Deschutes Chasin' Freshies Review

Name: Deschutes Chasin' Freshies
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.4%

Note: This is the 2013 Release

Deschutes Brewing seems to have a thing for wet hop IPAs this year much like Summit Brewing has a thing for IPAs in general. Chasin' Freshies is the second wet hop IPA released this year after their Fresh Squeezed IPA. From what I understand, last year (2012) was the first time it was released and was brewed with Cascade hops. This year it's brewed with Amarillo hops and since I can't compare and contrast like I did with Surly Wet, this'll be a first for myself.

Before I start this review, I'd like to ask a question: Now is it just me or does the name "Chasin' Freshies" sound like the movie title of a stoner comedy?


Chasin' Freshies pours a pale hazy yellow color with a low amount of visible carbonation, semi-foamy head and good lacing.

In the aroma, it starts out with a grapefruit and citrus hop profile with some caramel malt, apricot and resin notes. The hops at large don't really give off a "wet hop" smell like Fresh Squeezed did.

With that said, the wet hops are quite noticeable flavor-wise with mango and apricot fruitness, toffee, piney & floral hops with a bitter resin finish. Now this is more like it. Permitting it's not quite as hoppy as say Fresh Squeezed, but the wet hops are present here.

It's got a moderate weighted feel to it but the carbonation is a bit too strong for my liking, and that is probably my biggest gripe and a relatively small one at that.

All and all, it's a very good wet hop IPA.......but I still prefer Fresh Squeezed over this. Sure it's got one of the better wet hop profiles that I've seen this year, but Fresh Squeezed just came off as more vibrant and satisfying. However I would still recommend checking this out because it's still a great IPA!

Deschutes Chasin' Freshies - 8.5/10

Surly Wet (2013) Review

Name: Surly Wet (2013 Edition)
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.5%

Every fall, Surly releases their seasonal wet hop beer properly titled "Wet", it's a beer that usually flies off the shelves as quickly as it arrives. Even on the can it clearly states that this is a beer not meant to be aged. A couple of years ago, you would've been hard pressed to find this anywhere outside of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, but thanks to the booming market here in Duluth I was able to find some at the first place I stopped by.

I was surprised to even to find it in Duluth in first place because production of Wet was reduced to 1/2 of what it normally is this year because of space limitations to make room for Surlyfest (Surly's Oktoberfest Beer) but the more likely culprit is Darkness, Surly's highly-regarded Russian Imperial Stout. Hopefully once the new destination brewery opens up, space limitation won't be an issue. Since their original Brooklyn Center brewery will still be open, I'm guessing it'll be used solely for their speciality beers.

Every year, Wet uses different hops in it's recipe. Back in 2011 when I first had this, it used all Citra hops. Fast forward 2 years later, it used 75% Cascade Hops and 25% Centennial Hops. Let's see how this affects the flavor. I also want to note that the beer was canned on 9/12/13, a little over a week ago at the time of writing this.

Wet pours a clear orange color with a high amount of visible carbonation, foamy head and good lacing retention.

The aroma is made up of citrus hops, yeasts, biscuits, and malts. There's also a noticeable earthiness to the aroma as well. For some reason, it doesn't smell as strong as I remember it.

The flavor has a bitter resin hop flavor that hits the palate upfront followed by yeasts, buttery biscuits, light caramel and malts. The flavor is also not as vibrant as I had expected.

The body is moderate in weight but lightly carbonated. It's pretty easy to drink and it doesn't have an uncomfortable mouthfeel.

It pains me to say this but I'm disappointed in this year's release and I don't think it was worth the money I paid for it. Keep in mind, this isn't a bad beer but I've had better Wet Hop IPA offerings. Also I really can't pin the blame on Surly fully because of this year's hop shortage and the need to improvise. I hope next year that Surly Wet will have higher output and better quality thanks to their destination brewery, which will hopefully be open by the time the next Wet release comes out.

Surly Wet (2013) - 7.5/10

Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA

Deschutes Brewing just released a seasonal beer called Fresh Squeezed IPA, which is a Wet Hop IPA with an ABV of 6.4%.  I'm pretty familiar with Deschutes; in fact their Mirror Pond Pale Ale is one of my goto beers if I'm never too sure what to get and it's pretty easy to find here in Minnesota.

It pours a fairly clear orange-ruby color with a 1 finger head that stays around for a while. The lacing along the sides of the glass is pretty good as well.

Right away, a strong wet citrus hop aroma makes itself known, which are backed up by caramel malts, yeasts and grapefruit notes.

The flavor has pretty strong citra-hop and grapefruit notes upfront, followed by caramelized malts, mango, yeasts, and fruity notes. The aftertaste is a bittersweet citra-hop and mango flavor . The mango in particular reminds me of 3 Floyds Dreadnaught.

Body is quite heavy but the carbonation is mild, so it compliments the flavor quite well and it feels pretty smooth when drinking.

If you're looking for a decently priced Wet Hop IPA with great flavor, you're getting the best of both worlds with this beer. I'm not sure how long this'll be available for but grab it if you get the chance.

Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA - 9/10