Luciérnaga, The Firefly - Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

DavoleBomb

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a snifter. Blend 3, bottled 4-28-10.

4.5 A: Hazy orange brown color. Three fingers of pillowy white head with excellent retention and plenty of lacing.

4.0 S: Brett comes off as the strongest aroma. Lots of different spices going with pepper, corriander, grains of paradise and even cinnamon, but none of them are very strong. Pretty decent, I like what the brett is doing here.

3.5 T: Surprisingly drying on finish is what I noticed first. Grains of paradise show up big time with corriander and pepper on the second front. Very pear like fruitiness. Brett funk blends in with the other flavors as opposed to being the focus. Good, but lacking something I can't quite put my finger on. I wish I could give this a 3.75 for taste.

4.5 M: Medium body. Good actively spritzy carbonation. Good creaminess as well. One of the highlights of this beer.

3.5 D: It's an okay beer, but certainly not worth the price. Flavors seem okay on paper, but it's missing some of the intangibles that make a beer great. I'm not a huge fan of pear flavor in beer and this one has a lot of it.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2010 04:37:14 | More by DavoleBomb

schwaeh

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle- bottled 5/21/11

A:Pours a pumpkin orange color with as much frothy white head as you care to pour. These JP beers are always crazy carbonated. Nice lacing.

S: Smells of sour apple, brett funk, oak barrels, and a nice delicate hop presence. This has some nice fall spices going on, very cool. This is the hoppiest smelling Jolly Pumpkin by a landslide.

T: This tastes very funky- hay, horseblanket, pears, grain, and some rotten apple. This has some nice use of spices- nutmeg, coriander, and some pepper are all noticeable; These all add some very nice warmth and depth to this brew. Its almost as if the finish isn't there on this beer, the flavors fade fast in your mouth until a light amount of hop bitterness shows up. There is a citrus quality to this(from the hops?), maybe clementines. The hoppiness builds and seems slightly out of place in this beer.

M: A little thin here but not too bad. Lively carbonation(brett, Jolly Pumpkin, duh). Lingering bitterness.

O: I can really appreciate this beer, especially when grouped in this style, but for me I would really let this one sit a while. The use of fresh hops is kind of distracting with the funk and spice going on here. This is good but time might push this up a notch.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2011 23:30:40 | More by schwaeh

hardy008

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Batch 542/543 Bottled 5/14/10.

Pours a clear honey orange color with a 4 finger foamy white head with excellent retention and lacing. I need to keep an eye on the rest of the bottle, as the foam keeps coming up to the top. The aroma has coriander, lemon, orange zest, wood, and Brettanomyces.

The taste has Brettanomyces, coriander, lemon, orange zest, and a little bit of pepper. There is a little bit of sweetness, and a lot of funk and some bitterness.

Light bodied with plenty of carbonation and a dry finish. Definitely worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2012 01:32:34 | More by hardy008

AlexFields

Tennessee

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Pours a medium-dark, slightly hazy amber color with a pretty big fluffy white head. Leaves tons of lacing.

Smells of brett, yeasty banana, hints of apple and grape.

Flavor opens with a mild tartness, pretty strong apple and grape, moves into some brettiness and light funk, finishes very dry and vinous.

Mouthfeel is excellent, great carbonation, nice full mouthfeel, very drinkable.

This is a pretty light beer and nothing especially exciting, but it's really nice. Not the best Jolly Pumpkin beer but really solid.

7.7/10

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2013 00:55:21 | More by AlexFields

RedHaze

Nebraska

3.78/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a golden/orange color with a fluffy two finger head that never really fades away and leaves behind lots of thick lacing.

Smell; very floral, with some grape and pear aromas. There's a bit of an oak smell, along with a bit of coriander and other spices.

Taste; fruity at first with pears, white grapes and some mild ctiric notes. There's a decent sweet maltiness with just a little bit of a balancing bitterness, followed by a slight grassiness in the finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a a good amount of carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2006 00:21:12 | More by RedHaze

glid02

Georgia

3.78/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at the Brick Store.

Pours a hazy lemon-yellow color with a one-finger white head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of light malts with good amounts of pear and lemon peel aromas. Hints of funk waft out every now and then.

Tastes OK. Light malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by muted lemon zest flavors. The lemon zest lightens up midway through the sip making room for unripe pears that carry through to a crisp ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a smooth thickness with grainy carbonation.

Drinkability is also good. I didn't have any problems finishing my glass and could have another.

Overall I enjoyed this beer and it went down easily however it wasn't robust enough to be very good. Worth a shot, especially in the warmer months.

