Saw this at the store by my house when I stopped in for chili fixins. Everything I've had from Deschutes brewery has been excellent.
Long long hop flavor and finish following a distinct bitterness. Half a glass and it is bone dry. At first there was a malty sweetness but thats gone now. Taste-buds wiped out by a citrus explosion spiraling out of control. They mention something about getting a smoother ride. Maybe not full on but this beer is a hop assault.
I think some sweet sticky smoky ribs would pair up with this nicely.
The neck label says: Another slap at brewing convention. Another kick in the pants. Enjoy.
Can anyone explain this?
Funny you detected bitterness. I didn't detect much, which makes this brew a bit schizo. Deschutes used to refer to it as an IPA, but now has renamed it to be a PNW APA. To me, it's simply a "BIG" APA, which could be an IPA except for a decided lack of bitterness, which seems to be Deschute's opinion below. They are referring to the older packaging when it was an IPA, to its current APA designation.
# Deschutes Says:
April 26th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
They are the same beer, just different packaging. We felt that Red Chair was not quite bitter enough for an IPA but more interesting than a traditional pale so we renamed the style to NW Pale Ale.