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It is tough to pick the beer to start the season with but sentimentality for my home state of Oregon and the fact that I love the rotating artwork each year means that Jubelale from Deschutes Brewing gets the nod.
“Cozy up fireside with this festive winter ale full of spice notes and a robust malt character of toffee and dusted cocoa.”
Mixing the mundane with the outer space is this cool label from Mason Ale Works. I really like it when breweries use equipment in their beer names over ingredients because the latter always tends to end up as a bad pun. Adding a moon mango is a great little design touch too.
This new Deschutes beer has just the right antidote for the depressing times. Beer as hug therapy. Very cool.
The NBA season was steamrolled by the virus but that may have been for the best considering how my beloved Blazers were struggling and it gave time for Deschutes to craft a new lager with the red and black color scheme to prepare for the draft.
Let’s start the holiday season with a classic of winter ales…
I love that each year a new artist is selected by Deschutes to design their seasonal and I love that they call it a “festive” winter ale. This is a must have for me every year.
Not to stereotype but I would have thought that a Baklava based beer would have come from a place with a large Eastern European contingent. But this new pastry stout comes from Deschutes and it actually sounds quite delicious based on the special ingredients list as well as the tri-barrel approach.
I have written about Non-Alcoholic and low alcoholic beers on my blog as well as Beer Paper LA because I think it is the next style category due for a breakout. Beers like Dogfish Head’s SeaQuench have made a mark that will lead to more and more may be coming from another brewing old-timer, Deschutes.
The Bend, Oregon brewery has joined up with Sustainable Beverage Technologies, the creators of what they call “BrewVo”, their method of making alcohol free beer. Deschutes will be tapping a hop-forward beer and an Irish stout in Bend and at their Portland pub and if the response is good, may get packaged as well.
Deschutes also has a low-alcohol sessionable IPA with the name of that will barely tip the ABV scales at under 3%.
Yesterday, I completed another circuit of life. And to celebrate before heading out on a wee little trip, I brought this little gem from 6+ years ago, up from the cellar, Black Butte 24th Birthday.
Add this to the list of beers that I was worried about due to letting sit unopened for too long. But a big nose of barrel-aged-ness popped once I popped the cap of this wax sealed birthday reserve.
This beer though is really mellow. There is some oak and vanilla but no burn at all. That allows for the figs and dates to come through and show off a bit. This beet still had quite some carbonated spark to it as well coating the top of the mouth. Putting my nose deep into the glass, more of a soothing caramel spirit note is hidden deep too.
A good choice to savor as opening gifts.
Before I finish up my trip to the PNW, I thought I would highlight a cool idea that the now 30-year old Deschutes Brewery has concocted…
The Bend based brewery has “invited several Deschutes Brewery alumni to return and collaborate on seven exciting new brews.”
Per their press release, “The Deschutes Brewery 30th anniversary collaboration “family tree” includes John Harris, Deschutes Brewery’s original brewmaster with Ecliptic Brewery, Frank Appleton a brewing consultant responsible for creating the recipes of Deschutes’ beloved brands such as Black Butte Porter and Cascade Golden Ale, Tim Gossack from Bell’s Brewery, Tony Lawrence from Boneyard Brewery, long time brewer Mark Vickery, Paul Arney from The Ale Apothecary, and Cam O’Connor and Larry Sidor now with Crux Fermentation Project.”
There is also the little thing with….
Light and dark from Oregon way with the middle being the can release from Arts District Brewing. Always make sure that you are drinking more than just IPA’s.
~LIGHT
Upright Brewing/ Saison Vert6.5% ABV
“Saison Vert is an open fermented wheat based brew made with black limes, giving the otherwise bright beer a darker flavor profile. Layered with spice, citrus, earth, and even walnut notes, Saison Vert goes down easily with tremendous nuance. Several kegs will see out of state distribution, so look for both locally and across the country.”
~MEDIUM
Arts District Brewing/ Traction IPA7.8% ABV
“A vibrant and luscious IPA layered with ripe papaya, mango, citrus, and fresh cut grass. Finishes clean and dry. Hop forward to a spotlight on the Mosaic varietal.”
~DARK
Deschutes Brewery/ Black Butte Anniversary XXIX12% ABV
“Every year, we celebrate our anniversary with an imperial, barrel-aged version of our flagship Black Butte Porter. This year, to celebrate 29 years, of brewing, we’ve added Chocolate Malt, cocoa and cinnamon for another multi-layered flavor experience.”
All of these beers can be found at Sunset Beer Co. (unless they got bought up real quick)
There are three Christmas beers that I always have at least one bottle of: Anchor, Sierra Nevada and Deschutes with their rotating label of art, Jubelale.
The Jubelale page of the Deschutes website declares that the beer has “Cocoa, dried fruit, and toffee notes. A robust ale with a warming spice.”
And here are my thoughts….
Such a cool label this year. Bright and colorful while remaining wintry. The beer pours a brown with orange tints. My first reaction is smoke. Leather and tobacco combined. Bright with minor cherry notes too. Almost has a barrel-aged quality to it.