Serving type: on-tap

07-29-2010 00:37:46 | More by glid02

Gobzilla

California

3.78/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: poured amber brown with slightly reddish orange highlights that had a finger of head and left good lacing sticking to the glass.

S: I definitely got some spices on the first whiff but it also seemed like it had vinegar notes with barrel funkiness, honey, herbs, brett, and faint apple notes.

T: Upfront it had a nice slight tartness with the spices really popping out more on the palate alongside slight lemon, grains, and punchy brett notes. It had some underlying vinegar and apple notes as well.

M: The brew was medium body with a good amount of prickly carbonation that had a spicey, zesty, tart, and slight dry finish; interesting.

D: It drank pretty good and was quite different from other belgian pales that I've had but it did have the Jolly pumpkin signature slight funky tart flavor.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2010 08:17:43 | More by Gobzilla

pleasewearpants

California

3.78/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into the only clean cup in my sink. Ha. Hazy light amber orange color. I only have fluorescent lights in my bungalow so its hard to tell sometimes. Minimal head dissipates quickly. Nice brett aroma, not much else in there, maybe some light spice. Hard to tell when you've had this much reconstructive surgery. Taste is very nice - funky, mild brett sourness, real clean and light. Comes off like a dry latex glove. Sense a little citrus and spice. Nice bitterness too. Good solid Jolly Pumpkin beer. Going to Taco Bell, hope this is still here when I get back.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2011 04:40:45 | More by pleasewearpants

merc7186

New York

3.78/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this beer poured from a bomber into a pint glass.

Batch 802/804 Bottled on 5-20-2011.

A: Amber/Golden Straw Hue, Passes Some Light, Thick White Head, Some Lacing

S: Sour Mash, Yeast, Black Pepper

T: Yeast, Black Pepper, Corriander

M: Decent Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Mild Yeast, Mild Spicy

Overall, this beer almost suited a Saison than a Grand Cru and missed any hop character but it was a 13 months after bottling.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 23:43:40 | More by merc7186

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Golden-blond with a white head that leaves a nice lace.

S: Fresh hops, a little solvent, slightly spicy.

T: There's a soapy, hop flavour that I'm not fond of. The spicyness is quite nice. Finish is dry and slightly tart.

M: Light body is highly carbonated. Finish is quite dry.

D: Certainly a digestable, though the carbonation is quite high.

Thanks DrJay!

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2006 23:37:23 | More by Derek

bruachan

Rhode Island

3.8/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

chillhazy but a nice reddish copper color. sudsy suds up there, releasing funky scents.

light-bodied and refreshing. very little malt essence. i would prefer a little more to bite into, although perhaps i would feel differently in 7 months (it's October right now). some nutty malt flavor appears with patience. do i detect grains of paradise? the bottle says yes...and coriander

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2011 02:17:50 | More by bruachan

jmaharaj

Maryland

3.81/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours a hazy orange with a bright white head that recedes to a ring. there is certainly sour in the nose, along with some wet hay ad a hint of spicy hops. the tartness isnt as pronounced on the tongue but the brett comes through with a little dampness, although its cut with some mildly astringent urine flavors (weirdly, not really a bad thing) that give this beer some urgency. Some malt lingers through the finish. subdued, thinnish mouthfeel, but nice depth overall.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2013 02:19:41 | More by jmaharaj

oberon

North Carolina

3.83/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured a slight hazed honey color with a huge blossoming white head that stuck like glue to the glass as it slowly settled,aromas of honey malt and big coriander tones with a hint of orange.First off the beer seemed a bit overcarbonated and was hard going down at first somewhat prickly in the mouth as well,nice flavors not overly big on the phenolic yeastiness that I dont care for much honey sweetness with some black pepper spice with a lighter apple flavor in the finish.A bit raw for sure but a pretty good beer to be had.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2006 23:01:23 | More by oberon

trep

West Virginia

3.83/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750mL bottle, age unknown.

Hands down, the best looking beer I've ever laid eyes on. Before I poured it a bit of foam gushed from the top. After pouring, it remains in the glass like foam insulation. So frothy, looks like a rootbeer float. Head is slightly off-white. Body is a murky garnet, plenty of floaters in this one. Even after a while of sitting, the foam remains and leaves tons of lace. Yeasty, funky aroma. Some bitter hops, but not much, a bit of alcohol and some sour fruit. A bit of dry chalkiness throughout.

Much more bitter than I expected. Much hoppier too. Actually this beer tastes basically nothing like it smells. A bit of alcohol lingers, nice, crisp, clean, malt in the background. White grape aftertaste.

