Weizen Bam Farmhouse Wheat Beer
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales – Dexter, MI
4.5% ABV
750ml bottles
Batch 563, bottled 6-9-10

The Bam series of beers from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales is, their specialty beers series. Jolly Pumpkin focuses on open air fermentation, oak barrel aging, and bottle conditioning. They are “dedicated to elevating the craft of brewing into an art!” And I for one am thankful. This is what sets craft breweries apart from those other guys and that’s why we love them.

This beer pours a rich cloudy golden color with a nice thick head that you would expect from a wheat beer, and with yeast floaties in it. The aroma, on the other hand is not what I was expecting. I purposely try not to read the label’s description until after I taste it. It had hints of banana with a unexpected tartness of green apple. This intrigued me, and with good reason. IT’S A SOUR! I love sour beers, and, I’m the only one here that does, so that worked out well. The flavor is true to the aroma with tartness, hints of banana and green apple and not too dry. The balance of sweet and sour, with almost no hint of hops. The mouthfeel was a little more carbonated than I expected, but I’m alright with that, as it made it crisp and refreshing. I would really like this during a nice warm sunny day, and will have to revisit this when the summer shows up finally.

This beer is very drinkable as the low alcohol and high flavor means you can tackle the whole bottle yourself, and not be finished yourself. I can’t wait to try more from Jolly Pumpkin.

Brittain’s score 4.5 of 5