Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

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

My favorite beer I’ve ever had. I’ve tried many, and I still find myself sticking to this one. Doesn’t get any better.

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.

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.

I drink Mirror Pond every night. It’s the cleanest, freshest tasting beer I’ve ever had. It never gives me a hangover. Perfect flavor, so you can drink them all night long. Clean drinking, good times....

Truly what I hope for in a northwest style pale ale. Strong cascade hope nose(by pale atandards) Balanced mouthfeel and flavor, according to NW version of the style. I think I'll have another.

Excellent tasting beer with some hoppiness but not too much if you don't like too much. Very crisp with a great balance of hops.

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