Deschutes Jubelale Review

Name: Deschutes Jubelale
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 6.7%

It's getting colder and darker outside around this time of the year, much like the beers that many craft beer enthusiasts will be drinking in the coming months. So tonight I've decided to look at what is considered by many to be a staple of winter ales: Jubelale from Deschutes Brewing.

I remember when I first had this beer about 3 years ago, back when I was a senior in college. I had just finished my last final for the fall semester when I stopped by Zipp's Liquor in the Minneapolis' Seward neighborhood as it was on my way back to my home. While I was scanning the aisles, I noticed Jubelale was on sale for $7.99 for a six-pack and the clerk highly recommended it to me.

That night while I was playing Gears of War 3 online, I decided to crack open a bottle of Jubelale. What I was treated to was a mesmerizing and robust tasting beer. Today I'll be revisiting this beer to see how well it has held up compared to when I first had it.

Jubelale pours a clear dark crimson color with some mild visible carbonation. The head takes on a foamy khaki colored appearance and the lacing is both abundant and sticky.

In the nose, I'm picking up on some strong caramel maltiness with a distinct smoky quality. I'm also getting some black licorice & chocolate notes and some mild bitter hoppiness.

The flavor starts out very caramel & smoked malt forward. The second half of the flavor settles into a roasted barley, dark fruit and bitter hop taste.

Out of all the Winter Warmer style ales out there, this ranks up there as one of my favorites. It has held up wonderfully and the flavor is just as complex and robust as I remember it. Be sure to check this.

Deschutes Jubelale - 9.5/10

Deschutes Armory XPA Review

Name: Deschutes Armory XPA
Style: American Pale Ale (APA)
ABV: 5.9%

Originally I was going to continue going through the beers which I received via mail but in a twist of events, a challenger has appeared. For you see, I am not the only beer blogger in Duluth; Quite the opposite. He goes by the moniker Duluth Beer Snob and he also reviews beers but with a Gonzo-esque narration and definitely worth reading!

This morning before I left for work, I was checking out his latest post that focused on the latest offerings from Deschutes Brewing. As I was coming to the end of the post, he was talking about how tasty the Armory XPA was when he mentioned:

• I cannot imagine how good this would be on nitro at the pub. If I were Nick, I’d give it 10/10.

I noticed three things:

1. My name is Nick!
2. The name is hyperlinked!
3. That's my rating system!

So imagine my shock when I clicked on the link and it sent me....to my own front page! Was this a challenge? If so, I accept that challenge! I have to admit it's a pretty bold one considering that I've only given one 10/10 rating since starting this blog up. I just so happen to have bought a bomber of XPA last week, so tonight's review will be Armory XPA. The XPA stands for eXperimental Pale Ale as it was the first beer brewed at Deschutes' Portland location.

Armory XPA pours a hazy orange color with some mild visible carbonation and a soapy head. There is also no lacing to speak of along the sides of the glass. 

The aroma has a rather pungent floral hop and yeast scent that is complemented by some orange peels and pale malts. I do have to admit that it's rather vibrant smelling even for an APA.

The flavor is a lot more floral hop forward with some strong bready yeasts, mild citra-hops, yeasts and a solid pale malt backbone. Much like the nose before it, it's got a very vibrant taste even by APA standards

The palate as a whole is moderate in terms of both body weight and carbonation intensity. It's part-crisp and part easy-drinker.

While I think Armory XPA is an excellent and vibrant tasting APA, it doesn't quite match the complex flavors that I got from 3 Floyd's Zombie Dust, which I consider to be my all-time favorite APA. With that said, this is still a very flavorful beer and it's got a very decent price tag as I only paid about $4.50 for this so you're for sure getting your money's worth here.

Deschutes Armory XPA - 9.25/10

You can also check out the Duluth Beer Snob at www.duluthbeersnob.tumblr.com

Deschutes Red Chair NWPA Review

Name: Deschutes Red Chair NWPA
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 6.2%

It's time to look at what I consider to be Deschutes Brewing's most popular Spring Seasonal offering: Red Chair NWPA, which is classified as an American Pale Ale. NWPA is an acronym for Northwest Pale Ale, but I'll be sticking with NWPA because it's easier to type.

I remember having Red Chair NWPA on tap a couple years ago down in Cannon Falls, MN after touring the Cannon River Winery, who by the way make fantastic wines. This is my first time having it in a bottle so let's see how this holds up.

Red Chair NWPA pours a hazy orange color with a thin soapy head, which has pretty good retention. The visible carbonation is quite high and it's leaves behind some pretty good lacing!

The nose is quite citrus hop forward with pale malts, light toffee mild floral hops and yeasts. If it weren't for the yeasty aspect, I would say this smells an awful lot like a traditional West Coast-style IPA.

With the flavor, I'm picking up on some pungent citrus hop notes, toffee, yeasts, and pale malts. The aftertaste is a bittersweet citra-hop flavor. The palate with this one is quite heavy body and moderately carbonated.

When you consider everything: The aroma, flavor and even the palate; It's pretty much got one foot already inside the West Coast IPA territory, with the other being in American Pale Ale. With that said, Red Chair NWPA is still a very good beer that's worth checking out.

