Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

Draught. Clear yellow-orange color with bubbly white head. Flowery hop nose and flavor with taffy undertones.

Pours a nice amber color, fluffy white head. A very slight smell of hops... Slight malt flavor is balanced well by the hops. Very crisp and dry finish. Overall a good APA.

Overall a great and crisp pale ale that captures the essence of the style. Starts off with a creamy and abundant head that lasts for a good while. The smell is captivating with a good hoppy aroma that’s a little spicy and earthy. It’s definately inviting you to take a drink. Moving in for the first sip the smell hits your nose and the a lively tingling sensation hits the tip of your tongue as the carbonation takes hold. It has a great, but not overbearing, hop flavor; goes down almost creamy smooth and has a lingering crisp flavor at the back of your throat. This is the third beer from Deschutes I’ve had (the first I’ve rated) and all have been winners.

Ahh, a beautiful specimen indeed. Flavors are integrated harmoniously to create this perfectly ballanced Pale Ale. It’s smooth with a mild finish. This should be the first stop on the migratory trail from the barren flavor fields of mass produced lagers to the fertile forests of American craft brews. Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recomended.

Mirror Pond Pale Ale pours to a deep golden/orange color with a nice white head, and a good carbonation. The first thing that hits you with this beer is the nose. Very, VERY fragrant, zesty, citric hop aromatics flood the nose. This beer is dry hopped with Cascades by the bail loads. The palate on this beer is a very solid malt backbone of pale malts, and a touch of caramel as well. The body is very soft, and this is a very quaffable pale ale. This beer finishes with more outstanding hop flavors. The finish is long, dry, zesty, citric, and very bitter. Really a classic example of American Pale Ale, great showcase of Cascade hop aromas and flavors. The Deschutes Brewing Company of Bend, Oregon is really a fantastic local brewery, serving mostly the PNW and a few other western markets such as CA, ID, and WY. I would match this beer with spicy fare such as Cajun, Thai, Mexican, or Indian. This beer on draught, and also on cask, has such an awesome, fresh, vibrant hop character. That character is present in the bottle, but some what lacking compared to the cask and draught versions. So, when ever possible, go to the source on a beer like this

A bit hazy and dark gold with an off white head. Floral hop aroma of Cascade and Chinook? Light toffee and toasted malt flavor with a touch of butter and some sweetness. Strong hop presence. Clean, mildly bitter finish. Decent body though it could be beefed up. Easy drinking NW pale ale.

Poured a golden pale straw with a creamy white head. The nose was a doughy, malty aroma that’s peppered with citrus and floral notes. The taste started biscuity and bready, quickly followed by an infusion of hoopus amung us notes. It’s bitterness is well-tamed and seems only intended to balance with its malt, leaving it to simply fade from the tongue. Some sweet-biscuit malt does linger. This is one really drinkable beer that would be perfect in almost any situation. Very nice!

I’m used to overpowering pale ales, IPAS, etc, I really enjoyed this one because it was quite mild on the tounge, it was well hopped, but smooth and drinkable too, a great drinking beer on a night I wanted someting a bit smoother for my palate, good brew!