La Roja - Grand Reserve - Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

BigDaddyWil

Michigan

3.03/5  rDev -28.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Purchased at the brewery, back in the Spring.
La Roja oaked aged for 18 months.
Poured into a New Belgium chalice.

Pours a caramel brown color with some ruby highlights. No carbonation and very still. A sliver of an off white head, with no retention. Strong boozy and oak dominate the smell. This is the strongest sour tasting beer I've had from Jolly Pumpkin so far. Its not overpowering but still very noticable. Vert tart with hints of oak and alcohol. No carbonation knocks down the mouthfeel a little bit, but still enjoyable. I still like the regular La Roja better, a little too boozy for me.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2006 18:50:15 | More by BigDaddyWil

ppoitras

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle obtained via trade with CRJMellor. Thanks for the opportunity...

Poured into a Rapscallion glass, formed a light small-bubbled and short-lived uneven film over the translucent but not clear burgundy brew. Lacing is minimal to nearly non-existant. However, all this stuff is to be somewhat expected from brew aged in oak for months as this one apparently was. Aroma is, yow, strong stuff. Dominant barrel and alcohol notes, leaving little room for anything else. Taste is much more balanced than the nose. Starts with tart fruitiness, vanilla and oak sashay on in, and then the alcohol takes over. Cannot believe this only 8%abv. There is just no way. Mouthfeel and drinkability are not bad for what it is, but wish it was just a bit more user-friendly all around. The burning alcohol I find in the aroma sort of infringes on everything else.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2006 01:33:52 | More by ppoitras

SheepNutz

Kentucky

4.13/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz. bottle poured into a tulip-style glass. It pours a hazy brown-orange color with very little head. There's almost no lacing as well. The smell hits you hard at first with lots of whisky aroma. Lots of wood and alcohol, with hints of vanilla as well. There are bits of cherry in there as well. The taste is a little woody up front, with more of those whisky flavors. Then the funky wild aromas start to come through. It's a little tart and sour, very nice. The finish has a bit of alcohol to it. The mouthfeel is decently thick and strong. The drinkability is a little lacking, due to lots of alcohol coming through. Still a decent brew, thanks Kev!

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2006 23:34:49 | More by SheepNutz

kmpitz2

Tennessee

3.98/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12 oz bottle. 8 oz sample. This brew pours a very dark tea brown color with just a fwe wisps of head over top. This is a pretty hazy beer, and is as still as they come. I imagine that at bottling, there were minimal sugars left for the beaties to chew up and gas out the carbon dioxide. Aroma is initially very sour, lightly acrid, and a touch acetone sweet. After sitting in the glass for a minute, the base beer really comes through, giving impressions of brown sugar soaked figs, with very solid oaky tannins lending to bring thoughts of whiskey when I smell it. The sweet acetone notes are still there, making me think of an oud brune. I like it. Flavor is interesting. It initially hits with a sour tinge before swallowing. After swallowing, the alcohol really dominates, melding in with the light tart brett character. After swallowing the beer, the flavor starts to develope. Light brown sugar sweetness and raisin, with a very nice Belgian spicey character. I would like to see less of the alcohol flavor, as it gets in the way and blocks out some of the more fine flavors that are behind it. Mouthfeel is fairly light with a flat carbonation, but it is what I was expecting. This one is pretty dry as well, but with the age and the beasties used to chop up even the most complex sugar, its no surprise. Burps on this one accentuate the flavor, tending more towards an oud brune than anything else. Even with the alcohol character, I think this one improved with the additional aging. It added a nice extra bit of acetone tart/sweet while toning down the base. This is a pretty nice sour brew.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2006 23:33:57 | More by kmpitz2

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Much thanks to hopdog for deciding to open this…
Appears a hazy brownish amber with a small off white head. Tons & tons of spotty lacing scattered about the glass.
Smell is of brett filled oak…f’in awesome with oak, vanilla, and whiskey.
Taste is of oaky, whiskey, vanilla in a complex brett dosed malty brew.
Mouthfeel is yeasty, sweet, fruity, oaky, and bourbonesque.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2006 23:05:20 | More by weeare138

plaztikjezuz

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

this beer was tasted at the michigan brewers guild winter beer fest.
from my notes i was served a deep copper sample with a good head.
the aroma was full of brett.
the flavor was a little sour , fruity, minerally, unidentified spice.
the mouthfeel was little watery.
they were pushing this as a 18 month oak aged la roja.

Serving type: cask

03-19-2006 04:07:24 | More by plaztikjezuz