Deschutes Red Chair NWPA - 8.5/10

Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA Review

Name: Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 10.6%

Hmm.....I don't quite know how to explain this to you, Deschutes Brewing but you have a very worrying obsession with IPAs; Much like how Buffalo Bill has an obsession with wearing the skin of other human beings. First you give us Fresh Squeezed IPA, then Chasin' Freshes, and now we have Hop Henge Experimental IPA.

Well, truth be told if I didn't want to try this out, I never would've gotten this in the first place. So for the time being, you have won this round Deschutes. In any case, as the name suggests, this beer utilizes hops that are new to the market, not unlike Summit's Union Series.

Hop Henge pours a hazy orange color with a filmy head. There is some good lacing retention and the carbonation is rather mild in appearance.

The aroma takes on a rather fruity characteristic with notes orange peel, peaches, caramelized malts with just a touch of piney hops thrown in for good measure.

In contrast to the nose, the flavor is very piney hop forward with caramel malts, mild citra-hop notes and some yeastiness. The palate is pretty moderately weighted and mildly carbonated, so it's pretty easy to drink.

Hop Henge doesn't do anything new, in terms of flavor, compared to other Imperial IPAs. However it's a pretty well put together Imperial IPA and those who are familiar with the style will no doubt find something to love with his.

Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA - 8.5/10

Deschutes The Abyss Review

Name: Deschutes The Abyss
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 11%

Around the end of each year, Deschutes Brewing releases their highly sought after Russian Imperial Stout simply known as "The Abyss,” and yes the ”The” is part of the name. Earlier I reviewed Black Butte XXV Imperial Porter,which is also from Deschutes and their only other notable stronger beer. So it will be interesting to see how this turns out.

The Abyss pours a pitch black color with a relatively thin brown head and decent lacing. The visible carbonation is also fairly mild.

Chocolate & vanilla are fairly prominent in the nose. There is also some notes of bourbon, oak, molasses and licorice.

Likewise, the flavor is also fairly chocolate and vanilla with a more pronouced oak & bourbon flavor, along with a more roasted barley profile. The aftertaste is mainly chocolate malts and licorice.

The body is quite heavy and thick which is paired with mild carbonation. The palate as whole feels very creamy!

This was a very tasty Imperial Stout and a reasobably priced one at that! I know bottles of this beer are in fairly high demand so grab a bottle if you see this.

Deschutes The Abyss - 9.25/10

Deschutes Hop Trip Review

Name: Deschutes Hop Trip
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 5.5%

You know the old phrase "If you love it so much, why don't you merry it?" Well I might as well be asking Deschutes Brewing this very question because in the past 7 months I have reviewed two other fresh hop beers from them: Fresh-Squeezed IPA and Chasin' Freshies. What I have here now is the trifecta of fresh hop beers from Deschutes: Hop Trip. Unlike the previous fresh hop beers, both of which were IPAs, this beer is an American Pale Ale.

Hop Trip pours a hazy orange color with a foamy head. The lacing is quite abundant and the carbonation has a mild appearance.

Citrus hops and grassiness are quite prevalent in the aroma upfront, with some lemon zest and mild toffee notes. I'm also getting hints of yeast in here as well.

The flavor takes on more of a piney hop characteristic and putting the citrus hops more in the background. Just like in the nose, the lemon and toffee-malt notes are still present here. There is also a bitter resin quality which makes up the aftertaste.

The body is quite heavy along with some stronger-than-normal carbonation. It's a little harsher on the palate than desired but nothing that isn't manageable.

Out of all of the fresh hop offerings from Deschutes, this one is the runt of the litter. It's got a good taste and you're making a bad choice by trying this out, but it lacks the vibrancy & complexity of it's counterparts.

Deschutes Hop Trip - 7.5/10

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

Deschutes Black Butte XXV Review

Name: Deschutes Black Butte XXV
Style: Imperial Porter
ABV: 11.3%

Since 2008, Deschutes Brewing has released a stronger version of year-round Black Butte Porter, starting with Black Butte XX to signify their 20th year in business and so forth. This year it's their 25th anniversary in business so therefore it's the roman numeral for 25 (XXV). I should've probably reviewed the original Black Butte first before having this.....Oh well!!

This will also be the second Imperial Porter that I've had, the first being The Dark Knight Returns from Barley John's Brewpub based out of New Brighton, MN.

Black Butte XXV pours a pitch black color with a Khaki colored brown head. The lacing retention is also pretty good and there's only a couple bubbles along the sides of the glass.

The aroma starts off with a chocolate-raspberry sweetness with some vanilla, coffee, plums and roasted barley. For a Porter, this smells rather fruity.

Chocolate & roasted barley make up the the front of the flavor along with raspberries/plums, burnt malts, vanilla and coffee. The aftertaste is a bit of an oddball here because unlike most Porters that I'm used to, which have a roasty-toasty finish, Black Butte XXV finishes with a tart chocolate & raspberry flavor.

The beer extremely hefty in weight and thick but paired with the light carbonation, it makes for a very smooth and creamy body. It definitely helps you enjoy every bit of the flavor that's in here.

Black Butte XXV is a very well put together & robust beer that offers slightly different take on the porter style particularly with the raspberry/plum notes so check it out if you get the chance! I will for sure be getting this again next year!

Deschutes Black Butte XXV - 9/10

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