EHOP
Deschutes Brewery

 

 

- BB 02.02.16. Consumed 06.20.16. in spiegelau ipa glass. Amber ale brewed with sage and thyme. Collabration with Harpoon.

A: Cola soda pour sits with a beautiful light beige capping of one inch with a rootbeer like consistency, rock solid. Deep burgundy when backlighted you see some mention of carbonation within its dense nature. A decent calling card of lace sticks well to the vessel.

S: Spicy fresh cola scent, crystal malt adds some sweetness, with a light sweet tea twang. You can definitely pick up on the addition of fresh thyme on the trial, dried green with some chives.

T: Flavor was earthy and green, thyme adds a herbaceous flavor against a toasted crystal malting. Sweet spots of malts and dried earthy tea with woodsy notes of pine and musky sage and lemon adds an earthy and natural feel to this brew. Some tea leaves adds final thoughts of bitterness to the mix.

M: Medium light mouthful, lightly sticky, slick, resinous with a low carbonation factor.

O: Really like the hop profile here, a real departure from the norm, more earthy, herbaceous, green with a tea like bitterness. Dried thyme mixes with the musky sage and lemon flavor. Good thing the layover hasn't affected the hop flavor here. Definitely a departure from the normal citrusy over-hopped amber ales, this has a more natural and earthy green feel to it hard to describe but appreciable in concept.

 

 

best by 2-2-16. whoops. reviewing anyway.

A: pours a really dark amber. way darker than anything ive seen.

S: caramel amber malt is overshadowed by sage undertones. not getting too much out of the thyme. minor oxidation.

T: not a very hoppy brew at this point. you get some herbs, some piney hops, and definitely some caramel malt. hard to pick out specifics. bitter finish.

M: moderate carb on a medium body.

D: overall this isn't anything spectacular. age hasn't killed it, but really just the idea from the start. herbs with hops and caramel malt? sounds good on paper, but rarely enjoyable final product.

 

 

 

 

i think these guys can do no wrong. i was excited to see this one on tap. brewed with sage and time, the base is a well hoppy red or amber type, brick red in color with a little haze and a tall off white head. it smells fantastic, not too sweet or caramelized from the malt, more of a specialty red type than a sweeter crystal, and the hops are bitter and vegetal and blend right into the herbal finish. the herbs are there in the nose, but not as prominent as in the flavor. more thyme than sage from what i gather on the aroma. the flavor starts with a deschutes style red, northwestern hops, piney and big, in a majorly full bodied but fluffy and drinkable red beer far drier than even the nose led me to expect. the herbs are real well dosed, nothing too heavy, not like tea or a sage smudge stick, its appropriate. they were smart to choose this malt bill. its big enough to balance but also support the herbs, and the hops are doses almost like an ipa, plenty of bitterness in the finish. theres a lot going on here, but i ended up really liking the overall, its impressively well put together for how complex it is. i think culinary herbs have more potential in craft beer than has been realized, and this is a nice step in that direction. never disappointed with beer from these guys.

 

 

Pours an effervescent hazel with 3+ fingers of rocky cream colored head. Pretty nice lacing & head retention, with slight hazing

S: Breadyness, caramel & sage

T: Picking up the thyme & some grassiness & pine up front. A little pear & leafy hops as this warms, picking up the sage along with figs & a little toastyness. Finishes a little dry with leafy hops, grassiness,& advertised spices, plus sweet pears, plus a little paprika

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation, decent balance

Drinks okay, but nothing special here, pretty boring for a Deschutes product, probably would work well with Italian or Tex/Mex

Fairly fruity and floral aroma, with notes of resin countering. There's a sweetness that helps the hop character seem like cherry cough syrup.

Flavor is more citrus dominant, with notes of grapefruit and pith at the forefront, but the sweetness softens them, carrying into a peppery, biting finish. Would've never noticed the sage and thyme.

 

In tinkering with the fresh hops of the pacific northwest but with the balance that's synonymous with the east coast, a collaborative ale emerges from Deschutes and Harpoon that encapulates the IPA attitude from both sides of the American continent.

Deep in amber and with strands of bronze, the frothy ale pours deep and coppery. Its bright citrus and grassy perfume is adorned with toasted, nutty and caramelized goodness. Sweet to taste, the malty edge takes command early with caramel, light toffee, toasted grain and pecan.

As the balance slowly shifts from malt to hops, the sweetness begins to fade while the early grapefruit, fresh orange zest and delicate lemony tang gains steam. Its balanced middle palate trends malty-dry and bitter with hints of torn pine needles, grapefruit peel and a pleasant peppery bite of fresh grass clippings.

Medium-bodied and shifting dry and bitter, the beer's malty rebuttal keeps the taste even-keel even in the beer's waning moments. With a linger of grass and citrus that barley outlasts the nutty malts, hints of red apple and butterscotch begin to emerge.

22oz bottle. Poured out a clear, amber color with a good-sized, tan head of foam. It smelled of toasted caramel, bread crust and pine. Very piney bitterness with sweet caramel and citrus.