Deschutes Inversion India Pale Ale IPA

Deschutes Inversion India Pale Ale IPA, a year-round staple of Deschutes Brewing, poured a jewel-tone reddish-orange into the glass, topped bu a thick, off-white head fed by a fair amount of carbonation trails.  The IPA exhibited a classic Northwest hop profile of flowers and spruce.  

Inversion IPA opened with bitter grapefruit rind and a melange of blurred hops.  As the ale settled, a semi-sweet caramel malt background did come through, but only as a support to the increasingly bitter hops flavors.  The ale ended on an extended, bitter grapefruit rind flavor.

As what used to be one of the IPA staples of every bar in Southern Oregon, Deschutes Inversion IPA is unabashedly hoppy and bitter.  Although the intensity of the bitterness will put off hop haters and the two dimensional makeup makes it a little too aggressive after a few bottles, it was surprisingly refreshing to revisit this Oregon staple. 

Deschutes Bond Street Hop Henge Experimental IPA

Time to celebrate Mardis Gras with another beer from one of my favorite (and most prolific) breweries in Oregon, Deschutes Brewing.  Deschutes Bond Street Series Hop Henge is dubbed an "Experimental India Pale Ale", and is centered around using copious amount of Northwest hops to give it a unique flavor.  That, and they made a replica of Stonehenge using hop bales to celebrate the first brewing!

Deschutes Hop Henge poured a black tea tint in the glass; low on carbonation with a big, parchment yellow head composed of loose bubbles and a frothy top.  The nose was very fruity, with notes of apple and pear.

Deschutes Hop Henge stayed true to its nose, starting with a slightly dry apple front and leading to a sweet, flowery middle.  The malt backed the hops without changing the basic profile of the flavor.  The sweetness lingered well past the final swallow, and there was a subtle, bitter citrus rind background as it faded.

Deschutes Hop Henge IPA makes for a flavorful, bright beverage hop lovers looking for something a little different should seek out at least once.  The 9% ABV doesn't challenege the drinkability at all, but makes for a heady finale.  A bit more carbonation would have been welcome to cut the sweetness and inspire me to follow it up with another, but that's a minor quibble for an excellent ale.