We started getting Deschutes beers in central Missouri awhile back. I’d heard it was good and was excited to try them. A local store chain hyped it up with a tasting. Unfortunately, I haven’t been impressed by any of their beer. Mirror Pond is a just low flavor mediocre pale ale, and Inversion IPA is flat out bad. Tastes like pancake syrup to me - I’ve got 3 left from a 6 that I’ll eventually dump and put some better beer in. They have Chasin’ Freshies on the shelf now, but I don’t feel inclined to try it. Aside from the stupid name, bad beer with fresh hops is still bad beer. I really don’t like being negative, but that Inversion is really just crappy beer. That said, it is a matter of taste, so hopefully Deschutes fans won’t be too hacked at me.
Everyone has their own tastes. We may disagree, but that is ok. Inversion is one of my favorite beers. Bought a sixer yesterday and enjoyed a few and will enjoy what is left today. Cheers.
If you were local I’d gift you 3. Take it easy.
I really liked Red Chair when I had that last year. I have not been disappointed with any of their beer. I’ve realized that so many variables affect tasting, that I’m always willing to give a beer a second chance. For example, in the past when I bought Celebration by SN I just loved it. This year, not so much. The sixer that I have just doesn’t jive with what I remember from last year. I’ll easily by another (from another source), just to see if there wasn’t some mishandling along the way.
Maybe I’m just not that critical, but I try to find something good in every beer. I guess the glass is half full.
dude. I tried their Wet Hopped Pale Ale (can’t remember the name now) a few nights ago. My buddy brought it back from AHA a month or so ago.
It was the best pale ale I ever had. So much so it was almost an erotic exxxperience. :mrgreen:
I wasn’t very impressed with the Inversion IPA either. I really like the Mirror Pond, it’s a solid APA. I’ve only had Red Chair once, but it was excellent. My all-time favorite Deschutes beer is the Black Butte Porter!
J
We can agree that Chasin’ Freshies is a stupid name for a beer. But that’s it. I have a hard time finding fault with anything I’ve tasted from Deschutes. Inversion is probably the one I like the least, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a crappy beer. Chasin’ Freshing was very good.
Are you sure your bottles were fresh?
Also, if you were expecting typical west coast hop bombs, I could see why you would be disappointed. They definitely adhere to a hop forward approach to brewing, but they’re a bit more balanced than their brethren from California.
I like the Obsidian stout and the Mirror pond is OK.
I’m more of an IPA drinker though…and the inversion was OK…I much prefer stuff like Stone and Lagunita’s.
So funny I found this post. A buddy of mine from LA was hyping up Deschutes to me for years. Then another friend and he went to the brewery up in OR and continued the hype. Then I went out @ GABF this year, I made sure to order Mirror Pond, and a Black Butte when out at bars and at the festival.
Maybe it was just overhyped, or maybe it was just vapid characterless beer, but I was also unimpressed. I found Mirror Pond to not have enough hop character, and was not dry enough for my APA taste. The porter didn’t have nearly enough malt character.
So much of a beer comes down to the experience of drinking it. You can have one of the best made beers in the world, but if its in a frigging frosty mug, put in front of you by a surly server, its not going to move you like it moves someone else (as above, maybe erotically!).
The other possibility is, like Sierra, maybe its evolved and become a little more ‘dumbed down’ over the years to appeal to a wider audience. SN Pale Ale is something very different than it once was, from what I’ve heard. Would be curious on Denny’s opinion on Deschutes as a (I think) long time Oregonian (Oregonite?).
It could be that, but I would argue that most craft beer drinkers are still looking for extreme beers (maltiest, hoppiest, highest ABV). If you look at the beer ratings websites, they prove that fact because most of the top-rated beers are extreme beers. And only as of lately, are session beers becoming popular again.
[quote=“Pietro”]So funny I found this post. A buddy of mine from LA was hyping up Deschutes to me for years. Then another friend and he went to the brewery up in OR and continued the hype. Then I went out @ GABF this year, I made sure to order Mirror Pond, and a Black Butte when out at bars and at the festival.
Maybe it was just overhyped, or maybe it was just vapid characterless beer, but I was also unimpressed. I found Mirror Pond to not have enough hop character, and was not dry enough for my APA taste. The porter didn’t have nearly enough malt character.
So much of a beer comes down to the experience of drinking it. You can have one of the best made beers in the world, but if its in a frigging frosty mug, put in front of you by a surly server, its not going to move you like it moves someone else (as above, maybe erotically!).
The other possibility is, like Sierra, maybe its evolved and become a little more ‘dumbed down’ over the years to appeal to a wider audience. SN Pale Ale is something very different than it once was, from what I’ve heard. Would be curious on Denny’s opinion on Deschutes as a (I think) long time Oregonian (Oregonite?).[/quote]
Your GABF experience could easily be explained as sensory fatigue. After sampling a bunch of beers–probably some big, hoppy ones and imperial this-and-that–sure, more restrained beers are going to seem dull.
