Pints and Steins

Deschutes Brewing, located in Bend, Oregon, is amongst my favorite breweries. This brewery has been around since the mid-80′s and is one of the big boys in micro-breweries based in Oregon, along with Widmer and Bridgeport. Deschutes is available in most of the country, in fact, no matter where you’re from, you’ve likely seen Mirror Pond Pale Ale on tap or in bottles.

In today’s review, we continue the fresh hop ale trend by trying Hop Trip Pale Ale from Deschutes. This beer stands out because the brewers actually drive to my home turf of Salem, Oregon to pick their hops amongst the fields around Oregon’s Capital city. Then, they immediately drive back to Bend to boil the hops immediately and begin the brewing process.

Hop Trip comes in at 38 IBUs and weighs in at 5.4% alcohol. The description on the bottle describes this as a citrousy hoppy beer with fall spice.

Hop Trip pours with very little head and has a copper-red color to it. It’s an appealing looking beer which just makes you even more excited to drink it.

Normally descriptions are justified, and in this, case Hop Trip is exactly as advertised. The Cascade Hops seem like they pop in your mouth upon your first sip. This beer is a little bitter, but a quick spicy aftertaste that makes this a balance hoppy beer. Hop heads will likely think Hop Trip is a little weak, but for hop lovers and those who like a mild IPA, Hop Trip will hit the spot.

Finally, the fresh hop season is upon is. This special time of year comes right as Autumn descends upon our fair State.

Each September, brewers from around the state come to the Willamette Valley to pick hops directly off the vine and boil them immediately into amazing ‘fresh hop’ beers.

This year, Deshcutes Brewing is going all in with special versions of Fresh Hop Mirror Pond Pale, Inversion IPA, Oktoberfest and a few other special ales.

This year is especially unique because Hop Trip will be available in stores as 6-packs as well as the normal 22 oz bottles. Fresh Hop Mirror Pond is available in 22 oz bombers.

So get yourself to a Deschutesutes Pub, in Bend or Portland, today and try out the new ales – you won’t be disappointed!

On the “The Early Show on Saturday Morning” on CBS recently, the program highlighted 5 beers.  What is absolutely great is that all of the beers highlighted are from the great state of Oregon!

We have a reputation for being nuts about beer and it’s great to see some great Oregon brews put into the national spotlight.  Which beers did they choose?  They discussed 5 beers from 5 different breweries all around the state, stretching from Portland, to the coast, then all the way inland to Central Oregon (my favorite part of the state).

Here is an excerpt:

Widmer Hefeweizen: A great American version of a German wheat beer. It’s a little tangy, and very refreshing. A great summer beer. I’d pair it with grilled seafood, raw oysters, that sort of thing.

Full Sail Session Lager: The beer world divides its product into lagers and ales; it has to do with the type of yeast used and the brewing process. But an easy rule of thumb is that lagers are like white wine (lighter, crisper), and ales are like red wine (bigger, richer, more powerful). Full Sail makes a great, tasty lager, good with almost anything. Personally, I’d drink it with hot dogs off the grill, but it’s also a classic all-purpose beer: chicken, potato chips, pretzels, you name it.

Deschutes Green Lakes Ale: This is an ale, so it’s richer and darker than the Full Sail Session Lager. What’s especially cool is that it’s made from organic ingredients. Deschutes is based in Bend, Ore., but it has a brewpub in Portland, too. I’d drink this with a hamburger; for me, ales like this are ideal burger wines.

Bridgeport IPA: Another ale; this was a style invented by the British, called India Pale Ale. Hops, one of the ingredients of beer, act as a preservative, so the British made an especially hoppy brew to ship on the long voyage to India. Hops also add flavor-a kind of citrusy, piney, bitter note that’s very pronounced in IPAs. I think they’re great with fried foods — anything from fried shrimp to French fries — the bitterness kind of wakes up your mouth after all that rich fried coating.

Rogue Dead Guy Ale: This is a darker, more intense style of ale (technically, it’s a German style called a Maibock). It’s a bit higher in alcohol — 6.5 percent — with a toasty, malty character and real texture to it. This is my go-to for big, spicy foods: sausages on the grill, barbecued ribs, that kind of thing.

Kudos to these Oregon brewers for churning out great brew and getting some well-deserved recognition!

I’m at Deschutes Brewery in the Pearl District of Portland Oregon right now as I write this.  I just ordered a Quail Springs IPA.  Here’s a quick review:

This IPA is not very hoppy…rather it’s smooth.  More like a Pale Ale with a bit more hoppy-ness to it.  Fans of Widmer’s Broken Halo will find this beer to be wimpy in the hoppi-ness/bitter category.

However, if you’re an Ale lover who wants to get his/her feet wet with an IPA, this is a great ‘gateway beer’ that will expose you, lightly, to a taste of what an IPA can be.

Try it out…available at the Portland pub and your favorite beer store.