Deschutes Red Chair IPA

Deschutes does the body good with one of its latest Bond Street series brews, Red Chair IPA.  Named after the oldest operating ski lift at Mt. Bachelor, OR, this brew has a really cool label and a great flavor to go with it.  Seven varieties of malts combine with some good solid hops to bring a 6.4% ABV beauty from their brewery to you.  The nose is fruity, dusty, and earthy, leading to a clean redish copper color as you peer into the glass.   The front and middle are medium carbonation and slightly bitter with finish being clean and mild as you sip it back.  Better on tap than in the bottle, Eddie’s Trackside in Monroe, WA just so happens to have it available to you if you are in that neck of the woods… Overall a solid IPA that minimizes the bitterness but lets you know it is still and IPA in the end. 

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Deschutes 19th Anniversary Golden Ale

So… the other night we just happened to head over to our friends house (Miss Jessi and Jake) and of course I had to take some brews to share…   While Miss Jessi says she is fine with the Coors Light, I know that here heart of hearts tells her she should be drinking the good stuff, so I took some Deschutes 19th Anniversary Golden Ale, some Kona Pipeline Porter, and some Lagunitas Zappa brews (to be blogged later).  Lets just say that the 8.7% of this beer and the 8+ percent of the Zappas turned her into a giggling little school girl, much to the pleasure of all present.  Don’t get me wrong… I am not ungreatful and we thank our friends for the pizza, salad, fun, and entertainment… we will have to do it again.

So… how was this little beauty received?  Quite well, thank you very much.  This golden yellow belgian was a good one to start with… it was very slight on the belgian from nose to body which made it approachable going in.  The sweet, cloudy, sedimenty brew took it easy on the senses but gave just enough of the yeast to make it a little exotic and different than what most people are used to.  It went fast, was well received by all, and like I said… went straight to the head…

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Deschutes Bachelor ESB

Another one that has been in the fridge for a while… Deschutes Bachelor ESB comes to me not knowing that it is the first ESB I have had in a long while.  After drinking the brew, it makes me wonder why that is… this is a great style that has some of the best traits of an IPA balanced with a brown or an amber just enough to mellow it out a little.  Deschutes delivered here and didn’t dissapoint… thanks!    The pour is an orange-amber color and produces an ok head. The body is bitter with the hops but not to any extreme… the malt definitely balances it out and keeps it sane.  The finish is bitter and peppery and ends up leaving me feeling like I had a nice dark IPA with a light roasty finish.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Deschutes The Dissident

Carrying over from the other night is a beer that I will remember for quite some time.  Deschutes The Dissident has to be one of the most unique beers I have tasted in a long time.  I find it similar to the first time I tasted the Monk’s Café Flemish Sour Ale.  You just can’t prepare yourself for it and so the first couple of tastes almost make your eyes cross.

A dark pour, with a bit of a red tint, this one is not for the week of heart.  If you like barley wine and you like flemish sour ale, then you will probably like this one as it is nearly a perfect mix.  It offers a very sour/tart taste and finish but has some sweetness just offsetting it.

I don’t quite know where to go with this one, though.  I like the flemish sour and I like a good barley wine, but this one is just really hard to put a finger on.  I am going to have to go with Middle of the Road for now since the only reason I would buy this again, really, is to give it one more chance… because I know I want to like it… really…

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Deschutes Jubelale

I think I have recovered sufficiently to post now.  We had a heck of a “tasting session” the other night and I haven’t been able to bring myself to having a beer until tonight.  Tip of the day: if you call it a “tasting session” instead of just saying you are going to drink beer, it is much more socially acceptable. 

So, keeping on the seasonal kick, I noticed a very, very festive six pack of beer at Fred Meyer the other day and had to buy it.  I think we were too late into it last year to enjoy this fine seasonal brew, and have to say I am kind of sad.  Deschutes Jubelale comes to us full of warmth and mirth.  A fine little diddy that makes me want to recite the full version of Twas the Night Before Christmas after each bottle.  A dark ruby color, a good head, high malts *and* high hops and this is one that will keep you drinking long into the cold winter night.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Part of the lineup from the other night. 

The Jubelale!!

Deschutes Cascade Ale

Have definitely been on a Deschutes kick lately.  Being that they are local and have a pretty good variety, it kind of makes it easy.  Tonight was the Deschutes Cascade Ale, which is one of their regular brews.  Cascade Ale is a pale ale that smells sweet, tastes sweet, and leaves just a little teeny bit of sour in the finish… It is also silky smooth with just a little tingle on the tongue.  Keeping this from the upper echelons of our blog rating system, though, is the ever so slight watered down taste I get as I make it past the half way mark and into the home stretch.  No… not backwash… truly a bit watered down.

Still, I wouldn’t turn it down if offered.  I just won’t actively search it out.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Deschutes Black Butte Porter

Deschutes makes good beer… they really do.  Deschutes Black Butte Porter is no exception to that and the neighbors agree!  Every one of us could taste the chocolate and the roasted malt goodness and made quick work of what we had. 

The beer is dark, has a bit of a hard edge, but pulls it all off with the complexity of the body and finish.  Some of the porters we have had recently have been a bit creamier… they are softer as you drink… not really so for Black Butte Porter and I am ok with that.

Good frothy tan head, dark chocolaty malty body, complex and rich finish.  Black Butte Porter comes through.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Deschutes Obsidian Stout

The Deschutes Obsidian Stout page on the web pretty much sums it up (with a few exceptions).  A bit dry for my liking, this was one of my favorite beers back in college.  I came upon this at about the same time I was drinking as much Squatters Captain Bastard’s Oatmeal Stout as I could.  That one didn’t go over so well when we were back in Utah… this one didn’t go over so well just now.  My oh my how my tastes have changed over the years.

Dark and foreboding, this one tastes rough, drinks rough, but lacks the complexity that their website notes.  It is pretty much dark roasted malt and bitterness all rolled up into a little 12 oz bottle.  The neighborhood agreed… we will be leaving this one at the store next time.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

Once again I found myself at Sockeye’s in Monroe, WA, getting work done before heading home for the day.  I really like working there during happy hour.  You just can’t beat the $3 beers and solid internet along with the beautiful view of the lake.  The only thing I could really ask for would be more variety in the draught beers.  They have good beer there, just doesn’t change enough.

For this outing, I decided to go with Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale.  While the name portrays pale ale, I would say this is almost on level with most IPAs I have had.  Very hoppy, thick, and dark in color.  The nose is hoppy, the finish pretty complex.  Bitterness is right up there. 

Overall this is a fine beer.  Really no complaints and I believe this is one of Deschutes’ staple beers.  Mark another one on the list of solid showings for them. 

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Deschutes Brewery 20th Anniversary Wit

As eluded to yesterday, I didn’t have Mexican beer on Mexican Cul-De-Sac Fiesta Day, I had this instead… Deschutes Brewery 20th Anniversary Wit.  We first came across this beer at the 2008 Seattle International Beerfest (SIB) and liked it a lot then.  Little did we know that we would run into each other so soon… but thank goodness.

This beer has it made… it is different, not like the other wit beers, filtered to show its wild side.  It has a good body… light yet curvy with a good head.  It has a wonderful aroma about it, teasing the nostrils with its scent.  And the taste… heaven… a light and clean bit of heaven that just opens its arms to you and brings you in close for snuggle or two, especially on a hot sweaty day.

Yes, 20th Anniversary Wit is good… so good, in fact that we may have to have a blind taste-off with Avery’s White Rascal… anyone up for it?  I know I am.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win