Deschutes Brewery

On my trip west, Deschutes was one of the first Oregon beers I tried. I believe Becca ordered one at a bar in Denver. During the time that I spent traveling around before my internship started, I bought a couple of six packs of their pale ales: Mirror Pond and Red Chair. They were not particularly well suited to my tastes.

I listened to a podcast recently in which they described the Deschutes Mirror Pond pale ale as being perfectly balanced. To me, they had too much emphasis on malt and lacked the hop character I look for in a pale ale.


So, for a while I avoided Deschutes altogether. Eventually, I ended up at an interesting little bar in The Dalles called "The Barbecue." This is a local joint occupied, it seemed, exclusively by old guys who wanted to talk to us about fish; this sort of person prefers their beer cheap and flavorless, so our options were limited. As far as local brews, they didn't have anything on tap, but the barkeep did have a Deschutes Black Butte Porter in fridge. I took it. It was my first week in The Dalles, and I can only justify drinking so much Rainier (for those of you unfamiliar as I was, Rainier is essentially the natural light of the Northwest).



The Porter was good. Not the best I'd had (that distinction belongs to the Legend Porter), but pretty good. Since then, I think I have tried everything they had on offer, and there are a few I am pretty fond of.

The Inversion IPA is even hoppy enough for my tastes. In the podcast I mentioned previously, the head brewer at Deschutes said that each batch of Inversion is made with eight pounds of whole-cone hops and then topped off with some additional hop oils.

The Twilight summer ale is my favorite, though. I believe it is categorized as a bitter, but it is just a really nice, light, well-balanced beer. Perfect for consuming on a warm summer day (which we've even had a few of now).

So, in conclusion, if you like a hop-forward pale ale, I wouldn't suggest picking up a Deschutes. The Mirror Pond, Red Chair, and Bachelor ESB all disappointed me in hoppiness. If, on the other hand, you prefer a well balanced pale ale with a more subdued hop character, then these beers are perfect for you. I'll stick to the Inversion IPA.