Mirror Pond Pale Ale - Deschutes Brewery

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Tiny head, near violet in color. Aroma: loads of fruitiness: strawberry, melons, raspberry, very tasty. Finish is swift, though, and body is weak. I'm becoming bored very quickly. Hops don't provide much spark on the palate, feels a little flat. Maybe it's supposed to , but I feel a bit let down.
I did like Black Butte Porter, and Obsidian Stout, but this one did little for me.

(P.S., Seven years later, I'm a little embarrassed with this review. Now that it's becoming prevalent in my hometown market, I intend to review a freshly tapped pint someday soon.)

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2003 15:26:16 | More by feloniousmonk

drabmuh

Maryland

4.13/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Beer is brownish and hazy. Forms a thin head of small bubbles, white, that leaves some lacing on the glass.

Beer is sweet and has a hint of cascade-esque hops to it. Smell pretty good.

Beer is sweet and medium to light in body. There is some bitterness at the back and well balanced. Some carbonation on the palate, its pretty good. Its simple and tasty. I like it.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2010 02:41:35 | More by drabmuh

zeff80

Missouri

4.18/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Poured out a clear, golden-orange color with a small, white head of foam. It left thin rings of lace on the glass.

S - Ah, Cascade hops! Floral and piney! There are underlying notes of sweet caramel and toffee.

T - It tasted of piney, grassyhops with a sharp bite of bitterness. There is a burnt toast caramel maltiness, too.

M - It was crisp, sharp and smooth. A dry-finishing, medium bodied ale.

D - This is great. Looking forward to trying more Deschutes beers.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2011 02:23:06 | More by zeff80

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.58/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This beer is a wonderful copper color, quite clear as well. Pours with a cream colored head. The aroma has hints of lychee and grapefruit, definitely an American hop signature here. Quite malty tasting with a nice hop flavor that hits the tongue up front. This beer finishes with a slight bitterness. It seemed to be missing the American hop punch that the aroma promised, other than this quite an enjoyable beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2003 15:47:28 | More by Gueuzedude

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.08/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Acquired via trade from Solomon420, so a big “Thank you” goes out to him. Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a bright amber color, with a thin off-white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of floral hops, fruity citrus and caramelized malt.

T: The taste is nicely balanced with flavors of caramel and citrus sweetness and good amount of grassy hops bitterness. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and very crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean and dry.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, decent kick, very good representation of style, this is a very nice beer to drink several of over the course of an evening.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2008 03:15:57 | More by TheManiacalOne

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.15/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours amber to orange with a slight haze. Thick white head holds up well, but only slight lacing

The nose has malt up front and then piney hops (cascade I assume)

Taste: Hops bitterness (grapefriut then resin) on the tounge and throat snd some malt sweetness on the edges, very crisp finish

MF: Smooth, weel blanced and excellent carbonation

Easy drinking PA that goes down great. Not as good as the draft version and the one time was luck enough have this on cask, wow! But this works if you are looking for a PA that won't blow your lips off and still excite the hophead inside you.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2005 00:45:59 | More by russpowell

Halcyondays

California

3.48/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle from the Deschutes Brewery, one of my faves,

A: Pours a slightly cloudy orange, with a nice, thick, off-white head, with very good retention, and a fair bit of lacing left on the glass.

S: Cascade hops predominately, very piney, with some bready, biscuity malts.

T: A good mix of malt and hops, well-balanced, but still, just a standard pale, pine predominately, some grapefruit, but not as good as Sierra Nevada in my opinion, my standard for this style.

M: A little lighter than usual for American pales, a little bit of resin, light to medium-bodied.

D: A good beer, not great, drinkable, but I've had better pales, though not a bad beer for any means, certainly a good try for those hop fans on the West Coast.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2007 02:03:19 | More by Halcyondays

Gavage

New Jersey

3.88/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: orange copper color with a 1" head that lingers a bit before falling. Mild lacing develops. Plenty of carbonation bubbles slowly rising to the surface.

Smell: light caramel sweetness and a bit of floral hops.

Taste: straightfoward pale ale here. Caramel, orange slices, and floral hop bitterness is satisfying for the tastebuds. Some mild fruitiness comes through at the end.

