the Grand Cru tradition
Weizen Bam, a hefeweizen which is released in summer
La Parcela, "No. 1 Pumpkin Ale", a Belgian inspired fruit beer released in mid-October. Brewed with roasted pumpkin and spices.
Fuego del Otono ("Autumnal fire") (6.1% abv), released in October, a Bière de Garde
Maracaibo Especial (7.5% abv), released in November, an Oud bruin, or Belgian-style brown ale
Noel de Calabaza ("Christmas pumpkin") (9% abv), released in December, a holiday beer
Their occasionally available Grand Reserve beers, each of which are hand-blended from mature, barrel-aged batches, include:
La Roja Grand Reserve: this beer is often a blend of older batches of La Roja that have been aged additionally in bourbon or wine barrels. There have been four releases.
First release: aged 12 months. The only oval Label 12oz bottle came with a white neck label in black print.
Second release: aged 18 months. Square Label 12oz bottle with a gold neck label with black writing.
Third release: aged 24 months. Square Label 12oz bottle with black foil covering the cap and neck, with a gold neck label in black print over the black foil.
Fourth release: aged 32 months. Square Label 12oz bottle with a gold neck label that stated the age.
La Roja Krieked: A version of this beer aged with cherries was offered at the 2008 Michigan Brewers Guild Festival.
Bière De Mars Grand Reserve: There have been two releases of this beer. The first was aged for 14 months in bourbon barrels. The second batch (#65) was aged for 27 months in bourbon barrels.
Luciérnaga Grand Reserve: There have been two releases of this beer. The first was aged for 14 months in bourbon barrels and released in 2004.
Oro De Calabaza Grand Reserve: this is known as Perseguidor Batch 2.
Madrugada Obscura Grand Reserve: This was barrel aged for 18 months. It was offered only on draft at the First Annual Stone Sour Fest in July 2007 and was a special tap at the 2008 Michigan Brewers Guild Festival.
Perseguidor ("Pursuer"): A limited-release, custom-blended ale which is oak-aged an additional six months before release. There have been five releases.
Batch 1 (7.2% abv): A blend of Bam Biere and La Roja This batch was offered at the 2006 Michigan Brewers Guild Festival and released during the fall of 2006 in 750mL and 12oz Bottles printed with a matte paper label.
Batch 2 (8% abv): Also known as "Oro de Calabaza Reserve," this batch was a blend of Oro de Calabaza and Bam Biere. This batch was only offered on draft at the First Annual Stone Sour Fest in July 2007.
Batch 3 (abv unknown): This was offered at the 2008 Michigan Brewers Guild Festival and released in 750mL Bottles in early August 2008.
Batch 4: released January 2009. A blend of 3-year-old La Roja, 3-year-old Madrugada Obscura and 1-year-old Noel de Calabaza. Conditioned for 6 months in 12-ounce bottles.
Batch 5: released January 17, 2010. A blend of La Roja Grand Reserve, Luciernaga Grand Reserve, and Bam Biere Grand Reserve. Blend was aged on oak for 6 months and then bottle-conditioned for 6 months. Packaged in 12-ounce bottles. 480 bottles were produced.
Lambicus Dexterius, a lambic
