Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales is a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

Dexter, Michigan Dexter is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,067 at the 2010 census. Dexter Township is located to the northwest and does not border the city, and the two are administered autonomously. The townshi ...

founded by Ron and Laurie Jeffries in 2004. Jolly Pumpkin produces unfiltered and

unpasteurized Pasteurization or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than , to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. Th ...

beers.

Production

Jolly Pumpkin beers are aged in oak, including

wine barrels Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ma ...

, former bourbon barrels, and large foudres. The wood contains naturally occurring

microbiological culture A microbiological culture, or microbial culture, is a method of multiplying microbial organisms by letting them reproduce in predetermined culture medium under controlled laboratory conditions. Microbial cultures are foundational and basic diagn ...

s including

brettanomyces ''Brettanomyces'' is a non-spore forming genus of yeast in the family Saccharomycetaceae, and is often colloquially referred to as "Brett". The genus name ''Dekkera'' is used interchangeably with ''Brettanomyces'', as it describes the teleomorph ...

. These cultures impart a flavor profile in the beers described as leathery, earthy, wild, and funky, and may approximate how some beer tasted before the advent of pasteurization and

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

. This style of beer has been described as

farmhouse ale Farmhouse ale is an ancient European tradition where farmers brewed beer for consumption on the farm from their own grain. Most farmers would brew for Christmas and/or the late summer work, but in areas where they had enough grain farmers would u ...

or American wild ale. These beers age between 3–18.

Reception

Their Oro de Calabaza won the 2004 Gold and the 2005 Bronze Medal in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

- and French-style ale category at the

Great American Beer Festival The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual beer festival hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado. Typically held in late September or early October, the event is currently held at Denver's Colorado Convention Center. ...

. Their Bam Bière won the Bronze Medal in the 2009 Great American Beer Festival and was named the 21st best beer in America by ''

Men's Journal ''Men's Journal'' is an American monthly men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and gear. It was founded in 1992 by Jann Wenne ...

''.

Products

Year-round beers

Year-round beers include: *Oro de Calabaza ("Pumpkin gold") (8%

abv Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

), described as a Franco-Belgian-style strong

golden ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Di ...

. *La Roja (7.2% abv), a

Flanders red ale Flanders red ale or Flemish red-brown, is a style of sour ale brewed in West Flanders, Belgium. Flanders red ale is fermented with organisms other than ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'', especially ''Lactobacillus'', which produces a sour character ...

. *Bam Bière (4.5% abv), described as a light farmhouse ale or

saison Saison ( French, "season," ) is a pale ale that is highly carbonated, fruity, spicy, and often bottle conditioned. It was historically brewed with low alcohol levels, but modern productions of the style have moderate to high levels of alcohol. ...

Special releases

Their occasionally available Grand Reserve beers include: *La Roja Krieked: A version of this beer aged with cherries was offered at the 2008 Michigan Brewers Guild Festival. *Madrugada Obscura Grand Reserve: This was barrel-aged for 18 months. It was offered only on draft at the First Annual

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

Sour Fest in July 2007 and was a special tap at the 2008 Michigan Brewers Guild Festival. *Perseguidor ("Pursuer"): A limited-release, custom-blended ale which is oak-aged an additional six months before release. There have been five releases. **Batch 1 (7.2% abv): A blend of Bam Biere and La Roja This batch was offered at the 2006 Michigan Brewers Guild Festival and released during the fall of 2006. **Batch 2 (8% abv): Also known as "Oro de Calabaza Reserve," this batch was a blend of Oro de Calabaza and Bam Biere. This batch was only offered on draft at the First Annual

Sour Fest in July 2007. **Batch 3 (abv unknown): This was offered at the 2008 Michigan Brewers Guild Festival and released in 750mL Bottles in early August 2008. **Batch 4: released January 2009. A blend of 3-year-old La Roja, 3-year-old Madrugada Obscura and 1-year-old Noel de Calabaza. Conditioned for 6 months in 12-ounce bottles. **Batch 5: released January 17, 2010. A blend of La Roja Grand Reserve, Luciernaga Grand Reserve, and Bam Biere Grand Reserve. Blend was aged on oak for 6 months and then bottle-conditioned for 6 months. 480 bottles were produced.

Production

Reception

Products

Year-round beers

Special releases

See also