Jolly Pumpkin Bière de Mars Grand Reserve

Original batch aged 14 months in bourbon.
Recent batch (65) aged 27 months.

247 reviews

Dexter, United States

Community reviews

4.3 This was courtesy of Darren proprietor of The Local Beer Bar in Eureka, my favorite watering hole. Pours a dark amber with a very small off-white head. The nose is funky and sour. Seems like there is some wood. . Medium body with smooth mouthfeel. Flavor is quite sour and shows wood for sure. Lots of sour fruit. Finish is sour and very tasty. Really delicious sour ale.

4.0 Bottle 4/24/10 316/318 (Courtesy of FlandersNed at DLD)-Pours amber. Aroma of yeast. Taste of the same. This full Bodied brew was nice but missing the bourbon.

3.6 2011 bottled provided by Matt. Sampled side by side with a 2012 Biere de Mars. Pours a murky brown in color with a soapy ring around the glass. Nose is full of oak, vinegar, some cherry, and sweet malt. The flavor is slightly more sour than the regular biere de mars as well as more astringent. There is light malt vinegar character to it as well. Mouthfeel is light and moderately acidic, low to moderate carbonation, and a short finish. I think I almost prefer the regular biere de mars to this. It has more balance and is a little less harsh on the palate.

3.9 Bottle 750ml. Pours somewhat murky brown/reddish with very low white head. Low lacing. Aroma is of dark fruits, sourness, malt, intense fruits, sligth phenol. Taste is of sourness, fruits, JP signature. Palate: Ligth body. Overall: Pretty good, refreshing.

3.8 Bottle (750 ml). Shared by Julien, Pier-Luc and Benoît, thanks! Amber brown with almost no head. Aroma is clearly Jolly Pumpkin with lots of red bruits, acetic notes and can be compared to a good flemish red. Bourbon is barely noticeable. Taste is about the same as aroma. Moderate sourness. Mouthfeel is dry and acetic. Almost no carbonation. Interesting Sour in the Jolly Pumpkin mold. It was have been more intriguing with the bourbon being a little more present.

3.9 Bottle. Pours a clear deep amber with a purple hue and a grayish head that starts at the edges and dissipates completely. Aroma has a nice sour red fruit note with a bit of vinegar and a strong oaky backbone. Flavor begins with acid and vinegar but mellows out to more of a sour red fruit and a oak backbone.

3.6 Bottle. Pours reddish amber brown. Nose/taste of cherry vinegar, tart red berries, oak, vanilla, brown sugar and tannins. I don’t get any of the bourbon from the barrel treatment. Aggressive acidity up front. Settles down after a few sips. Medium body.

4.5 330ml bottle thanks to Auoracrisis. First off, this beer was fantastic, just wonderful but I am already biased towards the regular biere de mars which we rarely see in Colorado. Dark red with a healthy head at first that died quick. It smelled a lot like the regular version, sour flanders style beer. The taste however had a very pronounced and beautiful oak flavor to it that complemented the beer very well. Sour but full and not so much the lemon flavor I have detected in Biere De Mars. I was actually astonished by how much better it was with the extended oak aging. Fantastic beer. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 06-19-2011 19:28:16

4.1 Shared with Mike and Matt. Served side by side with Biere de Mars. The beer appears a slightly darker brown than the Biere de Mars, with a bit less head and lace. The aroma is funky, with a strong lactic, acetic presence. It smells similar to Russian River Consecration, which is definitely a good thing. Oak, slight vinegar, tart, Brettanomyces, acetic. Definitely worth a try if you are a fan of funky, sour beers. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 08-13-2011

3.0 Pours with no head. I’m missing the bourbon here. I get the acidity but pretty one-dimensional. Easy-drinking but missing something.

3.8 Bottle at home. Pours hazy reddish amber with a small creamy beige head. The aroma is balsamicco, vinegar, fruit, wood and light bourbon. The flavour is at first very acidic and sour but then comes fruit, wood and light pepper. Very nice!

3.8 Bottle 12 oz. Pours ruby mahogany with a creamy beige head leaving lacing. Aroma is buttery creamy sweet sour acidy oaky dill a bit vinous and damp cellar. Flavor is a bit thin, acidy sour sweet fruity in front, oaky vinous astringent bitter cellar from middle ending more astringent dryish bitter. Finishes dry oaky bitterish with a touch of fruits.

3.8 330ml bottle shared by JulienHuxley. Recent batch (65). Appearance : Clear amber with tiny head. Aroma : Great sourness, brown sugar, lots of oak. Slightly vinegary. Taste : Oaky and tannic. Sour and acidic. Brown sugar with some fruits. Some dark cherries. Overall : Really complex and hard to describe. Fairly light on the sourness for a JP but it’s a good thing for me. Really interesting and well done. Fairly well balanced.

3.5 Small bottle. Dark brown/mahogany pour, no head. Aroma is lightly sour some flanders red notes a bit of cherry, some vinegar. Taste is sour but not extremely so, some brown sugar, a tad cherry, very woody. Palate is a bit flat, med body. I remember this being better, I’ll give it a rerate.

4.2 Bottle. Hazy murky, reddish brown. Aroma of sour berries with some vinegar in the background. Taste of vinegar, berries, quite sour. Medium bodied, long pleasant aftertaste. Really enjoyed this one.

