Deschutes Inversion IPA

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

<b >Personal Milestone: At long last, My 100th IPA Rating (out of 2636)... and this is supposed to be my favorite style!

And a good IPA it is at that, made more so by the fact that I’m having it whilst two guys are rodding out my sewer line because my basement’s been turned into a lake! It (the beer, not the basement) has an orange/copper body with a rocky off-white head that laces in chunks. It’s got a big aroma of PNW hops, the grapefruit smell dominating, over sweet caramel. More balanced in flavor than I’d expected it to be, the malt provides a strong, caramel backbone to support the sharp bitterness of grapefruit, pine, and orange zest. The finish is both lengthy and bitter. Perfect for a pre-basement cleaning session.

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Pours opaque caramel with a thick, long-lasting off-white head and plenty of lacing. Aroma and palate are more like those of a brown ale with a hoppy note -- silky smooth body with nutty, honey-and-apples sweetness and floral notes. This is a unique take on the IPA that makes for a really excellent beer.

I haven’t had such a daringly sweet IPA in a long time. Most recommendations pointed me towards dryer, wheatier India Pale Ales, which were a mixed bag themselves. They had a savory character which matched well with flavorful food, but left my sweet tooth yearning for a bit more. Though the Deschutes Inversion IPA has a few flaws, it was for me noticeable sweeter than all other IPAs I’ve sampled. In other words it corrected what others lacked, and lacked what others had already corrected. My ideal bottle of IPA squirms away yet again. Still a lesson learned and another beer tasted: the Inversion IPA poured a nice thick caramel color with a hint of brown that made me think of a mallard’s tail, topped with a poofy, billowy head that, for whatever reason (Moonbeams reflecting off the swamp gas?) had a nice seafoam green patina. It was such a fascinating plume of static foam that I wrote “Weeeeeeeeeeee!” in my notes. The smell was fairly standard as far as my experience has been with IPAs: light and hoppy with some soy sauce, flowers and in one instance of unique character, a smell of sugar glaze like the kind that comes on donuts and pastries. The taste began very dry and hoppy like the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, but eased into a lighter melody of flowers, almond, honey, coriander and orange. Gripping all these flavors together was the remarkable sweetness that seemed to drift from natural sources – most discernibly the citrus elements. It was a nice and easy drink for my first night back to school and kept the company lively, but failed to seal the pact between my finicky taste buds and the whole style of pale ales.

A completely different take on an "IPA," if it even actually qualifies for the name. Tastes and looks much more like a stronger, hopped up (and inferior tasting) version of their Cinder Cone amber to me. I like the brew OK, but I definitely think its masquerading under an IPA label. Liked Deschutes’ other IPA MUCH better. I very much doubt I’ll try this one again.

Bottle courtesy of Secret Santa. Dark amber body with a big beige head (3+). Moderate hops, crystal/caramel malt and very minute resin in the aroma. Moderate orangey resin in the flavour, moderate bitterness that lingers long into the after taste with hints of grapefruit. Average palate. Average brew but drinkable.

gold/orange/copper color, light head with sweet/hoppy aroma, nice bittering from the hops with a light grapefruit flavor and carmelly aftertaste,

On tap at Mac’s Place. Good Size head. Amber/Orange color. Sweet hoppiness up front. Bittersweet dry grapefruit finish and aftertaste. Tons of grapefruit and a little pine in this one, the malts are barely noticeable. Bitter finish ahd aftertaste. Medium bodied. Pretty tasty and refreshing IPA.

Draft at the Parkway’s Day of IPAs. Pours cloudy dark amber with a medium light tan head. Really an appetizing beer to look at. Still body. Not much on the nose other than bread (though mine may be shot after so many IPA samples today), creamy body with notes of yeast and cherry against a mild hop bill. Good stuff if not exceptional.