Brewed By: Deschutes Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon
Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Sheridan 'L' Longue in Chicago, IL; 2014 (2014 Reserve - "Best after 02/24/15")
Style/ABV: English-style Barley Wine, 11.2%
Reported IBUs: 53
Tonight's beer had a limited release event --- which I missed. But I was very happy to find it in bottles. About Deschutes:
Reported IBUs: 53
Tonight's beer had a limited release event --- which I missed. But I was very happy to find it in bottles. About Deschutes:
The Deschutes Brewing Company was founded by Gary Fish on June 27th, 1988, when they opened the doors to their Bond Street Public House pub. The brewery has since expanded, growing to be one of the top craft beer producers in America. The brewery also operates a pub in Portland, and has a dedicated brewing facility overlooking the Deschutes river. For more information, check out the brewery's website; their Facebook page; their Twitter; or Wikipedia.
The Mirror Mirror Barleywine is part of Deschutes' Reserve Series of beers. This beer began as a double batch of the Mirror Pond Ale, and should feature lots of big, Barleywine goodness. The bottle says a couple of things, including "best after 2/24/15;" "Mirror Mirror: Barley Wine Ale with 50% aged in wine barrels;" and, "The Reserve Series romance all began with our first release of this limited-edition brew. Mirror Mirror, born of a double batch of Mirror Pond Pale Ale, is an inspired barley wine ale layered with intriguing nuances. Explore this latest incarnation and enjoy its delicious complexity in every sip."
This pours out exactly as you'd expect. Pick your tone: red, orange, amber, copper. It's kind of a murky haze of all of them. The beer produces two fingers of caramel/amber-tinted head, and the head is made up of really nice bubbles. There is impressive lacing, alcohol legs, and some head is retaining for the long haul. Bright light confirms much of the same, and you can see the dots of tiny carbonation rising upwards. Actually, the tight spiderweb lacing left on my glass is one of the best parts about this beer's appearance.
On the aroma: I'm getting a lot of fruity notes and wine character here. I'm pulling out barrel and wine-driven dates, raisins, grapes, berries, cherry, strawberry, and tons of barrel/wine character. There's some nondescript hops on the aroma, with mild pine sap and hop sap, and there is also some underlying brown sugar and toffee sweetness. Overall though, the aroma on this one is somewhat subtle.
This is on the lighter side of Barley Wines, and it is still hoppy enough that it doesn't quite fall into the straight up English Barleywine category. I suspect with age some of these hops are going to mellow out into pine sap, maple syrup, and pine...and it's going to be very nice. I'm getting a lot of toffee, brown sugar, berries, wine tannin and barrel, sweet and candied hops, and sugary goodness. There is some nice barrel character in here, and the wine notes are very subtle with mild grape and tannin kick. It really does kind of taste like an amped up Pale Ale that has been given the wine barrel treatment. There are some cherries and raisins in the taste as well, along with hints of plums.
I'm gonna have to see how this one ages down the stretch. Right now this is Above-Average but it's not quite world class. It's very good though. I'd almost call this balanced and drinkable, especially for the style. While the mouthfeel is full-bodied, it is also thinner and lighter for the style. Nevertheless, you would never guess this is an 11.2% beer as the booze is largely hidden. The beer is well carbonated, and the hops and barrel help balance out the sweetness. Palate depth is fantastic, and the complexity is moderate. Up front is big hop bitterness, pine sap, candied hops, brown sugars, bitterness; that opens into more bitterness, barrel character, wine, tannin, dark sugars, fruits, toffee; the back end dials up some berry sweetness, figs, raisins, more barrel and tannin, lingering wine. The finish is dry and sweet, with tons of barrel and tons of brown sugar/fruit. I think this is going to be stellar in two years.
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. Unlike The Abyss, I think this one will actually really benefit from aging. It's a bit hoppy right now, and that seems to be throwing things off a bit. Having said that, this is incredibly drinkable and balanced. I'm amazed at how smooth and drinkable this is for 11.2%. This is still nuanced enough to work as a sipper, but if you must pair it with food, I'd go with sweeter desserts like bread pudding, or maybe a burger with a sweet barbecue sauce. Good shit, I look forward to revisiting it.
Random Thought: I'm tired of reading about Session IPAs, right?
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| Deschutes Mirror Mirror Barleywine |
This pours out exactly as you'd expect. Pick your tone: red, orange, amber, copper. It's kind of a murky haze of all of them. The beer produces two fingers of caramel/amber-tinted head, and the head is made up of really nice bubbles. There is impressive lacing, alcohol legs, and some head is retaining for the long haul. Bright light confirms much of the same, and you can see the dots of tiny carbonation rising upwards. Actually, the tight spiderweb lacing left on my glass is one of the best parts about this beer's appearance.
On the aroma: I'm getting a lot of fruity notes and wine character here. I'm pulling out barrel and wine-driven dates, raisins, grapes, berries, cherry, strawberry, and tons of barrel/wine character. There's some nondescript hops on the aroma, with mild pine sap and hop sap, and there is also some underlying brown sugar and toffee sweetness. Overall though, the aroma on this one is somewhat subtle.
This is on the lighter side of Barley Wines, and it is still hoppy enough that it doesn't quite fall into the straight up English Barleywine category. I suspect with age some of these hops are going to mellow out into pine sap, maple syrup, and pine...and it's going to be very nice. I'm getting a lot of toffee, brown sugar, berries, wine tannin and barrel, sweet and candied hops, and sugary goodness. There is some nice barrel character in here, and the wine notes are very subtle with mild grape and tannin kick. It really does kind of taste like an amped up Pale Ale that has been given the wine barrel treatment. There are some cherries and raisins in the taste as well, along with hints of plums.
I'm gonna have to see how this one ages down the stretch. Right now this is Above-Average but it's not quite world class. It's very good though. I'd almost call this balanced and drinkable, especially for the style. While the mouthfeel is full-bodied, it is also thinner and lighter for the style. Nevertheless, you would never guess this is an 11.2% beer as the booze is largely hidden. The beer is well carbonated, and the hops and barrel help balance out the sweetness. Palate depth is fantastic, and the complexity is moderate. Up front is big hop bitterness, pine sap, candied hops, brown sugars, bitterness; that opens into more bitterness, barrel character, wine, tannin, dark sugars, fruits, toffee; the back end dials up some berry sweetness, figs, raisins, more barrel and tannin, lingering wine. The finish is dry and sweet, with tons of barrel and tons of brown sugar/fruit. I think this is going to be stellar in two years.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. Unlike The Abyss, I think this one will actually really benefit from aging. It's a bit hoppy right now, and that seems to be throwing things off a bit. Having said that, this is incredibly drinkable and balanced. I'm amazed at how smooth and drinkable this is for 11.2%. This is still nuanced enough to work as a sipper, but if you must pair it with food, I'd go with sweeter desserts like bread pudding, or maybe a burger with a sweet barbecue sauce. Good shit, I look forward to revisiting it.
Random Thought: I'm tired of reading about Session IPAs, right?
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