Brewery: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Location: Dexter, Michigan, USA
ABV: 4.7%
Version: 750ml Bottle
Source: Courtesy of BeerMerchants.com

I’ve only encountered a few U.S. craft beers to-date, so I was looking forward to trying this one from the Michigan-based Jolly Pumpkin brewery. E.S. (Extra Special) Bam (Bam the Jack Russell is the brewery dog) is an extra-hopped, extra-malted version of their staple Bam Bière, which in true US Artisan style is already hopped up to the eyeballs. The result is a beer that’s definitely one for the connoisseur and definitely not one for the faint-hearted.

E.S. Bam pours a strong, dark amber colour with a spicy aroma and a very frothy head. The bottle I tried seemed to be quite carbonated, giving the beer a definite effervescence. Flavour-wise it’s packed with big flavours: strong malts and with the sort of huge hoppy sourness that you normally expect from an IPA, as well as a distinct peppery-citrus note.

I started off enjoying E.S. Bam immensely – I’ve become a definite fan of Big Hops since encountering BrewDog’s Punk IPA and Chaos Theory, as well as Meantime’s IPA and a few more hop-led beers – but towards the end of the (750ml) bottle that sourness, coupled with the fizziness, somehow conspired to turn it into one that was actually a bit difficult to finish. Maybe it was over-carbonated (sometimes a risk with a bottle-conditioned beer, as I understand things), maybe the Transatlantic crossing hadn’t been kind, or maybe it turned up too early in my US-Artisan education, but in the final analysis I don’t think this is one I’d rush back to unless I knew I was going to be drinking it fresh out of the cask.

Many thanks again to Phil at BeerMerchants.com for sending this one along (especially as it’s not exactly a cheap bottle… sorry Phil!) But I’d definitely be interested in trying other Jolly Pumpkin beers, particularly the Bam Noire – which BeerMerchants.com also stocks – so that’s one I’ll be adding to a future shopping list…