Mouthfeel: crisp at the start but leaning towards a smoother finish. Medium bodied. Very short aftertaste here.

Drinkability: This was a staple on-tap selection at most restaurants we frequented and I can see why. Pleasant and enjoyable in a simple way. Nice and worth having several of.

Serving type: on-tap

07-20-2006 23:30:00 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to russpowell and bitterbill for this!

Pours slightly hazed amber with a white foamy head that thins and lasts, leaving some lacing.

The smell is of citrus and caramel. Mild, but nice.

The taste brings it up a notch or two ... Mild sweetness with citrus that lends a mild bitterness that makes a nice balance. Grapefruity and bittersweet with a touch of mildish sharpness in the finish.

Texture is oily-ish with a medium body.

A well-balanced, fine example of an American Pale Ale!

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2008 23:04:38 | More by jwc215

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours a hazy, attractive orange-amber hue, with two fingers of creamy off-white head, which leaves some random stringy lace around the glass in its wake. It smells of caramel nougat malt, and leafy citrus hops. The taste is sweet bready, fruity malt, and a bit of zingy blended pine/citrus hoppiness. The carbonation is fairly soft, the body medium weight, smooth, and kind of creamy - very nice. It finishes clean and biscuity, the hops chiming in again to cement the mouth-watering dryness.

Yup, a session ale, through and through - tasty, balanced, and increasingly drying - and look - my glass is empty!

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2010 04:47:09 | More by biboergosum

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A 12 oz bottle from Liquid Solutions.

A: The ale has a pale (relatively) amber orange color that has some sparse red notes. The head measured one-finger in size and has left some light lacing.

S: I pick up some citrusy hop notes, slightly grassy and sweet, mixed in with some biscuit malts.

T: The beer shoots for the best of both worlds. It kicks off with an impressive hop profile, grassy and grapefruity, providing a strong flavor kick to start the ale. The hops follow immediately, having a strong caramel flavor. I do notice that the malt flavor finishes fairly thin, trailing off to allow the hops to re-emerge at the end.

M: The mouthfeel is hoppy and tangy, citrusy with a moderate malt body.

D: I'd gladly drink down a few of these. This is a nice sessioning APA, strong on hops without ramping up the alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2007 02:54:49 | More by akorsak

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clear gold/orange with some head that leaves a good bit of lacing. Nose is hoppy and sweet. Taste is heavy with hops with a firm citric/sweet edge to it. Almost like a cross between a lemon and an orange. Feel is what you'd expect - has a little carbonation to it, and it feels good on the tongue. Extremely drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2007 06:22:35 | More by RblWthACoz

barleywinefiend

Washington

4/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pour light amber with a decent head that quickly disappears leaving just a little lace. Moderate bready malt with slightly perfumey hops smell and a hint of sourness. The sourness isn't exactly unpleasant, but it doesn't really add positively either. The flavor is good with a nicely balanced malt base and moderate hop bitterness, leading into an acidic and bitter finish that is relatively long lived. The aftertaste also picks up a hint of sourness as it warms up. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with nice dry texture, lively carbonation, and a slightly astringent finish. Overall this is a nice, clean pale ale that goes well with a variety of foods, especially grilled meats. It isn't too overhwelming, and the flavors are generally good but not overly complex.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2007 16:20:43 | More by barleywinefiend

Wasatch

Utah

4/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Revisted: 31 May 09.

Pours a nice clean/clear dark golden orange color, nice carbonation, very nice two-finger foamy off-white head, with some nice sticky lacing left behind. The nose is mostly malty, with some hops, very slight citrus, and caramel. The taste is malty, some hop notes, nice touch of citrus, and caramel. Medium body. Very drinkable, it's been almost four years, since I've had this brew, I really rated it higher at that time, so today I will rate it accordingly. Still a tasty brew. I could not find a bottling date as before.

Dated 09/02/05. Poured a slight hazy golden color with some nice lacing. Has a very nice taste not bitter at all compared to other Pale Ale's I've had in the past. Very nice body on the light side. Very light compared to other Pale Ale's, very drinkable. I could get use to drinking alot of these (for me 3-4). I really like the taste. A very socialble brew.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2005 23:13:07 | More by Wasatch

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.33/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a three finger off-white head that fades slowly leaving a good lace. Clear amber color. Piney almost grapefruit hop nose. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Favor is mild grapefruit hops with hints of sweetness. 12oz bottle - gift from Portland, OR.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2009 23:19:31 | More by jdhilt

Jason

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12oz brown with a best by freshness date.

