Deschutes Red Chair NWPA

So a friend pointed out to me that I've been on a Deschutes bender the last couple weeks.  Well, it's true.  I keep running across new Deschutes brews that I've never tried before, and I just can't help myself.  So I apologize for my narrow-mindedness and utter lack of variety lately, because it's going to continue today as I drink this Red Chair NWPA!

Just a quick side note - the Packers looked great against the Falcons.....they held a smack-down clinic and completely destroyed them, in Atlanta, very impressive.  I'm looking forward to next week's Packers/Bears game.  I think from here on out I'll be rooting for Rodgers and the Pack to win it all. 

OK, back to the important stuff.  According to Deschutes' website, Red Chair NWPA is named after the oldest operating lift at Mt Bachelor in Oregon.  Not sure exactly what that is supposed to mean in the context of beer...that it is extremely old and dangerous?  Weird name.  This beer is designed to be hop-forward and full of malty goodness with a wide variety of different malts (7 total), and registers at 6.2%ABV, 60 IBUs.  It won the "World's Best Beer" award for 2010.

Pouring this into a pint glass (not pictured, my iPhone was dead while I drank this, iPhone battery life is a joke).  The beer pours a light copper orange color, nice and clear, with foamy and persistent white head.  The aroma is a full of earthy pine and citrus hops, along with a muted caramel maltyness.  There is some sweetness in the nose also, hard to describe but reminds me of honey. 

The beer definitely brings the hops to the forefront - pine cones and grassy undertones, also a lot of citrus.  The malts come through in a bready, lightly sweet note.  The taste of this beer reminds me of hiking in the mountains in Colorado.  It's a general earthiness that is present from the hops through the malt backbone and even in the crisp, dry finish.  Relatively light body, and the mouthfeel is very sharp - I think the beer may be a little over-carbonated.

Overall Rating:  (5.1 out of 6.0)  I absolutely burned through this 12oz bottle of beer.  It is a phenomenal American Pale Ale - it really takes the style to the next level in terms of hoppiness and the flavor profile, while not quite reaching the IBU insanity of an American IPA.  Great drinkability, not overbearing in the alcohol department...the only negative I encountered was the carbonation, which seemed a little too high.  Other than that, great brew.