Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

Bottle: best by 04/26/2006. That and the small development of sediment floating about isn’t good signs that this beer will be good. Aroma is hoppy and has light trace of citric juice. Flavor is hoppy with a dirty mouthfeel of organic ingredients such as dirt and flour with a metallic aftertaste.

Hazy orange color with a very slight head that leaves a nice lacing. There are hardly any hops on the nose (save for a little grapefruity cascade goodness) and very little bitterness as far as APA’s go. Maltier than the style usually lends itself to. Not bad but not memorable.

Light orange, with head of foam that evaporates slowly. Significant lace left in glass. C-hop grapefuit aroma and malt. Soft on the palate, but an aftertaste of tongue tingle from carbonation. Medium grapefruit and orange flavours, with bitter and a tad metallic finish

01-Jul-06 (12 oz bottle: BevMo in La Jolla, CA) Man, I must have been in some kind of bad mood that day two years ago when I last drank this beer. This is a fruity, mildly sweet, and gently bitter and hoppy pale ale with a light malt base and a lingering hop bitterness. Hardly any hops in the nose, it’s mostly just fruity, lightly sweet and a bit grainy. Light to medium body with pretty easy carbonation too. Light golden in color with a fair amount of haze. The half-inch or so of creamy, off-white head shows solid retention, and man oh man, the dense blanket of lace on the glass is simply magnificent. All in all, this beer’s nothing extraordinary, but it’s quite pleasant and easy to drink.

03-Jul-04 (12 oz bottle: Safeway in Petaluma, CA) The nose isn’t terribly inviting, smelling of cheap, floral, slightly sweet aromas; The cheap tasting flavor is only marginally better, being mildly malty and fairly sugary, with a slight corn flavor and a floral, moderately bitter hops, but again not being all that enjoyable; The finish is almost entirely just kind of sweet; Copper in color, slightly hazy; Sizeable, light tan head on the pour gradually settles to a thin layer and leaves a decent amount of crocheted lacing; Below average for a pale ale in everything except its appearance. (4, 4, 5, 3, 10 = 2.6)

On tap at the Island Sports & Spirits, Coronado CA. Butterscotch amber in color with almost no head. Thin and white if I had to call it. Malty and berry-like flavors dominate. Fairly high level of gypsum. Rather mild body. Decent amount of hops. OK, but not great.

As pales go, this is a very good beer. Malty with some hops and a nice citrus back. Better than a Sierra, but about the same in every category as a Firehouse with less hops.

On tap @ Falling Rock poured a clear amber with a small lasting white head. Aromas of sweet malt, carmel and orange. Palate was light bodied and smooth. Flavors of light carmel and a hint of orange with a smooth bittersweet finish.

Bottle courtesy of IndianaRed. Dark copper/amberish with huge off white head. Plenty of lacing. Aroma and flavor just standard apa, but very well balanced. Caramel/toffee offset by pine hop presence. Very clean mouthfeel, from the almost unibroue like carbonation, doesn’t really detract though. Very sessionable overall.