Combine the grain and yogurt in a food processor or blender and process for a minute or so. Pour the resulting mixture into a large mixing bowl. Rinse the blender into the bowl using .5 cup warm water. Add brown sugar and yeast; stir. Let the yeast proof for about ten minutes, then add the oil, salt, and half of the flour. Gradually add the remaining flour until the dough takes on the correct consistency. Knead, and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Punch down and transfer to a lightly oiled bread pan. Let rise until doubled, then bake in a 400F oven for approximately 45 minutes.

Nose: Sweet and reminiscent of coconut.

Taste: Whatever pandan is supposed to be, this tastes to me an awful lot like toasted coconut. Very sweet, slightly fruity.

Overall: With chunks of Nata de Coco and bits of aloe vera floating around, this is a defiantly textured drink. I had difficulty finishing the glass, as it’s quite sweet and the flavour is very one-dimensional.

Nose: Prominent sage, hint of hops.

Taste: Sage and spicy rye on the first sip. Juniper influence makes itself felt. Medium hop bitterness in the finish. Solid nutty malt backbone.

Overall: Comparing my notes to last year’s, it’s evident that (as would be expected) these beers are fairly similar. I don’t have a perfect memory or another bottle to compare, but I think this one is slightly heavier and sweeter, and the alcohol isn’t particularly noticeable. What I said then stands: an intriguing and drinkable special beer, but not an everyday beer.

Nose: Citrusy, piny, sweet.

Taste: Lightly sweet, lightly tart, barely piny.

Overall: I like it. It could do with a bit more oomph in the flavour department, but as-is it’s very refreshing (and you could always splash in a bit of gin).

Nose: Subdued, slightly metallic, not much going on.

Taste: Slight molasses flavour, light tartness, smooth biscuity malt.

Overall: The can isn’t lying when it calls it light bodied, and a slight metallic twinge isn’t helping. It might make a decent quenching summer beer, but I’m not loving it.

Nose: Caramel and treacle, with citrusy hops in abundance.

Taste: Big punch of hop flavour contributing piny, citrusy, and vegetal leaf mould accents on a bed of rich caramel malt.

Overall: It’s very good.

Nose: Sweet, floral lychee.

Taste: Very sweet lychee. It’s got a good fruity flavour, but this is flavoured sugar water, not juice. The Nata de Coco is floating around as small cubes, approximately 3mm on a side. It adds an interesting texture dimension, but has a tendency to settle to the bottom.

Overall: I found it too sweet for my tastes, but other than that very interesting.

Nose: Fresh corn bourbon and vanilla oak.

Taste: Sugared oak. The caramelisation from the wee heavy plays nicely with the sweet bourbon flavours from the barrel, but the extra alcohol really thins out the body. Somewhat fruity.

Overall: I like barrel-aged beers, I really do. Unfortunately, I find that the bourbon barrels most commonly used have a tendency to overwhelm even the most robust base beer, giving them a distressing sameness. This is good beer, but it’s not great and it’s very bourbon.

Nose: Grainy and sweet, dried coconut.

Taste: Sadly dry and dusty, though nicely crunchy. There’s coconut flavour there, but it’s oddly oily and unpleasant.

Overall: Cream wafers don’t aspire to the level of haute cuisine on their best day, and this isn’t their best day.

Nose: Dry, tart, with hints of cinnamon and chocolate.

Taste: Dry, tart, with hints of oak and squash. Very negligible spice influence, really.

Overall: Good beer. But while it’s what I expected from a Jolly Pumpkin beer, it’s not really what people expect from a pumpkin beer.