Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca Review

Overall 5.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

davedahl
Chicago, IL

A tasty Belgian witbier with that good old Jolly Pumpkin funk!

brew guru

MAR

2009

Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca —

Jolly Pumpkin is a relatively small brewery in Dexter, Michigan that cranks out some of the most interesting beers you can lay your hands on. Most of their brews begin as traditional ale's (no lagers here) but quickly take a hard left into Weirdsville. Their fermentation is done in open vats which allows the local flora and fauna to party in the brew. They also age all their beers in oak casks which provides a more full flavor and rounder mouth-feel....and allows the flora fauna funk to continue through the fermentation stage into the cleanup and aging.

So their technique is a bit different and by nature it introduces lots of creepy crawlies during the fermentation stage. Then post fermentation the "bugs" (as they're affectionately called) never get chased out due to the porous nature of the wooden barrels. These twists produce some amazingly distinct brews - specifically all their beers posses varying degrees of their signature funky and sour aroma and taste.

Welcome to the wonderful groove of lactic bacteria and brettomyces yeast.

Now this particular beer, the Calaba Blanca, definitely has it's namesake (witbier) hiding in the background as the JP funk parties in the foreground. It's definitely an ale with plenty of wheat to lay down a smooth but light malt dancefloor. Still following to style are the spices - cinnamon, cardamon, star anise providing the disco ball, strobes, and colored lights. But The Funk has taken over the party - lots of sour apple, barn yard, acid, and horse blanket in the nose and on the palate.

This is definitely the most drinkable Jolly Pumpkin of the bunch. The complexity of the well-executed style is balanced amazingly well with the "less traditional" components and the whole thing finishes amazingly clean and light. Don't get me wrong, there's still some residual flavors there, but somehow the party cleans up after itself and leaves your palate is in great shape for more Calabaza Blanca!