LOOK: Bubbly white lace, tarnished golden colour

SMELL: Cascade hops, fruity, citric rind, mint, nutty grain, mild malt sweetness.

TASTE: Smooth, medium body, semi crisp malt, bready, mild fruit, faint esters, hop bitterness, citric peel, oranges, kiss of pine, finish semi-dry

A great pale ale to be had here, any hop head would be pleased and if you love cascade hops this is your ale! A great snapshot of what an PNW Pale Ale.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2012 01:06:04 | More by Jason

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.22/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I'm hooked on Deschutes, and got this as an extra from bendretread. I'm excited to give it a try.

A: Nice fluffy 1 finger head that sticks around for a while. A crystal clear amber honey orange color reveals all the mini bubbles rising up from the bottom. Leaves a slight lacing on the sides of the glass as I drink the beer downwards.

N: Ooooh, a really nice hop aroma slaps me. A slight but distinct crystal malt aroma gives a nice background. On top of blasts with distinct cascade hops that have a really nice aroma. Floral citrus and slightly grassy and spicy hop aromas bite me. A nice fresh hop oil bite as well.

T: Mmmhmmm, again super distinct crystal malt flavor hits you nicely, then adds a really nice juicy hop flavor with some hints of citrus, spicy hop, and a bit of grassy bite. Very crisp and clear, distinct flavors, but delicious flavors. A nice bitter juicy bite and slight fresh hop oil earthy flavor.

M: Medium body with decent carbonation, a little bit of oil feel, and hop spice.

F: Finishes very clean and crisp. Touch of a bitter hop bite, but its not too much. Light and crisp, clears your palate very well with a nice bitter finish. Very nice tasting ale and very clean and crisp, nice crystal malt and good cascade hops. Another winner from Deschutes.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2009 01:29:49 | More by jlindros

mdfb79

New York

3.58/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Another beer my girlfriend brought back from Oregon two weeks ago. Poured from a 12 oz. bottle intp my Gulden Draak tulip. Best by date of 08/12/11 on the side of the bottle.

a - Pours a hazy dark orange color with one finger of fluffy off white head and moderate carbonation evident. Light spotty lacing on the glass and an inch of head stays throughout drinking it.

s - Smells of light citrus hops, fruity malts, some bready malts, and earthy and musty notes. Nice, but I was expecting some more hops in the nose.

t - Tastes of bready malts, citrsu hops, fruity malts, light toasted and caramel malts, and light mustiness. Again, it is good, but more malty than hoppy. Very very light bitter bite from the hops.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation. Smooth and creamy, and just a touch too much carbonation. A little less carbonation and this one would be even easier to drink.

o - Overall a good beer, but their Red Chair NWPA blows this one away. The Red Chair had a lot more hops, whereas this one had a lot of malts and a twinge of mustiness to it. If I saw both on the shelf, I'd suggest going with Red Chair, though this is worth a shot once.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2011 22:39:09 | More by mdfb79

weeare138

Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -18%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appears a hazy copper toned amber with a small, off-white head that quickly fades out. Plenty of small streams of CO2 quickly rise to the top. Scattered spots of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is of candied oranges, flowers, light grass, sugary grapefruit, and cream.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas. Flavors of citrus and honey standing out amongst the mix.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied with lingers of floral, hoppy, & citrus. Mildly bitter, with a thin, dry finish.

Serving type: on-tap

05-18-2007 20:34:33 | More by weeare138

Zorro

California

4.4/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Pours a hazy amber colored ale.

Smell is fruity and hoppy with lots of esters smelling like a BPA. A bit of sweetness and a bit of malt and toasted wheat and pecans in the scent.

Taste is malty and fruity with a woody hop finish at the start. Mild acidity comes out after a bit and pecans and vanilla and oak flavors dominate. This brew never seems to get bitter, only a dry woody finish that is quite pleasant.

Mouthfeel is good.

