Ok, just sort of some random pieces Gammons style if you will.
- MLB All-Star game is tonight. I plan on watching it, but do I really care about it? No. Not at all. There is just really nothing else on to watch.
- Cisco Brewing Company, you make some nice beers, and you Cherry Woods was a very nice sour beer, but selling it for 23.99/750ml is a bit on the high side, don't you think? I can get a 16oz at Rose Alley in New Bedford for $8 or so.
- Speaking of Rose Alley, what a GREAT place to get some great beers at good prices. The upstairs has a lot of solid micros which are a bit more common, but the downstairs has your Belgians and super specialty beers. I highly recommend going. Food is pretty decent as well with good prices.
- East Ave Cafe in Pawtucket now has 81 lines for beers. That means you may be able to get 30 good beers there, however, most will be at a high price. The place isn't cheap.
- BBC continues to impress me each and every time I have one of their beers. Had a Steel Rail Pale Ale last night and loved it. The Lost Sailer IPA is good and on nitro is heavenly. Never had an IPA on nitro and this was just a great one in that regard.
- Strasburg has been pretty nice so far hasn't he? Would have been messed up if he had made the all-star team though.
- Sour beers tend to be very nice to drink when it is hot outside. I have had a bunch lately and have started to enjoy them more and more, especially Flanders Red styles.
- Speaking of Flanders Red, had a VERY nice Jolly Pumpkin La Roja. It is classified on BA as an American Wild Ale, but it really seems like a Flanders Red. Another good beer from Jolly Pumpkin.
- My fantasy teams are hurting me. It is tough when I have to count on Jon Garland for production (even if he is having a very good year which I had thought he would).
- Just picked up, or should I say had handed down, an iphone. It is an older one, 2nd gen I think, but it is nice to actually be in the world of internet on the go if I need it.
- Is it bad that when I picked up some bread last week and saw that it was dark wheat, that I immediately thought "ooo, a dunkel weiss!"?
- Red Sox need a relief pitcher in a bad way. I think Scott Downs from the Blue Jays is the perfect guy. Ok, Theo, go and get him!
That is all for now. I won't promise to update this blog more often. That is an exercise in futility, but I am hopeful.
Showing posts with label Jolly Pumpkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jolly Pumpkin. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza
Been meaning to put this review up for a couple of weeks, but haven't really had the chance to sit down and write it up. Had the notes all put together, but now here we go.
A couple of months back, my friend from Cleveland sent me a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza. This was recently voted as the #1 Belgian Strong Blonde Ale on the NY Times tasting. Surprised me when I heard that but made me want to try it for sure. So anyway, Dave (my friend) sent me the bottle and it took me a while to sit around and really get the time to do a nice tasting with this beer. This is actually a Biere de Garde from what I can see. ABV is 8%. IBU's.... no clue. The bottle was a 750ml bottle, batch 467 on the bottle.
The beer poured a cloudy golden color into my Duvel tulip glass. You cannot see through it at all. Lots of fluffy white head that fades away in about five minutes or so. It leaves lots of spidery lacing on the glass when the head fades however.
First sniff is spicy and citrusy. Seems to have a lot of peppery smells coming off of the beer. First taste and my initial thought was bitterness with a LOT of green apple flavor. It took me a while to realize as I was drinking the beer that this was not in fact bitterness, but was instead the sour apple flavor which sort of hit me in a way that made me think bitter. Definitely not the case though. The sour apple flavor though is very pronounced. The carbonation is nice there like a good Belgian should have. The carbonation has a nice tingle on my lips. The body ends up being pretty decent too. The beer itself is rather light but the carbonation adds enough to make it a nice body.
The alcohol, even at 8%, is not super pronounced but it definitely there making this a little less drinkable (at least as far as that is concerned). There is a bit of hops bitterness that comes out more as it warms up as well. Also as it warms up there is a definite lemony flavor that comes out.
Overall, I would say that this beer is very good, but not as good as I would have expected. Being voted a #1 Belgian style beer makes me think it would be amazing. But, I don't think it quite hit that mark. The apple flavor in this beer just sort of overwhelmed anything else that was there. If you like apple, this is the beer for you. If not, you may want to steer clear. Jolly Pumpkin does make excellent beers and this is a good one. I would give this a three out of five stars on my tough grading system. I would definitely have it again, but I wouldn't have it too too often.
A couple of months back, my friend from Cleveland sent me a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza. This was recently voted as the #1 Belgian Strong Blonde Ale on the NY Times tasting. Surprised me when I heard that but made me want to try it for sure. So anyway, Dave (my friend) sent me the bottle and it took me a while to sit around and really get the time to do a nice tasting with this beer. This is actually a Biere de Garde from what I can see. ABV is 8%. IBU's.... no clue. The bottle was a 750ml bottle, batch 467 on the bottle.
The beer poured a cloudy golden color into my Duvel tulip glass. You cannot see through it at all. Lots of fluffy white head that fades away in about five minutes or so. It leaves lots of spidery lacing on the glass when the head fades however.
First sniff is spicy and citrusy. Seems to have a lot of peppery smells coming off of the beer. First taste and my initial thought was bitterness with a LOT of green apple flavor. It took me a while to realize as I was drinking the beer that this was not in fact bitterness, but was instead the sour apple flavor which sort of hit me in a way that made me think bitter. Definitely not the case though. The sour apple flavor though is very pronounced. The carbonation is nice there like a good Belgian should have. The carbonation has a nice tingle on my lips. The body ends up being pretty decent too. The beer itself is rather light but the carbonation adds enough to make it a nice body.
The alcohol, even at 8%, is not super pronounced but it definitely there making this a little less drinkable (at least as far as that is concerned). There is a bit of hops bitterness that comes out more as it warms up as well. Also as it warms up there is a definite lemony flavor that comes out.
Overall, I would say that this beer is very good, but not as good as I would have expected. Being voted a #1 Belgian style beer makes me think it would be amazing. But, I don't think it quite hit that mark. The apple flavor in this beer just sort of overwhelmed anything else that was there. If you like apple, this is the beer for you. If not, you may want to steer clear. Jolly Pumpkin does make excellent beers and this is a good one. I would give this a three out of five stars on my tough grading system. I would definitely have it again, but I wouldn't have it too too often.
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