6. Jolly Pumpkin – Bam Noire Dark Farmhouse Ale

Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire Dark Farmhouse AleA nice afternoon treat, I broke open a bottle of Bam Noire Dark Farmhouse Ale from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales of Dexter, Michigan.  It comes in a large bottle like a Belgian (1pt 9.5 fl oz to be exact) except it is sealed with a normal bottle cap. My bottle was labeled as coming from batch 490 of 491.

It has a picture of the proprietors’ Jack Russell on the front, and it says, “One of Bam’s brown eyes is, in fact, black.  When mischief reigns supreme, it positively glows. Dedicated to the dark side; smooth, dark, incredibly delicious as only a Jack Russell with bat wings can be. Please enjoy our beers in good health. Cheers and Mahalo plenty!”

As you can tell, it pours a large beige, creamy head and its color is dark, dark brown.  You can instantly smell that this beer is a farmhouse ale as it has a very distinct musky, damp farmhouse aroma.

The taste, at first, reminds me a bit of a dark saison with a sort of peppery sharpness, which the carbonation definitely contributes to.  I’ve heard tastes to this style described using the terms “wet leather” and “horse blanket” and I can really see what people are referring to when they say that.  I enjoyed its uniqueness, but I can really see some of my friends, even some of those who consider themselves beer lovers, not enjoying this.  If you don’t appreciate sour beers, you’re really not going to like this.  However, of the sour beers I’ve tried, this had a more muted sour flavor.  This could be a good one if you love sour beers and want to introduce them to those who have never tried them.

As far as a food pairing, all I could think about while sipping it was slow roasted meat, especially pulled pork.

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Reader Ratings[five-star-rating]

Your rating:

Author: kkozlen

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *