Deschutes Brewery Pinedrops American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 70 IBU (C$3.99 at Oak & Vine, 355 ml, best before 25-May-2017, acquired 27-Mar-2017, reviewed 29-Mar-2017)
Appearance: hazy straw with one finger of loose white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: resiny pine, citrus, clean pale and caramel malt, tropical fruit, floral. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, crisp dry bitter finish. (4/5)
I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting here, but this? This’ll do. This’ll do, and then some. Resiny evergreen and citrus lead the way over a solid but unobtrusive malt backbone, followed by pineapple and mango tropical and floral notes. Feels pretty fresh, and the best-by date supports that: Deschutes’ normal guideline for their best-by dates is 120 days for lighter beers (200 for dark) so that suggests a bottling date of 25-Jan-2017 or so, and an age of 64 days right now. I always like to get IPAs as fresh as possible (Belgian and Brett styles excluded, of course), but ninety days is a reasonable time frame to expect a West coast style to retain freshness, so although I’d like to find it fresher (preferably under 30 days) I’m pretty happy with this. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
