Tasting notes: Double Deschutes
By Noah Davis • May 7th, 2009 • Category: Tasting notes
Deschutes is toying with our heart. The Cassanova of brewers loves us with its Mirror Mirror, then leaves us without even asking for our number or leaving a note on the nightstand. Then it expects us to be all “Oh, Deschutes, I can’t live without you” when it brings the beer back in a year. But you can’t fight love, and try as we might, we’re suckered in every time.
Yes, Mirror Mirror, the barleywine that launched Deschutes’ Reserve Series, is back, and it’s brought with it Red Chair IPA, the brewery’s latest addition to its Bond Street Series. Here are our tasting notes, written through tears:
Mirror Mirror
A complex, hopped-up barleywine, Mirror Mirror is one of the most incredible beers we’ve tasted in a while, and we’ll be sorry to see it go in a few weeks, which is when it will inevitably sell out. It paints a pretty picture with a clear, deep golden color and tan head. Soft aromas exude caramel and a touch of vanilla, but nearly no obvious alcohol notes — impressive for an 11% ABV beer. A huge, creamy body delivers gargantuan flavors: toffee, buttery caramel, vanilla, and oak. Hops give nice peppery spice punctuation and low bitterness, and a warm alcohol feel yields incredible smoothness. Brewer Larry Sidor anticipated that this year’s version would embody the evolution of the brewery’s knowledge of barrel-aging, and he was right-on: Our beer director classifies it as one of the most mature-tasting barleywines ever produced, noting that it tastes as if it’s been cellared for a year.
Red Chair IPA
Debuting in a few days, Red Chair IPA is a solid addition to Deschutes’ hop-focused Bond Street lineup, though we might be inclined to favor Hop Henge IPA over Red Chair. But don’t get us wrong, Red Chair is simply delicious, incredibly drinkable, and will scratch any IPA itch. Orange-gold and clear, a sand-color head emits a massive aroma of grapefruit, flowers, and pepper. The flavor begins with firm caramel malts and a lightly toasted graininess, followed by a wallop of hops with flavors that match the aroma, plus an added bit of stickiness that coats the palate. Incredibly, this beer doesn’t appear very bitter at all, even though it claims 55 IBUs; the hops seem sweet, indicative of a load of late hop additions. We like brewer John Abraham’s description of the beer — he calls it a juicy IPA without mouth-puckering bitterness.
