I’ve found that I’m a fickle lover. I never keep my attention on the same thing for too long. This can be said about many areas of my life: books, tv shows,  wine, liquor, hobbies,  and especially beer. However, I think my latest affair is going to hold my attention for a while. Yes my friends, I’ve fallen for a pumpkin. A Jolly Pumpkin to be precise. We could be lovers…

Jolly Pumpkin was founded in MI by Ron Jefferies in ’04. Their main brewery is located in Dexter, but they have 2 other locations as well. A restaurant/brewery in Traverse City and a cafe/brewery in Ann Arbor. Ron started brewing in ’91 but didn’t take it to the next level until 13 years later. I don’t know what all happened during those 13 years, but the outcome is fantastic. There are a few things that makes this brewery stand out. For one, they use open fermentation on all of their beers. They also age their beers in old wine barrels. Both of these brewing techniques add to the unique and complex flavors that Jolly Pumpkin has been able to bring out in their beers. What does this mean? It means their beers are fantastic!

My love could be because I’ve been on a sour kick as of late, but I don’t think so. Not that their beers are considered sours, but the open fermentation method is the same method used for brewing sours. Many of my beer friends are loving this brewery as well. I’ve only had a handful of their beers since they don’t distribute to good ‘ole Indiana, but I’m planning on taking a trip up to the brewery in the next month or so. I should have some more fun stuff to talk about after that. Until then, if you happen to see a Jolly Pumpkin beer I highly recommend that you pick it up. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.