4.2 From notes. Batch 472/473 3-22-2011 8/4/9/4/17 My pour is a murky brown color; the pour is a little darker, fuller, and less transparent than the regular beer. A small off-white ring forms around the edge of the glass. The aroma has a bit more vinegar burn than the regular Biere de Mars. Lemon, The flavor is much more sour than the regular Biere de Mars. The lactic sour notes are still presence, but there is a bit more vinegar sourness. Lots of lemon steps in the front and really takes the place of the dried dark fruits. A fit of faded caramel malt is noticeable in the background, but the full, robust sour flavor has really taken over in a delicious way. Being more sour than the regular Biere de Mars, it is no surprise that it is more puckering on the palate. It starts out smooth and a bit sweet, with a lemony sourness that grows, peaks, and levels off at the end, finishing cleanly. The body and carbonation are both on the light side of medium. Biere de Mars is a great beer, and the Grand Reserve improves it nicely.

4.4 Good amount of cranberry, vanilla and oak in the aroma. Flavor has much of the same and finishes sharp and dry. Hoping to have more of this.

3.9 [4169-20111203] Tap. Grainy saison yeast aroma. Hazy, dark amber brown body with a medium-lasting creamy off-white head. Yeasty orange fruit flavour has a quick but interesting sour yeasty finish. Medium body has a funny sour note. Tasty. (8/4-/8-/3/16) 3.9 (w/ jerc, rudolf)

4.1 Batch 346/348, Bottled 2-19-10 Tasted on 2/11/12 from a 330mL bottle obtained in a trade. Pours hazy dark auburn with a thin, bubbly off-white head that leaves thin, bubbly lace. The nose is sour fruits with the Jolly Pumpkin funk that I love, along with some oaky vanilla and coconut notes. The flavor is pretty much the same with the sour fruits, funk, oak, and an added bread malt. The body is medium with just lighter than average carbonation, and a long sour, funky, and oak influenced finish, with some nice tannin.

4.1 Bottle, courtesy of bushmat1. Batch 472/473. Thanks so much, Matt! Oaky, dark cherry, dark raspberry, fairly tart aroma. Tangy, moderately tart raspberry/cherry/plum, moderately sour, rich fruity flavor that’s very smooth. Tart, black cherry aftertaste. Great beer! Thanks again, Matt!

4.1 Batch 472/473, 2011 bottle huge, huge thanks to Matt for cracking this one. Gushed a tiny bit, but nice dark reddish pour with white head, aroma has notes of vinegar, acetic notes, hints of oak, red grape, tannic oak, really nice smelling. Taste is nice sour cherry, dark fruit, hints of oak and vinegar notes, touch of tart fruit and lemon, finishing really dry and oaky. Delicious!

3.8 2011-12-03. Hazy red tinged dark brown body, tiny beige head. 3+ Modestly oaky aroma, sour fruit, hints of lemon and cherry. Complexity of the oak grows as you go. 7+ Flavour is similar, steady oak presence, lemon sourness, pithy lemon, lemon and grapefruit seeds, modest sourness lingers pleasantly. 7+ Smooth average plus palate suits the beer, soft carbonation. 3+ Pretty nice, refreshingly sour. Bottle via trade with FlandersNed

3.6 Bottle, huge thanks to Jer & Karen. Hazy ruby mahogany body, thin white head. Nose is lemon & oak, a bit boozy, sweet malt. flavor follows, lemon & wood, nice acid but a strange booziness I’m not a huge fan of. Nice, but a bit harsh.

3.7 Bottle: Poured a dirty cloudy beige color ale with s mall bubbly head with limited retention and not much lacing. Aroma consists of sour and tart notes with light oak notes. Taste is quiet sour with some light oak and light funky yeast notes with a mild acidity level. Body is quite full with low carbonation. I tasted more funk then bourbon to be honest but very enjoyable beer from one of my favourite brewery.

4.0 Bottle courtesy of Sean shared at 3F. Reddish/brown pour with an off white head. Sour woody aromas. The taste is really interesting with cabernet, sour stone fruit, funk, and woody notes. Good stuff....

3.8 Original batch, Hazy dark golden color with a medium sized, white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of wild yeast, wood, leather, toasted malts, and light fruits. Taste of yeast, bacteria, wood, vanilla, citrus, and a tart finish.

4.3 (11.2oz bottle courtesy of ray101! Batch 472/473. Bottled 3.22.2011). Pours a cloudy dark amber/mahogany color with thin off-white head. Aroma has some wonderful pit fruit, wood, vanilla and a touch of caramel. Taste is sour-acetic with lots of tart fruit. Awesome! Thin bodied with a dry, woody finish. JP really nailed it with this one. Love it!

3.6 (Bottle) Pours dark reddish brown with a small head. The aroma holds woodsy citrus, spices, light funky/horse blanket, lots of woodsy bourbon/oak, mould, medicine and tiny hints of old hops. Nice, but not super complex nose. The flavour is dry and near heavily acidic with almost no bitterness. Citrus, light funkiness, light medicine and crackers. The mouthfeel is tart with light carbonation. Lingering, aggressive citric and medicine-like finish. Light to medium bodied.

4.3 Nom nom nom. Dark fruit acidity with an ultra vinous nose, with mounds of pleasant acetic acid, and cherries. Not overly complex, but gets away with it quite well. Low carbonation and a medium body lead to a hyper dry finish.

4.2 Small squat bottle. Pours a dark walnut color with minimal head. Nose is wonderful; great funky cherry sour presence, the flavor bringing excellent vinous notes, a touch of vanilla and wood, and great dry funk. Lovely.