Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

Okay, I swear I started this blog as just a hobby and really was not trying to scam some free beer … but it's starting to happen. Well, sort of. I've recently sort of weaseled my way into becoming The Austin Chronicle's official beer writer, and Deschutes Brewery of Bend, Oregon, wanting to advertise their entry into the Texas market, sent us a ridiculously fancy promo six-pack of their brews. Seriously: It came in this huge, fancy wooden crate. I'll include a pic later.

Unfortunately for them, our coverage in the Chronicle is extremely local in orientation, and yet another beer entering Texas just doesn't quite rise to the level that I'd review them in our pages. We focus more on local brewers. However, I have no such parameters for coverage on this blog and will be happy to plug them here. So for the next few days, I'll review one Deschutes beer at a time. Hey, it's the least I can do if they're sending it to me for free.

First up: Mirror Pond Pale Ale. This is fine pale. In fact, it's exactly what I'm looking for in a pale. (Mentally, I'm contrasting it with a couple of Texas pales I've drank in the past few days that disappointed me.)

A very floral hop taste. You know, I haven't quite refined my palate enough to differentiate between hops, but maybe I'm learning. I've always heard that Cascade hops are highly prized, and I'm wondering if this floral character is the defining characteristic. It's wonderful, and it's a taste that just gets stronger the deeper I go into the glass.

As my friend Bobnoxious would say, it's "effcellent." I give this an A, and I can see why Bill said their move into Texas is good news for us.

UPDATE: Erik over at Deschutes wants you to know that Mirror Pond Ale and Black Butte Porter is available on draft at these fine Austin establishments:

Billy's on Burnet

Trudy's on 30th

Crown and Anchor

Opal Divine’s (all 3 locations)

Little Woodrow's on 6th

Draught House

Dog and Duck Pub

Fion’s

Cool River

The Dig Pub

...also available in keg form at Spec’s Liquor Store...