Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

I haven't had much luck with Jolly Pumpkin honestly. Their bombers trend a bit more expensive in Philly and I've never been terribly happy with the dollar to taste ratio after buying them. It's funny, too, because some people absolutely love this brewery. I mean, good for them, I just don't get it. However, I'd read about La Roja and thought it could be their one beer that I actually like and enjoy. Turns out I was correct!

Vinegary nose with a hint of caramel. Right away, I had a good feeling about it. In the body, the vinegar was a bit more muted than the nose, but still the major flavor. Mixed in sharp bite from the oak barrel, vanilla, and then some acetic sourness in the finish. Jo thought the oak was almost bitter in the beginning but got used to it as she worked through her glass. I agreed though I didn't mind as much. Either way, the bitterness faded after a while and it became even more enjoyable. This was worth buying and I was happy to finally give it a try.

Jolly Pumpkin Noel De Calabaza

I wasn't able to get to the Kite & Key on Sunday for their latest Savage Sixtel Sunday, but when I showed up on Monday everything was actually still available. Lucky for me! Through a huge effort of will, I managed not to order the Goose Island Bourbon County even though I really wanted to because, well, I still have like 18 bottles at home. Kind of silly to get it on draft or at least that's what my wife keeps telling me. I'm not so sure she's right since it's awesome, but this time I listened. Instead I got a glass of Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza.

Tart plum and raisin flavors are the name of the game. All of Jolly Pumpkin's stuff is spontaneously fermented which is why most of their stuff has some basic tartness to it. Sort of clashing flavors though. Like a soured brown ale with a little roast, some bitterness, and finishing with a big tartness and some sour. The latter just didn't mix well with the former in my opinion though they got a bit better as I got used to them all.

It's a problem I've had with other Jolly Pumpkin beers where the tartness just doesn't sit well with the base. Oh well, the issue is definitely on my end since other people seem to really like their stuff. Maybe one day I'll find one I like more.

The Last Day of Philly Beer Week

The most glaring omission from my Philly Beer Week posts has definitely been Jose Pistola's. It's easily my favorite lunch spot during the year so it seems like I should have planned to go there during the biggest beer week of the year. Well, I did have a lunch planned, smart guy, and if you had looked at my schedule you would have known that! So there. It just happened to be on the last day of beer week so it took me a while to get to it. For this lunch, Adam had been saving up Jolly Pumpkin beers so he had a decent variety by then.

I started with the Jolly Pumpkin Luciernaga which turns out to be a Belgian Pale Ale.

Philly Beer Geek Contest at the POPE

This past Monday, I finally had a chance to make it to a bar that was hosting a Philly Beer Geek prelimary qualifying round.  The Philly Beer Geek contest is sort of a beer quizo kind of thing but the prelim rounds vary slightly depending on the bar.  The one at the POPE (Pub on Passyunk East) was hosted by Carolyn Smagalski, Beer Fox of BellaOnline, and last year's Philly Beer Geek Steve Hawk. (If you've been reading long enough, you may remember I went to a BBQ in his honor at The Hulmeville Inn without knowing what it was a while back.)  The contest was separated into four rounds.  The first two rounds were ten questions with each question being one and two points, respectively.  The third round was two beer samples off the draft list and I was supposed to identify them and they were each worth fifteen points.  The last round was eight slightly more difficult questions worth four points each and two very hard questions worth ten.  

Saturday Beers!

What's a Saturday without some interesting things to drink?  Nothing, that's what.  I needed to do some beer shopping for a thing I'm having at my house on Friday, so Jo and I took a trip out to Capone's and the Wholefoods in Plymouth Meeting.

We arrived at Capone's and found out the restaurant is going to be closed on Sundays (at least until around April) which stinks since that was always when we went.  Ah well.  There was a lot to choose from, but they had Flying Fish Exit 13, a chocolate stout, and I've been wanting to try that for a while now.

Sunday at Capone's

Jo and I went to Capone's and enjoyed some great buffalo wings and beers.  As usual, their draft list was excellent and they have 25 cent wings on Sunday so it's a great place to watch some football.  They are doing some construction on the place, but the back entrance is open so don't think they are closed because of the closed front doors.

I started off with a sampler of 4 beers.

Starting with the front left beer and going clockwise I got: Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela, The Bruery Autumn Maple, Amager Imperial Stout, and Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. 

The Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela was interesting.  It's supposedly a Pumpkin Ale but I couldn't detect pumpkin in it at all.  It smelled lemony and sort of tart.  Just a little bit of head on the sampler, but I'm guessing there would be a bit more in a full glass.  The first sip was mildly tart as well but not too strong.  Very smooth flavor.  It was similar to Nodding Head's Berliner Weiss but with more body and not quite as tart.  As I drank more of it, the beer got more tart but nothing crazy.

