Deschutes Brewery Mirror Pond Pale Ale

**Aroma:** “Light grapefruit, lemon, and floral notes with a slight grainy sweetness behind hops aroma. A little restrained for style, but still pleasant. Light sweet malt notes with a touch of biscuit malt. Mostly clean with low esters and just a hint of sulfur.” **Flavor:** “Nice up-front hops, balanced wonderfully with a soft malt character. Citrus rind dominates hops flavors with some floral notes. A slight juiciness may be related to the slight caramel note from the malt. Restrained yeast notes provide a subtle fruitiness that works well. Light and carbonic—very drinkable. Definitely hops forward but not out of balance, with a slight lingering bitterness.” **Overall:** “This is your dad’s pale ale—a pretty classic-style pale ale that’s rounded out with no intense sharp edges that hits straight down the middle. All ingredients play well together, but nothing really sticks out. A clean, quaffable pale ale with just a touch of sweetness in mid-palate and a bit mild on the hops for a modern APA.”

**Aroma:** “Initially, malt is more prominent than hops aroma, though as the head falls off, some citrus and subtle piney character come out. Somewhat restrained citrusy hops aroma with a caramel malt sweetness coming through.” **Flavor:** “Somewhat one-dimensional citrus hops up front quickly give way to an overly prominent caramel malt flavor. Finishes bitter but with a moderate amount of competing sweetness. Hops flavors that do come through are typical NW flavors.” **Overall:** “A bit too much malt sweetness and crystal malt character, and not quite enough hops balance. Bitterness is decent but could benefit from more late addition or dry hops. Hops profile is a bit one-dimensional.”

__Aroma:__ “Really fruity. Plum, raisin, dark cherry, blackberry, banana, cherry cola, and sherry notes dominate, with very little malt or adjuncts coming through. Slight spiciness of cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg.” __Flavor:__ “More blueberry fruit up front with malt sweetness washing over the entire palate. The flavor lingers with flavor of nutmeg, light amounts of dark cocoa, and a mild barrel character.” __Overall:__ “Lots of fruit and lots of sweetness. The barrel is subtle. On paper, the combination of spices and ingredients should be an easy slam dunk, but this beer is an example of how ingredients alone do not make the beer. It’s a thin, overspiced, cloying, and nowhere near as enjoyable as other beers we’ve had in the flight.”