Deschutes Conflux No. 2

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Bend, Oregon USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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A steady pour, with just a hint of aggression, into my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip glass produces a four finger thick, pale, tan tinged, cream colored head; this leaves some nice wispy lacing on the sides of the glass as it slowly subsides. The beer is a pale-amber / light gold color that shows a hazy, straw gold color when held up to the light. The beer smells quite herbal, with a fair amount of earthy spiciness and lots of dried hay / grass aromatics. I am not sure if spices were added to this, but there is a definite spicy presence to this beer, it definitely reminds me of coriander, perhaps a touch of white pepper and some woody ginger and lemon notes. There is a backdrop of more fruity, hop-like, citrus notes towards the end, though this almost plays a secondary role to the up front, though still subtle spiciness. There is a certain mustiness to the aroma here and it mixes with a dry, pale cracker like grain character.

There is a huge up front hop character that comes through quite a bit more clearly than it did in the aroma. There is a big, though dry, citrus zest character that has notes of Meyer Lemon, tart grapefruit zest, touches of tangelo zest and some lychee. Towards the middle and finish of this beer an earthy and grassy spiciness starts to kick in; it has notes of white pepper, lemon grass (with an emphasis on the grass portion), definite earthy coriander as well as some phenolics in the finish that contribute a slight, sort of plastic like note and perhaps some clove too (now that I have noticed the phenolics). The combination of hop notes (herbal and bitterness) with the earthy spiciness and the phenolics adds a bit of sharpness to the finish. The body of this beer is nice and light and quaffable, it has just enough character to not be overly thin though.

I wasn’t really aware that this had spices and a Belgian yeast used in the recipe. I am still not absolutely sure this is true, but it certainly seems like it as there are a whole lot of flavors in this beer that are not at all part of a traditional hop profile. Not at all what I was expecting, but it is still quite tasty and I am definitely enjoying this beer. I wouldn’t mind if the combination of sharp herbal / yeast / spice character in the finish was tempered quite a bit & I think a juicy hop fruit character (which is what I was expecting before having opened this beer) would really have been nice as well.

Bottle at home, from the Pipeline... If White IPA was an accepted style, it would be my favorite style right now. Love both Deschutes and Boulevard, so this should be awesome... Pours a hazy pale gold, almost watery looking, into my Minneapolis Town Hall glass, head is 1-finger thick, white, and overall quite nice. Nose is lemongrass, white pepper, clean and spicy wheat, clove, ginger, so much lemony citrus here... Flavours of lemon, bright wheat, peppercorns, some ginger, really refreshing!

Date: April 01, 2012
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, First Sunday
Appearance: cloudy yellow, frothy off white head
Aroma: spicy aroma, herbal, floral, light lemony citrus
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, floral, herbal, light bitterness, great complexity
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+ /4

Pale pulpy yellow with a large white head. Aroma of coriander, orange, citrus, yeast and citrus. Taste of orange peel, coriander, citrus, and peppery yeast. It’s okay.

Pour out of 22 oz bottle, hazy yellow-slight orange with thin white head, aroma brought notes of big belgian esters and white pepper, hints of pear, apricot, touch of orange and lemon zest, some nice biscuit as well, this smells delicious. Taste is a bit sweet but notes of biscuit and bread, hints of esters with pear, tropical fruit, touch of pineapple, hints of orange, lemon and grapefruit notes, finish fairly sweet as mentioned.

Shared with Travlr. Old? Hazy yellow straw color with lots of head. Nice lacing. Smell is orangey citrus, fresh cut grass, and wheat. Taste is like orange juice, with a bitter finish. Grassy, summery. Doesn’t seem much like an IPA.

This was a fun one...I know that there is a fair amount of hops and that there was a good amount of citrus to this beer. I paired this beer with a shrimp and crab pizza with cheese that starts with a G and it was amazing. It serves as a great compliment to lighter foods and greens. The hops and the citrus compliment each other well.

Pours a very very hazy lemon yellow with very frothy white head. Aroma is intense citrus-lemon/grapefruit. Flavor is mostly lemon with nutty bready tones. Body is creamy but with very active carbonation.

Bottle. Cloudy pale yellow color, massive fluffy white head with good retention and solid lacing. Aroma of citrus > grass > flowers. Taste is bitter lemon and light spice, maybe coriander and white pepper.

On Tap @ Amsterdam Cafe SFBW ’12. Poured hazy gold-straw hue with an off-white head that’s nice and fluffy. Smell is citrus, orange, lemon, grapefruit, also pine and a nice floral character. A little bit of a wheaty lightness comes through. The taste is delicious, again lemon, orange oil, good pine. There’s a really nice fresh doughy yeast character, but yeah nice fresh floral component as well. The mouth feel is light, yet the carbonation makes it feel more foamy than fizzy. No alcohol. Very delightful.

Says best before 1/11 but was still good for me. Good mix of wheat and grapefruit for aroma. Body yellow with white head and some sugar coat lace on glass. Flavor of grapefruit jucie and fro a night shifter hit the spot. Refreshing brew and enjoyable.