[edit: The beer is delayed in shipment. Argh.] 

Trust us when we say, you have no idea the sheer suffering it’s been to keep this news to ourselves for a few weeks: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales will be at Bruisin’ Ales on Tuesday Wednesday Thursday.

Michigan’s Jolly Pumpkin has had a license to sell in WNC for some time now, but the beers never quite made it here. We just decided one morning to write brewmaster Ron Jeffries and he made it happen in no time flat. (Thanks, Ron!) For the love of all things beer, tell me why no one bothered to ask him before. We graciously celebrated the good news by digging a La Roja out of our cellar.

Jolly Pumpkin was opened in summer 2004 and in just three short years, was rated #8 among the Top 50 breweries in the US by BeerAdvocate this June. These are some special, special beers. Jolly Pumpkin uses all natural ingredients in open fermentation with a bottle-conditioned finish. Some of these are Bret beers, too, which means they incorporate Brettanomyces, a yeast collected in the wild. So, rather than use entirely cultivated or in some cases proprietary yeast strains (such as the French and Belgian strains JP uses), Bret basically blows through the air for natural fermentation in the open vats. Some brewers consider this contamination, but others, like Jolly Pumpkin, have mastered the control of Brettanomyces for a truly unique beer flavor.

Coming Tuesday Wednesday Thursday:
Bam Biere (6-packs)
Biere de Mars (750ml)
Calabaza Blanca (750ml)
La Roja (750ml)
Maracaibo Especial (750ml)

Image: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales