MI Beer Spotlight: Jolly Pumpkin’s Oro de Calabaza

August 20, 2008

Okay I must confess…Oro de Calabaza is not my favorite Jolly Pumpkin beer. But I drank all my Bam Noire while working on the baby’s room so that review will have to wait for another day. I know that Bam Noire is released in September but I love drinking it in the summer. It is perfect for the dog days of summer and is only 4.3% ABV so I can still function after drinking a few. But how ridiculous of me to talk of other beers when I have an Oro de Calabaza right here in front of me. You should always treat the beer in your glass like there is no other beer in the room. In honor of Cindy I will spotlight Oro de Calabaza.

Beer: Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza

Brewery: Jolly Pumpkin in Dexter, MI

Style: Biere De Garde

Beer Advocate Rating: A-

ABV: 8%

Serving Temperature: 45 to 50 degrees F.

Food pairing: I think would be awesome with whitefish and salmon or salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Really any vinaigrette dressing would complement this well. For dessert I would pair it with a tart Michigan cherry pie. Or how about a whole Michigan dinner theme?! Lake Superior white fish encrusted with bread crumbs and parmesan with a tart cherry sauce drizzled on top of it. I just got hungry. (Feel free to throw in your own suggestions. Pairing food and beer is somewhat subjective and I would love to hear what you think.)

Appearance: The body is golden and cloudy. The head pours over the glass with tight small (similar to champagne) bubbles. The head soon goes down but enough lingers so that when you swirl the glass lace forms around the edge.

Aroma: I put a Breath-Right strip on for this part of my tasting experience. Now, I’m going to explain the aroma and a lot of people who don’t drink craft beer are going to say “Yuck.” In no way does this smell like yuck. The first smell that hits you is the sourness. Not a sourness like sour candy or something sugary but a funky sour. Funky in a good way. After taking in a deep breath I am sensing some pepper.

Taste and Mouth-feel: I just took a sip and man that is good! To me there is nothing as tasty as a sour beer done right.  This is a great example of one of those beers. The carbonation wakes up the taste-buds and sits clean in your mouth. The sourn and spicy taste stays on your tongue for a spell, perfect for a sipping beer. That sourness is described by some as horse blanket and for lack of a better term that is about right. Trust me that is a good thing. Once you let this sit in your mouth and enjoy the sour, spicy and black pepper I am sure you would agree. A real light hop flavor to it.

Overall Impression: I haven’t had an Oro in a probably a year. Nothing against this beer I just love other beer from Jolly Pumpkin more. This taste reminded me of what a great beer this is. A beer you can enjoy at anytime. I just wish I had another right now.

Posted in Beer and Food