After that was the Bruery Autumn Maple.  Smelled mildly Belgian as it's made with some Belgian yeast.  At first, there was only some yam flavor with a mild sweetness.  Hard to find the Belgian flavors in the beer as a result of the yams and maple.  Nice thick mouth feel to it.  The second full sip I took was just full of yams.  I couldn't believe it and took another sip just to be sure I was sure of the flavor.  Super interesting to be drinking that taste out of a glass.  I liked it but a full glass may have been a bit much.

Following that was the Amager Imperial Stout.  Amager is apparently a brewery in Denmark, who knew.  The Imperial Stout had some slight roasty notes and a little alcohol on the nose.  The taste, however, was full of roasted malt flavor with no alcohol presence.  As it warmed up, the alcohol was slightly noticeable, but not out of place.  Not a bad Imperial Stout but nothing too special to me.

Finally, the Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout.  I talked about the family of Yeti stouts from Great Divide in this post, my first time at Capone's.  This will be the second of the four I've had and hopefully I'll be able to have the other two at some point.  Jo smelled some wood flavors in this but I didn't notice much of anything.  Pretty big espresso flavor in the first sip, but it wasn't crazy.  Nothing like Founders Breakfast Stout for example.  The coffee does sit on the tongue after each sip though.  Nice thick mouth feel to this one.  As it warmed up, the espresso becomes more noticeable but again not bad.

After the sampler, I tried to get a glass of Rodenbach Vintage 2007 but they were out.  Instead, I got a Southern Tier Pumking

There wasn't any head on it but you'll just have to trust me since I forgot to take a picture before drinking a bunch.  It smelled of pumpkin and a lot of spices.  Interesting smell, pretty much what a lot of people think of when they hear of a pumpkin beer.  The Pumking was very sweet with a lot of spices.  Kind of crazy how much pumpkin pie flavor they packed into this beer.  Even with all the spices and the high sweetness, it was still quite drinkable.

Went into the bottle shop before we left and man I love that place.  They have so many good beers.  Even if the prices can be a little high, there's just so much to find.  Every nook and cranny is just jammed with random beers.  I could come out of there with so many if I didn't care about money.  Ended up getting a Hoppin' Frog Boris the Crusher, an Oatmeal Imperial Stout, and a 2008 Rogue Imperial Porter.  The Rogue had an absolutely sweet bottle although it's no real surprise because if there is one thing Rogue does well it's make cool bottles.

End of a Crazy Weekend

Capped off what was a pretty crazy weekend by going to Capone's with my wife.  I wanted to have her check it out and also pick up a bottle I had reserved.  Turns out Sunday is a decent day to go since it's 25 cent wings nearly all day.  Wings, sports and beer make a fun Sunday.

There were way more things on draft than I could possibly drink in one sitting so I decided to start with a sampler.

Clockwise, starting with the light one in the front, I got: Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam, Rogue Double Chocolate Stout, Dark Horse Plead the 5th, and Allagash Curieux.  The Weizen Bam is a Farmhouse Ale, the Double Chocolate and Plead the 5th are both Imperial Stouts (although taste very different) and the Curieux was a Tripel aged in bourbon barrels.  All of them were really different from each other which was really cool.

The Allagash Curieux smelled of coconut oil and that was about it.  The taste was very unusual.  Some coconut, some general sweetness, and some alcohol.  I was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted.  The Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam had a fruity, sour smell to it that sort of reminded me of sour wheat.  Jo thought it was a bit perfumy and floral.  This was a really, really different beer that I thought worked really well.  Jolly Pumpkin is known for their wild ales and after having this one I definitely will search them out again.

Switching gears, I started in on the Rogue Double Chocolate Stout.  This beer wasn't kidding around with the chocolate.  Huge, huge chocolate smell.  Initial taste on this was again chocolate which then slowly blended into some nice nuttiness and roasted flavors.  Good stuff but since it's Rogue it's probably terribly expensive in bottles.  Ah well.  Finally, the Dark Horse Plead the 5th.  This is a Russian Imperial Stout that is not fooling around at 12%.  Smells a little of coffee from the roasted malts.  Initial impression is that it had an excellent mouth feel and not too boozy for the strength.  The thickness is just about right and it totally coats your mouth and leaves you wanting more.  Has an almost nutty, smoky flavor to it.  I thought this was really great and would have gotten a full glass if it had been a Saturday.

Instead I finished up my meal with a Founders Breakfast Stout.

Founders just started shipping out Breakfast Stout so I was excited to get it on draft already.  Really strong coffee smell as it's an Imperial Espresso Stout.  Jo thought the Plead the 5th smelled stronger of coffee than this one but I think she's crazy.  First sip is basically coffee but after a few more the coffee takes a back seat to the stout part.  I really, really like this beer.  It's just so drinkable and just delicious.  It's a seasonal, though, so get it while you can!