Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

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

Pours a tawny copper with an abundant near-white head. Tons of lace. Soft aromas of toffee, peach, and hop-derived citrus. Assertive yet balanced grapfruity hop flavor is tasted first followed by a biscuity malt flavor, finishing nice and hoppy but a bit thin. Medium body. Definitely a fine brew and very sessionable; would be great with food as there are no aggressive flavors that may clash with the meal.

This rating is for the 2009 FRESH HOP version of Mirror Pond, which has been combined here with the regular Mirror Pond now. The regular Mirror Pond is a light, drinkable pale ale with good balance, but it does little to blow me away these days. This fresh hop version is brewed with fresh cascade hops and has a completely different flavor profile (we did a side-by-side at the pub). The aroma is perfect fresh hop decadence. The green hops coming out of this glass made me want to run around and rip my clothes off (thankfully for the pub’s other patrons, I did not). The taste follows with intense earthy fresh hops that are a little more toned down and balanced than the aroma, which works out well. It doesn’t get too “funky” from the fresh hops, and there is a little bit of citrus thrown in. You still get all of that hop flavor, yet the beer is still just as drinkable and light as Mirror Pond. Finishes with a stronger bitterness than the regular Mirror Pond, but it’s not even close to being overly bitter. If the fresh hop flavor would have been much stronger in this, it might have just put it out of balance. Overall, I’m just not sure that a fresh hop beer can get any better based on what I look for. Thank you, Deschutes, for making my weekend and giving me a beer that goes straight towards the top of my all-time favorites.
Earlier Rating for regular Mirror Pond: 2/28/2007 Total Score: 3.3
It’s beers like this that I drink all the time, but just never get around to rating....I’ll get them eventually, I guess. This is one of my favorite stand by beers in the PNW. Light and drinkable with decent fruity hops. Grain malt finish. Pretty thin, which makes it a good beer to drink all night.

Bottle from the Kroger on Lamar. Aroma is pretty hoppy and a little floral. Dry, hoppy taste with a little citrus. Aftertaste is a little goofy.

dark amber color. has a good bitter quality, hoppy, light citrus. Little to no head. average Pale Ale.

Another lovely offering from ditmier. Pour is awfully good looking light amber/dark orange with a lasting off white head. Fruity herbal and floral nose with a dominance of orange citrus. Flavor is much more hop forward than many a apa that has come my way recently. Nice caramel malt back bone with a touch of nuttiness. Grass hops at first that fade to a citrus grapefruit bitter hop finish.

(Bottle, Stockholm Beer Festival, 26 Sep 2009) Amber colour with frothy, off-white head. Fruity, hoppy nose with orange and grapefruit. Fruity, malty taste with notes of orange peel, apricots and fresh, citrussy hops in the finish. Medium body with a crisp malt profile. Balanced sweetness. Well balanced, nice and tasty.

Bottle. Hazy orange brown with a large foamy white head with good lacing. Aroma is grassy hops, malty, honey, and brown sugar. Flavor is slightly bitter up front, with a nice backdrop of malts. The hops are nice and astringent with some grassiness. Mouth is slightly carbonated.