I know I had this debate with someone on here a while back about SN pale ale. I’m convinced that SNPA isn’t what you remember it being, because you’ve since been exposed to much more complex, robustly flavored beers and your palate has adjusted. I think someone later in that thread called it “palate drift.” Good name for it.
There’s a reason Green Flash Palate Wrecker has the name it does.
[quote=“beermebeavis”]dude. I tried their Wet Hopped Pale Ale (can’t remember the name now) a few nights ago. My buddy brought it back from AHA a month or so ago.
It was the best pale ale I ever had. So much so it was almost an erotic exxxperience. :mrgreen: [/quote]
That’s the (groan) “Chasin’ Freshies”. Alright, if it’s still on the shelf next time I’m at the store I’ll give it a shot. St least Deschutes isn’t overpriced, so not much risk there.
[quote=“kcbeersnob”]
Your GABF experience could easily be explained as sensory fatigue. After sampling a bunch of beers–probably some big, hoppy ones and imperial this-and-that–sure, more restrained beers are going to seem dull.
I know I had this debate with someone on here a while back about SN pale ale. I’m convinced that SNPA isn’t what you remember it being, because you’ve since been exposed to much more complex, robustly flavored beers and your palate has adjusted. I think someone later in that thread called it “palate drift.” Good name for it.
There’s a reason Green Flash Palate Wrecker has the name it does.[/quote]
I don’t think it was palette fatigue at the points I had it, palette drift is definitely a possibility though.
FWIW, I personally don’t really remember SNPA being much different, I was mainly referring to a Zymurgy commercial calibration article where Gordon Strong, Dave Housemann, and the others basically said that it has been dumbed down. (I think Strong, in his haughty way, called it “a shadow of its former self”). Of course, their palettes could have also ‘drifted’ since they started judging.
Also, I definitely do appreciate beers with restrained flavor profiles. Brooklyn, GL, and a few of Heavy Seas’ beers here in Maryland are some examples at the forefront of my mind that are great beers without being over the top with crazy or having overly intense flavors.
That’s a really good point though, and it certainly could have occurred with the judges in the article.
I kinda think the “chasin Freshees” name is rather … humorous, but only if you know the inside joke. An artist called Keller Williams (an artist I have seen in concert) wrote a song a while back called I think “freshees”. It is a very tung and cheek song about our countries other favorite green herbal product (this one being illegal in all but 3 states). Hops is the closest living relative to that unsaid green product and as such the name “chasin freshees” is just a smarty pants weed reference. Just someone being funny.
Barry
Couple points…
A lot of the old school craft breweries (SN, Anchor, Harpoon, Brooklyn) take a fairly traditional approach to their beers, and always have. Beer taste has always evolved, and continues to evolve. Today’s great hoppy beers are loaded with hop oils (flavor, aroma) but with relatively subdued bitterness and a conservative hand with malt/caramel sweetness. That’s not the way beers were made in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. So in trying a beer that might be new to you (Mirror Pond) keep in mind that this is a recipe that’s over 20 years old, and has sold a lot of product in those 20 years. I remember having Harpoon IPA in the 1990s and being BLOWN AWAY at the hoppiness. Today when I drink it, it is incredibly mild. The beer hasn’t changed that much.
With respect to SNPA in particular, the draft and bottled versions of this are, and always have been, different recipes. I think a lot of times when people say it’s not how they remember, they aren’t making this distinction.
The only Deschutes I’ve bought in years is the Obsidian, my wife uses it in a cherry stout beef recipe.
I should say used to, I brewed an export stout earlier in the year and she’s been using that instead. She says it tastes better with mine.
noone else had their wethop beer this year? so good
Couldn’t disagree more. Deschutes is definitely in my top 5 of commercial breweries. I find all of their beers very balanced and drinkable. Red Chair is by far my favorite but I would never pass up any others except maybe Chainbreaker (just not a huge fan of spiced beers).
I am a HUGE deschutes fan. Mostly because of their special releases in 22oz bottles. The abyss, the Dissident, mirror mirror, Hop in the dark, Black butte 20-24, are all absolutely phenomenal in my opinion. and a must try for every beer lover.
When it comes to their regulars. My favorites include (not in order). Green lakes, Obsidian, Red chair, and mirror pond.
I have to say that inversion is not my favorite. and i really dont enjoy chainbreaker all that much. Not that they are bad beers, they are just not to my taste
Okay, tried the Chasin’ Freshies: not bad. I like the SN and Stone fresh hop beers better, but CF is pretty good. One of the palest IPAs I’ve seen - at least they went easy on the caramel. The price is right. I may pick up one or two more bombers.