Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

Microbrewery in Dexter, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Owned by Northern United Brewing Co.
Associated with 6 Venues

Established in 2004

Contact
2319 Bishop Cir E, Dexter, MI, 48130, United States
Description
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales was the first all wild, oak-aged brewery in the United States. We use old-world brewing methods to create traditional rustic country style beers.

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8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Reviewed from notes.
Bottle to tulip.
Appearance: black in the glass with a quarter finger of khaki foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: dark chocolate with roasted malts, light smoke and some dark fruits; sour to acidic character; some woodiness, some coffee; light vinegar-ish tones
Flavor: sour to light tart-like notes with the woody and vinegar tones following in nicely; light sweetness from the dark fruits; finishes with some coffee, dark fruits, dark chocolate and sweet wood
Texture: medium to full bodied, good sipper; light smoothness with sturdy acidic to tart to sour abrasiveness to the tongue, good dryness
Overall: I liked it for me but this isn't a beer for the faint of heart and make sure you have some water after this one, this beer doesn't play nicely with you.
Tried from Bottle on 26 Feb 2026 at 15:26

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Reviewed from notes.
Bottle to tulip.
Appearance: ruddy dark red color with a quarter of a finger's worth of white foamy head which settled down nicely to leave some light concave lace
Aroma: sweet oak, light notes of tart oak with clean caramel malts, cocoa powder, dark fruits, green apples and mixed berries
Flavor: blends all those previously noted aromas to a fine sour to tart to sweeet quality; finishes with the mixed berries, oak and cocoa powder
Texture: medium bodied, good sipper; light smooth notes and some decent attempts from the tart to enact some acidic dryness clamping down on the tongue
Overall: I get it, it's a nice Flanders red ale I wouldn't mind having again!
Tried from Bottle on 26 Feb 2026 at 15:18

8.3/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8.5 Flavor 8.5 Texture 8 Overall 8
Reviewed from notes.
Bottle to tulip.
Appearance: glossy burnt orange to slightly red with a finger's worth of white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: allspice, cinnamon, cacao nibs with cherries, subtle lemon and oaky funk and then ever so slightly some light pumpkin flesh
Flavor: combines the prior noted aromas to a fine funky sweet to sour and lightly spiced quality and the pumpkin flesh seems to stay right where it is (fairly quaint); finishes with the cinnamon, light cherries, funky oak and a light touch of the pumpkin
Texture: light to medium bodied, this is a sipper; light smoothness along the tongue and light spices do make a decent play against the tongue but that seems to even out with the sour/tart aspects trying to also grind at the tongue
Overall: so much going on with this beer, I'm not exactly sure if I got it all, we'll just call that a summary and hopefully I can get another stab at this some day to see how it changed or maybe if my palate picks up something else, oh and one more thing - this is not your normal "pumpkin ale" folks, I wonder if I should put that part in caps, nah.
Tried from Bottle on 26 Feb 2026 at 15:10

6.6/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 7 Flavor 6.5 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Pour is a cloudy yellow with a large white head. Aroma is musty white wine. Flavor is more of a tart peach with some coriander floating in the background. It is a bit thin and it gets more tart as it warms. Worth a try of you are into sours but one was just enough for me.
Tried from Can on 23 Jan 2026 at 22:06

7.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 7.5 Texture 7 Overall 8
Tried from Can from Horrocks Farm Market on 16 Jan 2026 at 23:17

6.6/10 Appearance 5 Aroma 4.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 7 Overall 8.5
Pour looks like lemonade with a foamy quite white head. Nose is somewhat medicinal with a metallic tart olfactory. First taste is very tart up front then some bitter plastic saison thing starts to happen. Covers the alky content well. Some peppery aspects in the middle. Interesting off citrus notes. Sourness really makes it engrossing. Yes near the end of the session I find it gripping, compelling and compulsive. The finish comes too soon and this brew becomes captivating, engaging, enthralling & entrancing. Lots of milkshake crappy yeast dregs on the bottom of the can. This stuff evolved from mediocre tart to something darn good!
Tried from Can from Vintage Estate Wine and Beer on 21 Dec 2025 at 20:34

8.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 9 Texture 9 Overall 9
3$ can from vintage. This stuff pours like root beer. Interesting fine bubble tan head fades quickly to pond scum. Nose is mouth watering tart, like an fine open vat wild brew. Oh my, the first taste is so satisfying, much better than expected. Such a fine lovely beauty, great texture and an almost puckering flavor. No nonsense here, just good old fun wild beer flavor. Approaches some of the finer gueze lambics I've done and its much less expensive. Now I'm looking at the label; over 7% ? NO WAY! Hides the alky very well. I'm liking this, should have got a sixpack! Near the end, I'm getting just a tad bitterness, that may be coming from the oak, not sure but overall this was a treat fer sure! Great job there JP! Right up there with the better flemish and unflavored lambics baby! Yummy beer rating session!
Tried from Can from Vintage Estate Wine and Beer on 06 Dec 2025 at 19:24

6.8/10 Appearance 4 Aroma 6 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8
Pour into my bergenbier glass is Slight has on pale. Nice foamy white head. Nose is somewhat like other farmouse brews I've sampled; mildly farmy with maybe a tad of grapefruit. First taste is better than other farmhouse saisons, its quite tart with hints of grapefruit. I must say, I've had good experiences when it comes to tart saisons from Jolly, and this is no exception. Quite enjoyable with good tartness, very little rude bitterness and a level of carbonation that makes this quite refreshing. You'd never know this was above 5%! About the same like ability as Jolly Bam & I O, Whiner Bleu Tub and Goose Island Halia.

3$ can from vintage.
Tried from Can from Vintage Estate Wine and Beer on 04 Dec 2025 at 20:30

7.9/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 8.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 8 Overall 8
Picked up at this awesome bottle shop in Houston, hopefully the search will auto fill. Born on: 1/10/24. Had the reserve before but never the OG.

Pint glass at home after a few months sleeping in the fridge.
Somewhat opaque, maybe just a little protein haze. Pours like iced yea, lingering foam. Definitely hazy on the second pour.
Nose is all oak, macerated cherries, apricots, lemon, sticky dried up malt.
Tart soaked cherries & really astringent wood pith. Black tea tannins, a little lemon, bourbon, strangely savory dark malt, just a twinge of pleasant oxidation.
Sizzling, nicely tart but otherwise dry, lingering dry mouth.

Tasty.
Tried from Bottle from D&Q - The Beer Station on 15 Jul 2025 at 01:04

6.9/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 6 Flavor 6.5 Texture 7 Overall 8
12 oz. can, while camping. Pours a clear, straw color, with a big, foamy, white head. The nose is lemongrass, grains of paradise, light pine, and rosemary oils. Sweet and phenoic, with a faint, earthy bitterness. Lightly funky and sour. Pretty nice.
Tried from Can from J&K Liquor on 27 Jun 2025 at 21:53