Jolly Pumpkin

continued

during a review of Main Street's newest restaurant. An extension of Ron Jeffries' Dexter brewery, the Jolly Pumpkin brings food together with his handcrafted beers.

This past summer my husband and I walked across northern England, each evening arriving at a pub or an inn, each establishment featuring at least one "real ale." Although we repeatedly asked the meaning of the term (what, versus a "fake ale"?), we never received a satisfactory answer until we asked our waitress at the Jolly Pumpkin. My husband had marveled at those English brews, declaring the rich creamy texture and deep flavor to be reminiscent more of food than drink; to him, they felt alive. In fact, our waitress explained, real ales are unfiltered and unpasteurized, so the yeast is still alive, still "conditioning" the beer in the bottle or cask. Long, slow pulls on a hand pump bring the cask brews to the glass, making for a flatter, denser ale. JP's draft beers are brought up by compressed nitrogen, adding some effervescence.