Crisp, refreshing, and clean, just like Bud Select, only this is a true story. Medium bodied and lots of carbonation. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. I was expecting more funk and sour, but its a fairly hoppy beer. I wish I had this during the summer on a hot day. Certainly refreshing and easy going down.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2006 05:36:19 | More by trep

dfried

Minnesota

3.83/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Hazy, not quite see through yellowish orange, with a giant off white head that bubbled away in big chunks. First and foremost the aroma hits you with some Brett sourness, but there is a lot more going on with some floral notes I think from the hops, spicy coriander and pepper, hearty pale malty grain, some bready and yeasty notes, and a citrusy edge.

The taste is maybe even a bit more sour than the aroma led on, there is quite a tangy undertone throughout this whole beer with the Brett sourness as well as spicy and citrusy notes galore. The tanginess fades a bit in the aftertaste revealing the fruity notes a bit more, sour apples, pears, and some more tropical like hints as well. There were some more resinous-like notes too, I think from the floral hops, but some of them I think were picked up from the oak aging as well.

Overall: I really liked this beer, I looked great with awesome color, head, and lacing, and the taste was good with a lot of layers. However I did find it a bit too sour and perfumy to be all that drinkable. A good one to share with a friend.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2007 19:31:17 | More by dfried

oakbluff

Manitoba (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Big gusher of a bottle. Luckily didn't lose too much to the countertop. Cloudy tangerine with huge chunky head. Aroma- nice oaky funkiness. Taste- high initial sourness that drys quickly. Not really a juicy sourness, more dry woodiness. Little bit of citrus. I think this is the dryest JP beer I've had. Not high is alcohol, but seems boozy for some reason.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2008 22:04:36 | More by oakbluff

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.83/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle - $8.49 at Beverage SuperStore in Suwanee, Georgia. No listed batch number.

Appearance: Pours out a clearish, dark orange body with a huge, dense, foamy, white head.

Smell: Malts enveloped with acrid notes of musty wild yeasts, butyric acid, juiced apples, mangled pineapples, damp oak wood, earthy spices.

Taste: Toasted, honeyish malts instantly disappear behind the strongly phenolic Brett character. Pristine pineapple juice blended with spoiled apple juice. The doses of Grains of Paradise and coriander are quite spicy and particularly pungent, giving the tongue a bit of enduring ginger-like heat. Touch of oak. Surprisingly bitter as well. Particularly dry finish with a lingering taste of the added spices.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-high carbonation.

Drinkability: As always, it's another weird, wild ride from Jolly Pumpkin. The spices can be a bit overly brash at times. While not the most captivating of the Jolly Pumpkin lineup, it's certainly solid and worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2009 05:56:38 | More by ChainGangGuy

BehindtheFinBrew

Iowa

3.83/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

24oz bottle to an imperial pint (I know, my mistake)
Labeled "Batch 387/388"

A: A moderate pour resulted in copious amounts of head, but eventually led to a 3.5 finger creamy foamed tan head. Color was orange copper and slightly hazy. Head retention was good eventually reducing to a tan froth crown as well as a decent amount of lacing.

S: Orange peel citrus, coriander and spice. Sour and vinegar-like with hints of band-aid from the use of Brett.

T: Upfront with sweet and sour fruit flavors (grape and apple) with a slight alcohol warming which faded fast. Caramel and toffee notes definitely play second fiddle to the sweetness with an ever-so slight bitterness on finish from grassy hop flavor. For me, the sour character became overbearing as the session progressed and any spice character was hard to discern over the sour flavor.

M: Highly carbed initially but faded fast leaving a creamy, somewhat watery feel. Medium dry with a slick finish.

D: Medium bodied and moderate alcohol. The sweet and sour nature of this beer make it a short one for me.

This was an interesting beer to review and I did enjoy it. However, the sour character and funky aroma from the use of Brett. aren't my "cup 'o' tea." Overall, an interesting variation on a Belgian Pale Ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2010 16:55:18 | More by BehindtheFinBrew

mdfb79

New York

3.83/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

From 07/23/11 notes. Poured from a 750ml bottle into my Duvel tulip. Batch 2, bottled on 04/29/10.

a - Pour a deep amber color with two fingers of fluffy white head and moderate carbonation evident. Lots of head retention and lacing left on the glass.

s - Smells of barnyard funk, sour fruits, brett, spices, yeast, and light bananas. Really good nose to it, as it's combining some Belgian like notes and that JP funk.

t - Tastes of Belgian yeast and spice, bananas, light fruit and citrus, and some brett/funk. Not quite as funky, and more spices; a step down from the nose.

m - Medium body and moderate to high carbonation. Like some other JP beers, a little too carbonated.

o - Overall a good beer. The nose is fantastic and sour, while the taste falls back to more conventional Belgian like spice and yeast. Would definitely have it again.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2011 17:46:41 | More by mdfb79

StarshipPoopers

Ontario (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - Very hazy orange. Fine white head, good retention, and decent lacing. Insane carbonation, popped the cap and it overflowed for a solid 3 or 4 minutes, wasn't ready for that so be aware.

