whatchudrinkin?

I considered not posting this beer. I reviewed it a few months ago. I liked it then, and I don’t like it as much now. I bought a six pack of Red Chair for a poker night at Carlos’ place, and a few bottles sat in his fridge until last month when I liberated them. So this is a three or four month old once hoppy beer. Hoppy beers shouldn’t get that old.

Originally I loved the tangerine-like sweetness and citrus bite, but that’s gone now. The malty caramel notes are stronger, and frigging delicious. Red Chair was supposed to be a Northwest pale ale, but this isn’t the beer Deschutes meant it to be. It’s all malt, no hops. It’s not balanced anymore. But It raises the question, should you drink old beer? Should I review it?

I’ve been really concerned that the IPA tastings I’ve been hosting have been full of off beers. Not infected, but not a prime example of the beer. Especially last week. All those beers tasted a little off kilter, a little stale. But I thought, if this is what they are putting on the shelves, if they don’t label them with freshness dates, it’s completely fair for me to rate them. This is how it tastes to anyone who walked into the beer aisle after me, so it’s not like I am sabotaging any brewery. Right?

Red Chair NWPA from Deschutes is full of tangerine citrus, sweet malt, nice little bitterness.  

This Imperial Red Ale is surprisingly hoppy for a red, but that’s Lagunitas’ deal. Citrus hops followed by some malt and a bitter burn.

I had the pleasure of trying three different experimental beers at Deschutes tonight. Hop-u-py Portland NWPA is Lemony but not too bitter. Leap Year NWPA tastes like grapefruit hops. I could smell it coming. The aftertaste is very piney. Hop City 2 is an imperial India pale ale, like Hop Henge. Unlike Hop Henge, the hops in Hop City are a bit flat. I smell the grapefruit, but I don’t taste it. Of the three, Leap Year was the most delicious. I wish it came in bottles.