Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza

I was unaware that JP started distributing to RI, but a recent stop at one of my local bottle shops gave me a pleasant surprise. I didn’t realize how pleasant until I cracked into this beer. When I poured my first glass I was just smacked upside the head with an incredible, Orval-like Brett aroma. There’s just a touch of lactic twang, a bit of spice, some grainy malt and just enough hop bite and flavor.

It’s a very well-balanced and complex Saison-ish base beer that just got whacked upside the head with a Brett baseball bat. It’s no wonder why I’ve heard so much hype about JP’s beers. This is just stupid good.

Agreed, they make some wonderful stuff. You need to check out some of their other offerings: La Roja, Fuego del Otono, and Maracaibo Especial to name a few. I wish I could get some of the west coast sour beers like Cascade, Russian River, and The Lost Abbey.

Cascade ships to almost all states.

I’m pretty sure Cascade stopped shipping last month due to laws concerning transport of alcohol across state lines.

They do say that on their website.  I think I saw they distribute to Massachusetts…a road trip may be in order.

Thanks for this post and your tasting notes Eric. I had Oro de Calabaza once about 5 or so years ago, not having any idea what I was gettting, or that sour beers even existed. I immediately hated it, but now I do enjoy some sour beers. I will have to give this a try again sometime soon.

This certainly wasn’t tart like a full-on sour. I’ve brewed Saisons with WY3711 and no souring bugs that were pretty close to the Oro in acidity level. The Brett is the big player here. If you like Orval you should enjoy this beer quite a bit.