S - Sour apple/citrus and spices. Funkiness gets more pronounced as it warms.

T - Sour apple funkiness and Belgian yeast, earthy straw notes.

M/D - Quite a light mouthfeel, condensation produces some pretty fine bubbles. I drank it pretty slowly but it had easy enough drinkability to it.

O - It was nice to try something pretty different. The funkiness overpowered everything else, and sort of detracted from the enjoyment. I like sourness, but it seemed dominant.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2011 07:19:27 | More by StarshipPoopers

ehammond1

California

3.83/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On Tap

Churchill's Pub & Grille
San Marcos, CA

Nearly clear orange and gold with a thick, heavy white head that leaves lots of stick, cling, and lace on the glass.

Bright and funky aroma: lemon, mild pine, lots and lots of funk (barnyard/horse blanket/hay and grass), some biting black pepper, and a touch of honey sweetness. Powerful and unique.

The funky yeast dominates. The powerful, unique Jolly Pumpkin funk is here in full force: lots of grass, hay, and barnyard. The citrus and bright lemon hop flavors are there right alongside it all. There's a ton of flavor here, and it's another uniquely Jolly Pumpkin beer. The alcohol plays too large a role in the flavor for a beer of "only" 6.5% ABV.

Medium to thick bodied with very high carbonation--a bit prickly.

A decidedly unique beer. Jolly Pumpkin always creates something unique and this is certainly no exception.

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2011 17:54:11 | More by ehammond1

Dithyramb

Maryland

3.85/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

One of the other fine offerings from BIF, this one by far has the best label, making my wife think a new fine wine had arrived from CA in a funny bottle. Sampled from the 750 into my trusty Bellevue tulip.
The color is orange cloudy caramel with a quick chalky foam that died off quickly.
The grains of paradise are evident on the nose, with some banana and some earthiness thrown in. Not much hops around.
Initial flavor has some citrus and melon riding a bready malt wave. Hops and spiciness come by on the back end. Surprisingly for the low ABV, it really warmed the back of my throat and had a very light and creamy mouthfeel.
Very drinkable, but lighter than I had hoped. I think I liked the Calabaza a bit better.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2005 15:39:15 | More by Dithyramb

ne0m00re

Ohio

3.85/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

07/08/10- Had this one out of a 750 mL bottle of Blend 5, dated 05/14/10.
A: Amber with a big fluffy, white head.
S: Spicy yeasty bread with an apple tartness, brett rustic character, not-quite-peppery alcohol, nutmeg, banana, cherries, and pecans.
T: Tart, dry (like apple cores), spicy (grains of paradise, etc.), brett, metallic bitter finish from the hops, and grainy bread.
M: Slightly syrupy but with a nice frothy carbonation.
D: Very good.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2010 14:29:16 | More by ne0m00re

Urbancaver

Ohio

3.85/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance- Belgian colored with head up the wazoo

Smel-: not at all what I expected. I guess this is my first non sour jolly pumpkin.

Taste- a nice saison taste with Belgian flavors

Mouthfee-: a bit thin and bubbly

Drinkabilit-: fairly drinkable. Nothing special

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2010 03:04:40 | More by Urbancaver

Gosox8787

New Hampshire

3.85/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Presentation: Bomber bottle poured into my Smuttynose tulip. Served at room temperature.

Appearance: As soon as the popped the cap, this was gushing everywhere. Unfortunately I wasn't prepared so it caused quite a mess and I lost about a third of the beer. Cloudy dark orange in color with a one finger white head and near infinite retention.

Aroma: Unripe apple notes with some nice herbal qualities. Some nice barnyard notes come and go as well.

Taste: Herbal and earthy characters dominate and are complemented by the barnyard notes. Also, some floral hop flavors and bursts of tart lemon notes.

Mouthfeel: After the initial gushing this is actually rather flat. Medium bodied.

Drinkability: The ABV is certainly managable and I had no trouble with my 2/3rds of a bottle.

Overall, a nice Belgian pale ale that I enjoyed enough. The fact that it was a gusher ruined the mouthfeel a lot for me. Very tasty and complex though.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2010 00:24:10 | More by Gosox8787