La Roja is among the five regular lineup beers that Jolly Pumpkin makes. It is classified as a Wild Ale meaning that at least a portion of the fermentation process has been through spontaneous fermentation, in this case oak barrel aging. The beer picks up all the little yeast critters from the oak, hence the term - wild. Jolly Pumpkin, located in Dexter, is one of the few and possibly the only brewery and blendery that oak ages 100 percent of their beers.
The beer pours a rusty, brownish and very firm and clear like most JP beers. One finger head with some soapy lacing that dissipates pretty quickly. The nose is filled with biscuity malts come at you with lemon peel acidity, puckering tartness with some white peppercorn, winey and spritzy along the lines of grape skin. Suggestions of boot leather, shoe polish and oak.
The taste is tad a thin up front followed by grape skin, lemon peel, very tart raspberries (especially as the beer warms), granny smith apple, all rounded out on the palate with that great biscuit and breadiness, like rye bread or brown bread. The finish is fleeting but there is some tannin-like qualities that stick around. This is probably the most acidic JP beer in their regular lineup.
Roja doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves as one of the better, year-round and very available sour beers in the U.S. It's the closest thing I have to a traditional Belgian unblended lambic I have had from the states. This is something I try to have in my house at all times, it's great with dinner or breakfast.
No comments:
Post a Comment