Deschutes Hop Trip

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: American Pale Ale
Bend, Oregon USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tulip

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On tap at Papago. I have to echo the comments of bigbish -- "I don’t know, I guess I just expected some hops". Pours copper in color with a soft white head. Smells distantly of pine. Tastes really pedestrian for a Deschutes beer -- light in body and flavor. Mild with hops, citurs, and malt. Bummer.

Looks nice clear amber colour. Very fresh sweet aroma almost like blck tea. It is not as hoppy as I was expecting but all in all still a nice beer.

Courtesy Mr. Stitch. I wasn’t a big fan of this. Seemed thin and weak. Aroma was stale hops but very faint. Pour was a nice medium amber with a 2 finger off white head. Taste was very neutral. There was a thin pine hoppiness to it but it didn’t carry through to the aftertaste. Decent carbonation, but it didn’t make this beer more drinkable.

22 ounce bottle courtesy of kenb. Thanks! Pours a slightly hazy amber color with a thin white head. Decent head retention and lacing. Aroma of citrus and pine hops. A bit like Pine-Sol unfortunately. The taste is red apples, candied citrus, candied cherries and a perfumey note. A bit watery... thin-medium bodied. I’m usually a fan of Deschutes beers and of fresh hop ales but this one just falls short.

UPDATED: NOV 7, 2009
Date: February 03, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party
Appearance: clear dark gold
Aroma: sweet fruity orange aroma
Flavor: sweet caramel malt flavor, nice hop flavor and a long bitter finish

Date: September 20, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: portland brewpub
Score: 3.3 to 2.8
Score: ii+ to ii
Appearance: clear copper, fine off white head
Aroma: sweet caramel malt aroma, light floral hops
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, touch of caramel, light floral hops, light bitterness

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Amber coloured body with copper highlights and a nice-sized tan head. Aroma of fresh hops, caramel, grapefruits and a touch of citrus. Medium-bodied; Strong, but understated hop flavour with a good malt backbone and some mild floral tastes as well - relatively mild for the style and approach, only subdued hops, caramel and some malt come out for me. Aftertaste shows a moderate amount of hops, nothing special, and not much else. Overall, not a very good fresh hop beer, at least when I sampled it. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased earlier in the day from Mondo Vino in Denver, Colorado on 12-February-2010, sampled in Breckenridge, Colorado.

Honey iced tea in the aroma is a little disconcerting. Taste follows. For all the good fresh grass hops, the honey is a detractor for my palate. A little syrupy in the mouth. Finish is neither dry nor waxy-sticky enough for what I look for in a fresh hop.

Boy was I excited when I opened this bottle, only to be let down. I don’t know, I guess I just expected some hops. Very faint aroma, what the hell? I expected hops. The flavor is barely hoppy at all, very thin and watery. I expected more body than this. No real bitterness to speak of. Very disappointed. Deschutes, you’re better than this...

(Bottle) Pours dark amber with a creamy, off-white head. The aroma holds hints of that typical metallic smell you get from boiled hops. The hops also bring clear spicy, earthy, grassy, grapefruity, lemony, herbal, floral and vegetal notes. Light oxidized with hints of wet dog and wet cardboard. Undertones of canned tangerines and apricots alongside a touch of mint, anise and cucumber. The malt brings notes of cookies, nuts and caramel. Crystal hops are too vegetal and earthy for my liking. Maybe some butter. The flavour is light to medium sweet and light bitter with notes of toast, cookies, caramel, nuts, cherries and mild grapefruit/lime/lemon-like citrus. Bit juicy with hints of canned fruits. Vegetal. Citric finish with notes of earth, spices, acid and dry caramel. The mouthfeel is clean and light watery with a near medium carbonation. Light to medium bodied. I don’t like how the dishwater and vegetal hop tones collide with the dry, nutty and syrupy malt.

Poured straw yellow with a sudsy white head. Nose was very weak on hops, some graininess, not much else. Taste is extremely bland, little hop flavor, just bitterness, body lacks sweet stability, just lacks distinguishing flavor. First Deschutes beer I have every poured down the drain.