Jolly Pumpkin has used spontaneous fermentation and its own house culture since founder Ron Jeffries started the brewery in 2004, well before wild ales were a mainstream craft category. La Roja is its flagship sour, brewed in the Flanders tradition and aged exclusively in bourbon barrels for anywhere from two to fifteen months before blending, which is why no two batches taste quite identical.
Check Availability on Saucey →Jolly Pumpkin La Roja Review at a Glance
| Brewery | Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, Michigan, USA |
| Style | Sour amber ale (American wild ale, Flanders-inspired) |
| ABV | 7.2% |
| IBU | 25 |
| Time in oak | 2 to 15 months, bourbon barrels |
| Base ingredients | Pilsner malt, pale malt, Munich malt, wheat malt, crystal malt, black malt, dextrose, Strisselspalt and Tettnang hops |
How It Tastes
It pours a deep amber to blood-orange color, murky rather than clear, with a thin, fast-fading head. The aroma bursts with raisin, plum and dark cherry fruit alongside red wine, vanilla and a distinct lactic tang. On the palate the sourness is medium and balanced between lactic and acetic, with mild Brettanomyces funk running underneath oak, a touch of wine vinegar and a dry, thin-bodied finish that keeps the sour character front and center as it warms.
This is a sour for someone who wants the real complexity of barrel-aged, spontaneously fermented beer, raisin and red wine notes included, not a simplified fruit-forward version of the style.
- Genuine spontaneous fermentation and barrel aging, not a quick kettle sour
- Deep, wine-like complexity with real dark fruit and oak character
- Consistent year-round release from one of the original modern wild ale breweries
- Rated well among dedicated sour beer drinkers for authenticity to the Flanders style
- Thin body and pronounced acetic edge can read as vinegary to newcomers
- Batch variation is real since barrels are blended at different ages
- Less widely distributed than mainstream sours like SeaQuench or Westbrook Gose
Who It’s For
Built for a drinker who already likes Flanders reds like Rodenbach or Duchesse de Bourgogne and wants an American take with bourbon barrel character, not a first sour beer for a beginner.
FAQs
Is La Roja a true sour beer?
Yes. It is spontaneously fermented using Jolly Pumpkin’s house culture and aged two to fifteen months in bourbon barrels, closer to traditional Flanders red production than a quick kettle sour.
What does Jolly Pumpkin La Roja taste like?
Deep amber in color with raisin, plum and dark cherry fruit, red wine and oak notes, a medium lactic-and-acetic sourness, and a dry, thin-bodied finish.
How strong is La Roja?
7.2% ABV and 25 IBU, stronger than most session sours but in line with Flanders red ales generally.
Where can I buy Jolly Pumpkin La Roja?
Through craft beer retailers including Saucey, plus specialty bottle shops that carry Jolly Pumpkin’s lineup, mainly in the Midwest and select other US markets.
