Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

How many breweries do you know that let you track which of their beers comes out of a which oak barrel? Answer: Uh... none.

Unless, of course, we're talking about Dexter-based Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales. Ron Jeffries may own the smallest exporting brewery in the country, but it's big on reputation, awards and, most importantly, taste.

Jolly Pumpkin's handcrafted sour beers are loved all across the country. So much so that they take home gold medals for their distinctive oak barrel brews and Beer Advocate magazine ranked them the 8th Best Brewery in America.

In fact, they are the only brewery in the U.S. to brew all of their beer in oak barrels. Why? It's all about the taste, man. Awards are nice but, ultimately, the only test that matters is the glass to mouth taste. And they pass with flying colors. (Concentrate's Editor fave: Fuego del Otono).

Click on the YouTube video below to get schooled about where the Jolly Pumpkin name came from. Brush up on the biz by reading Metromode's profile. And check out the brewery's incredible painted labels here.