If you were starting a world-class, upper-end microbrewery from scratch, you reckon that JOLLY PUMPKIN would be on your list of potential names? Ah, be that as it may, I’m a whimsical guy – I dig whimsy – but I do have fairly exacting standards for the beer I drink, and so far the beers of Dexter, Michigan’s JOLLY PUMPKIN are a little uneven. People are constantly on the prowl for these beers; they’re namechecked in all of your better blogs, and the price point for them suggests that the beers themselves are something special (if you subscribe to the “price as a cue for quality” theory of marketing). One time I tried their BAM BIERE, and it didn’t do much for me. Another time I went for LA ROJA (an aged, “artisan amber” ale), and I totally loved it. Now along comes this E.S. BAM, and it’s described right there on the bottle as a “hoppy farmhouse ale”. Hops, farms, ales – I am so there. Yet I (and the three people sharing this jumbo bottle with me) didn’t find a whole lotta love here. E.S. BAM is a souped-up saison, they say. We found it to be a light-bodied, light-on-the-stomach, semi-funky brown ale, with a little bit of “saltiness” to throw some edge on the fact that it was pretty hopped-out. This is the only beer I’ve ever had that I could say even remotely resembles tea, like tea as in Earl Grey or English Breakfast. Did I finish my glass? Of course I did – I even helped someone else out with theirs. Would I ever buy it again? No, that I would not. 5.5/10.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, “JOLLY PUMPKIN”….
If you were starting a world-class, upper-end microbrewery from scratch, you reckon that JOLLY PUMPKIN would be on your list of potential names? Ah, be that as it may, I’m a whimsical guy – I dig whimsy – but I do have fairly exacting standards for the beer I drink, and so far the beers of Dexter, Michigan’s JOLLY PUMPKIN are a little uneven. People are constantly on the prowl for these beers; they’re namechecked in all of your better blogs, and the price point for them suggests that the beers themselves are something special (if you subscribe to the “price as a cue for quality” theory of marketing). One time I tried their BAM BIERE, and it didn’t do much for me. Another time I went for LA ROJA (an aged, “artisan amber” ale), and I totally loved it. Now along comes this E.S. BAM, and it’s described right there on the bottle as a “hoppy farmhouse ale”. Hops, farms, ales – I am so there. Yet I (and the three people sharing this jumbo bottle with me) didn’t find a whole lotta love here. E.S. BAM is a souped-up saison, they say. We found it to be a light-bodied, light-on-the-stomach, semi-funky brown ale, with a little bit of “saltiness” to throw some edge on the fact that it was pretty hopped-out. This is the only beer I’ve ever had that I could say even remotely resembles tea, like tea as in Earl Grey or English Breakfast. Did I finish my glass? Of course I did – I even helped someone else out with theirs. Would I ever buy it again? No, that I would not. 5.5/10.
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5 comments:
seems like the same result that the guys at CBR had.
This isn't one of my favorites by this brewery, but Jolly Pumpkin is one of my favorite breweries, period. Try the Bam Biere and the Oro de Calabaza.
I haven't really loved any of the "Bam's" but La Roja is wonderful and Maracaibo Especial is pretty fantastic as well. I have to admit I expected a lot more out of the Bam's, but yeah this is a great brewery on the whole
Well Golly, I was going to comment that ES Bam was one of the very few JP beers that I have not enjoyed. But Steve already spoke up for me. At the time I chalked it up to a failed experiment. But didn't they just re-release it? Someone must be buying it.
Good to see someone is getting to taste the Jolly Pumpkin stuff. In my part of Michigan none of the good beer stores have it in stock cuz none of the distro's have any right now. I have yet still to even try a Jolly Pumpkin and with the price of gas these days travelling 45 miles to a "real good beer store" seems just to frivolous at the moment.
Oh, Jolly Pumpkin. One day I will sip some of your wares.
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