Bam Bière - Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

Jettanbass9

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Batch 273,274

Bottle conditioned, 1 pt., 9.4 fl. OZ.

A - straw yellow with some gold highlights, pillowy soft head retention, vibrant co2 release. this beer looks refreshing.

S - This bottle has some age on it... im kicking myself for not drinking this one sooner. Brett takes the forefront with citrusy lemon peel, some tropical fruits but that big unmistakable medicinal/barnyard funkiness... nearly Orval-like. Some grainy notes, some light notes of fresh cut grass. The brett wins the aroma battle, hop character has dimished quite a bit.

T - The brett character is much more tame in the flavor then it is in the aroma. There is a bit more hop character (bitterness and flavor) as well. Think of lemon and orange rind. Lemon acidity, medicinal flavors with a background of grainy/doughy maltiness blend in with the brett/hop character. The flavor is fairly balanced but i think would do much more justice a bit more fresh.

M - Bright carbonation and bone dry... no astringency, no sweetness... it makes this beer so damn refreshing.

D - All day. If this beer was a bit more inexpensive, I would have this around all the time. Very refreshing, I imagine even more so during the summer months. Will try again a bit more fresh.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2009 23:20:37 | More by Jettanbass9

tehmogue

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +2.3%

06-15-2013 11:28:05 | More by tehmogue

mactrail

California

2.75/5  rDev -29.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I can see swivelling up to a tankard of this in some stone pub at the end of a rocky trail through a poor, dusty country. Really, it should be served in big plastic soda jugs out of a fly-blown booth at an Africa truck-drivers' crossroads for a few cents.

Pale hazy golden in the glass with a really nice cap of white foam. Not much lacing. Lightly fizzy without any real body. Mouthfeel consists of some tart sensation and that hint of fizz. There is just a hint of yeasty bitterness

"Subtle" is perhaps too strong of a word for the flavor, which is not much. It's more like a science experiment. There is a slight acidic whiff if you try to smell it. This is just such a shadow of a beer, that if MillerCoors came out with it as a new Blue Moon flavor, the Lite drinkers would complain. On tap at the Public House in La Jolla.

Serving type: on-tap

06-15-2013 06:07:21 | More by mactrail

flayedandskinned

California

3.6/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Bottled on 3/22/2013
Poured into a standard tulip.

Appearance: (4)
Pours a hazy straw yellow with a huge 3.5 finger tall, billowy white head. The lasts a while, and leaves some splotchy lacing behind as it settles to about a finger's height.

Aroma: (3.75) Bright, fresh Brettanomyces character upfront; wet hay, tangy pineapple, musty earth and light leather. The Brett is accented by some traditional saison yeast spiciness; mostly white pepper, clove and some freshly sliced pears. There is a spicy orange hop character as well that is somehow woven effortlessly between the brett and saison yeast aromatics. A soft, lightly sweet malt backbone rounds off this spicy smelling ale.

Taste: (3.5)
Spicy yeast esters right out of the gate; more of the that white pepper and clove that is accompanied by a simple barnyard funkiness; There is a light, grassy and somewhat citric hoppiness before you're greet with some simple, bread-y pale malt. Finishes light, slightly bitter and dry with more lingering barnyard funk from the Brett.

Mouthfeel: (3.75)
Light bodied with a spritzy carbonation. Honestly feels a tad thin for the style.

Overall: (3.50)
A pretty much a 2 note beer(brett and yeasty spiciness) with a light, almost watery body. I was really expecting the high level complexity that comes with most of Jolly Pumpkin's offerings, but I have to I am pretty disappointed by this beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 05:22:15 | More by flayedandskinned

doremite

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +2.3%

06-13-2013 21:27:27 | More by doremite

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

06-12-2013 06:27:03 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT

Kerrie

Michigan

3/5  rDev -23.3%

06-12-2013 00:45:52 | More by Kerrie

tectactoe

Michigan

4.2/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

One of Jolly Pumpkin's flagship brews, I can't believe it has taken me thing long to come around and finally review it. Bottled in October of 2010, it pours a beautiful golden-amber color with a light haze and translucency to it. Incredibly volatile, even being almost three years old; a huge, cloudy, off-white head forms and leaves some chunky lacing at the top of the glass.

The aroma stuns me with a nice funky-tartness up front that only seems to get funkier as time goes on; hay, wet cork, mild barnyard must, and plenty of yeast. It's got a light floral hop kiss, but it's quite subdued in this one, most likely due to its age. Tart fruits are abundant and mesh nicely with the funk - solid bouts of apples, grapes, and light amount of lemon and orange zest. Not acidic or vinous, really, but very refreshing smelling; laid-back and chill as can be.

The first sip lends to a mild tartness made of crisp, juicy apples. Malt is more apparent in the taste than the aroma, with plenty of light cracker and biscuit flavors that lay a solid foundation for the rest of the beer. Once the tart fruits sidestep a bit, the funk becomes heavy-handed; damp, wet wood, and musty cellar flavors. Bam Biere has a very solid flavor profile that's proving to be even more complex than I originally thought.

Jolly Pumpkin beers, aside from the Grand Reserves, typically contain a very nice, harmonious balance to them, and Bam Biere is no exception to that rule. It contains plenty of the signature "Jolly Pumpkin yeasty funk" while offsetting admirably with a collage of mildly tart fruits. No acidic or vinegar burn, meaning no acid reflux the next morning. Probably one of the lightest barrel influences of the JP beers I've had, though the finish is incredibly dry and contains a bit of oak; high carbonation with a light, crisp, effervescent mouth feel.

Certainly one of JP's best year-round brews, it integrates a few different styles by taking a funky farmhouse saison and souring it just a bit - not quite a saison, not quite a Flanders oud bruin. JP often blurs the style guidelines, and that's what I love about them. Possibly the best thing about this beer is the 4.5% ABV tag, too - so drinkable and quenching, and you won't be paying for it later. Definitely a solid brew.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2013 03:52:46 | More by tectactoe

jarrgal

North Dakota

4/5  rDev +2.3%

06-10-2013 03:06:55 | More by jarrgal

SpongeRuiner

Michigan

4/5  rDev +2.3%

06-09-2013 22:56:29 | More by SpongeRuiner

SheLaLa

Massachusetts

5/5  rDev +27.9%

06-04-2013 16:47:19 | More by SheLaLa

fsck

Washington

4/5  rDev +2.3%

06-03-2013 08:04:39 | More by fsck

speedvagen

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -10.5%

06-01-2013 11:26:29 | More by speedvagen

ADTaber

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

05-29-2013 00:20:01 | More by ADTaber

mpayne5

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

05-27-2013 22:56:51 | More by mpayne5

meltroha

Ohio

4/5  rDev +2.3%

05-25-2013 03:25:50 | More by meltroha

c64person

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%

05-24-2013 01:18:24 | More by c64person

stealth

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +2.3%

05-21-2013 05:14:04 | More by stealth

NJB145

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%

05-19-2013 01:22:49 | More by NJB145

Photekut

Azerbaijan

4/5  rDev +2.3%

05-19-2013 00:57:30 | More by Photekut

hotsudge

Ontario (Canada)

2.75/5  rDev -29.7%

05-18-2013 03:09:06 | More by hotsudge

JayAre46

Texas

4/5  rDev +2.3%

05-17-2013 07:40:38 | More by JayAre46

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2.3%

05-16-2013 22:50:17 | More by Slatetank

stewarbd

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -10.5%

05-14-2013 00:43:42 | More by stewarbd

vrbulldog22

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

05-13-2013 18:52:52 | More by vrbulldog22