This brew could pretty much be the reference for perfect drinkability; tasty and mild without beating any of your senses into submission. I could drink this everyday and be very happy for the rest of my life. I give this brew the highest possible recommendation!

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2005 21:21:40 | More by Zorro

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap @ the Deschutes Brewery & Public House (Portland, OR) on 9/5/11. Served in a pint glass.

Pours a deep hazed copper, with a finger of off-white head. This retains with a smooth foamy richness, with a roughly ½ finger flare-up that rings the sides of the glass with thick swathes of lace. The aroma smells fresh and leafy in the nose, with some bright smelling citrus character sitting underneath. Sweet bready grains add a touch of thickness underneath. The more I sniff at this, the more of a fresh and flowery (even herbal) character emerges from this. It’s nice.

The taste is fresh citrus flavor with a moderately (and slightly spicy) bitter bite. That is well balanced by a backbone of sweet bready graininess. While flavorful, the overall profile has a certain amount of thickness to it that taking away from this a bit. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a firm, mouth-filling, creaminess to the carbonation. This definitely still has some smoothness to it in spots though, which helps this go down.

You know, I really liked the character of this for a Pale Ale, having a well balanced and accessible hop profile but the overall thickness of it (which seemed totally unrelated to the body) did hold the drinkability of this back some. I’m guessing that it’s the English-style yeast strain that Deschutes uses, which has never really been a problem for me until this beer. I think that a 16 oz pint of this was just a little too much for me of this beer during this sitting.

Serving type: on-tap

10-03-2011 14:33:39 | More by Kegatron

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Clear copper body. Thin and bubbly dirty white head. Lace is spotty and fairly abundant. Fresh lemon citrus hoppy aroma with a slight background of caramel malts. Quite the nice aroma. Fresh citrusy flavor too with a solid malt backbone. Again, I'd say more of a lemon citrus aspect than the expected grapefruit, but I'm not complaining. This is obviously fresh and very agreeable with my buds. Carbonation level is pretty high and this is quite quenching. Would lend itself very nicely to some spicy Thai or Vietnamese dishes.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2010 02:42:16 | More by Bighuge

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Draft at London Grill.

Pours a slightly cloudy pale golden orange color with golden apricot edges and a frothy two finger soapy white head.  Very good retention only slowly fading into a lasting cap/ring.  Spotty lacing left behind.  

Floral hop aroma with lots of earthy pine as well as some faint citrus.  Pale malt backbone with hints of light fruit and straw.  Subtle alcohol.  

Medium bodied but a bit fuller than expected with a somewhat creamy texture.  Subtle floral hop presence up front with faint dryness.  Only slightly bitter with kind of a weaker hop presence than anticipated.  Sweetness underneath with pale malt, grass, straw, apple and pear.  Slight dry finish.  Very easy to drink.

Serving type: on-tap

06-28-2011 06:51:52 | More by corby112

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.8/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

One of the ol' standby's. Pours a rich amber color, another dark pale oxymoron. Very clear and professional looking. Good aroma.

Taste, lately, has been a little maltier, woodier feel. Good hopping for a pale ale. The standard stuff, none of the new high alpha hops, this feels of Cascade and Chinook maybe. Never really found out what they use. But you know that classic C variety of hop feel v. the simcoes and amarillos of the world. This is old style pale ale from the West Coast.

Mouthfeel, because of the dissipation of the hop quality as you drink, I am a little disappointed. Drinkability is much better, its one of the best price/quality ratio's out there. Routinely find this for $6.99.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2010 03:30:21 | More by Beerandraiderfan

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.5/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pint taken on the veranda of Hotel El Tovar, on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, beat that view if you can!

The beer was a healthy amber colour, very slight haze, but not enough to get excited about. On top sat a thin white head which hung around for a while.

The aroma was mostly hops, a variety maybe, but mostly hops.

The taste was mainly hops, the same variety as the smell, but again mostly hops. A dry bitterness with a hint or two of malt make this a very drinkable beer. They haven't tried to over hop this beer, it sits nicely below the IPA levels and although it leans towards being that style they've resisited to go that far, good.

Serving type: on-tap

05-31-2010 20:49:20 | More by BlackHaddock