Deschutes Brewery Inversion IPA

**Aroma:** “Classic Northwest hops citrus nose with notes of sweet orange juice, low resin, and multidimensional. Light malt sweetness with notes of honey (like Bit-o-Honey candy), but not overpowering. Fruity yeast esters hint at apple, strawberry, and pear. Ester aromas are strong—the fermentation character is almost stronger than the hops aroma.” **Flavor:** “Medium body for an APA, medium to high carb. Honey character and citrus tartness return in the aftertaste. Reasonable bitterness but could use a bit more hops flavor. Malt is sweet but flat. Alcohol evident. Balance is a bit on the malt sweet side, but the lack of bitter is made up in hops flavor.” **Overall:** “Predominant orange creamsicle character is interesting. It's a more malt-focused pale ale that wanders a bit into winter warmer territory— it borders on ‘English’ in terms of yeast character. There’s enough malt complexity and richness here to back up a bolder showcase of hops.”

**Aroma:** “Smells like Smarties and perfume. Hops are a bit muted and come through as citrus (lemon and grapefruit) and floral (rose and raspberry), followed by a malt sweetness with hints of caramel. This is a citrus bomb with a big floral note.” **Flavor:** “Very light and fruity. Very low bittering hops (with an herbal, lemon pith profile) and a high amount of flavoring hops—floral, fruity. Very slight astringency in the finish. A bready, cracker-like body. Finish is almost sweet and out of balance for the style.” **Overall:** “A bit overwhelming from the fruity hops perspective and a little bit sweet for an IPA. Could use a little more brightness to make it pop. Too much malt sweetness and the hops aroma seemed to over-promise and under-deliver in flavor. I liked the hops complexity but wanted more of it in the flavor.”

**Aroma:** Coffee, floral, and slightly soapy notes with hints of cacao nibs and a sweet roast aroma. Clean woody roast smoothly melds with a light but distinct hop aroma. **Flavor:** Intense dark chocolate and cacao nibs up front, aggresive roasted bitterness coupled with hops bitterness. Espress-like roast is balanced by light vanilla sweetness and medium-full body. The finish is chocolaty and lightly astingent and alcoholic. Some burnt coffee flavor, with some sweet chocolate that comes through and a bit of citrusy hop character. Roasty finish leaves a pleasantly bitter aftertaste. **Overall:** A very assertive beer that remeans very drinkable. Roasty and chocolaty, but the clean finish makes it easy to have a pint or two. It doesn't apologize for beating up your tongue with its stouty goodness, and while it's perhaps a little too hops-forward for the style, it's so deliciously drinkable that you don't care.