Mirror Pond Pale Ale - Deschutes Brewery

rawfish

California

3.28/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours copper gold with a noticable chill haze, turbid pour nets a two finger parchment paper head, very porous bubbles as it subsides.

Nose is pleasant, nothing too strong but a good mixture, bready with grains, honey, cannabis and a little mint. Hop profile is citrus but toned and earthy. Some faint fruity esters on the back.

Dry and grainy almost has a bit of wheat twang odd for a pale ale. Bread malt taste offset with citrus and lightly herbal hoppiness. Not overly bitter, drinks like an amber, very balanced. A little soapy feel on the aftertaste. Rather simple in its approach but delivered well.

Medium body and carbonation. Full on the drink but finishes dry and with soap residue without much bitterness.

I was looking for a snappy pale ale for this gloomy weather instead mirror pond is more of a sessionable amber, very balanced but doesn't deliver quite the refreshment or enough bitterness. A drinkable brew, but I don't like getting fooled.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2011 23:37:05 | More by rawfish

aracauna

Georgia

3.25/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours pale orange amber with small quickly fading head. THe aroma is mostly hops, although not powerful. A bit citrusy, a bit floral. The flavor flip-flops being mostly malt. Ver bread-doughy, like multigrain bread. The finish is dry and short. The palate is soft. The beer is a bit thin in flavor for my tastes, but it isn"t bad.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2003 00:38:17 | More by aracauna

IceAce

California

3.25/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Twelve ounce bottle with a best-by date of: 03/22/05

Pours a nice bronze body with very nice clarity, capped with a light tan collar of foam with only moderate lacing. Nose needed much coaxing and finally revealed a mild hop aroma...but not a lot of it.

Entry is clean but not noteworthy with a midtaste dominated by euromalt. Finish is Cascade hops, and not in an overdone sort of way. Mouthfeel is a tad thin, but all in all an acceptable pale.

I'd love to sample this with some sharp cheddar.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2005 08:09:01 | More by IceAce

iconoklaztor

Indiana

3.25/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This beer pours a dark golden color. Mirror Pond didn't produce much of a head but it did have a strange sweet smell. A little weird this beer is a little thin and not very hoppy. Probably a old batch. I received this in a trade and wonder how old it is. probably good fresh.

Overall, this beer could be good fresh. its a little sweet and has very little hoppy notes. I'd try it again just to confirm or debunk what I wonder about this beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2008 23:09:51 | More by iconoklaztor

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

SargeC

Japan

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

Appearance: Slightly hazy, amber-gold beer with a frothy, golden white head.

Smell: Decent hop aroma with sweet malt accents.

Taste: Light citrus flavor with minimal malt character.

Mouthfeel: Light body. The finish on this brew leaves me hanging.

Drinkablity: Decent brew, a bit tamer than I expected.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2008 04:31:22 | More by SargeC

SWMeyer4141

Texas

3.23/5  rDev -18%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured into a Pint Glass...

Appearance-Pretty clear light amber with a two finger off white head. Some nice lace.

Smell-Flowers and Pine. Big malts, bready, biscuity malts.

Taste-Very malt forward, light bitterness in the side of the tongue. Not too much flavor besides the malts. Pretty one demensional.

Mouthfeel-Easy to drink. Light bodied with pretty high carbonation.

Overall-Reasonable and easy drinking pale ale, as for flavor, pretty average.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2011 02:36:41 | More by SWMeyer4141

jzmaxson27

Illinois

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

Huge thanks to tony223366 for this beer!

Reviewed alongside a Fresh Hop Mirror Pond on 12/4/11 from a bottle dated best by 02/07/12.

Appearance: Pours a nice translucent orange with a pale white frothy cap of about 1 finger. The head quickly dissapates, leaving only a thing ring behind.

Nose: It smells juicy, but not overpowering. Orange notes dominate, maybe a little lemon zest, the faintest whiff of phenolic alcohol.

Taste: Much more bitter than expected from the nose. The aroma promised orange, but the flavor delivered grapefruit. There is a sharp tartness at the front of the tongue which I quite like, though as it spreads across the palate it morphs into a minerally flavor. This is largely one note however, and the malt characteristic is almost non existant here. For some reason, as I sip on it, the product TANG keeps popping in to my head.

Mouthfeel: Thin, but in a refreshing way and not too lacking from it. Carbonation is appropriate for the style.

Overall: This would be a good summertime drinker for most I think. The predominance of bitter grapefruit in the taste without much to offset it turns me off a bit, but overall it's not a bad beer. Not remarkable, but easy to drink and refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2011 05:57:13 | More by jzmaxson27

jmdrpi

Pennsylvania

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

12 oz bottle, Best by date of 9/11/12 on the bottle.

copper colored, bright white head that fades quickly. sharp grainy malt aroma. some earthy hops are in there as well.

taste is well balanced. biscuity malt, slightly citrusy hops. thin to medium body, higher carbonation.

overall - average, easy drinking pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 03:48:22 | More by jmdrpi

david18

New York

3.2/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I like the Deschutes Brewery a lot and had very high expectation for this beer but was a little disappointed in the end. Pale Ales are tough to be real standouts because if anything of the aspects dominate (hops, malt, etc), then it's something else. However i would recommend this beer just for its pedigre.

11/14/10

Had this beer again and would agree with the above. Not really a stand out. Color was a light copper with a light hop aroma. Flavor also had a light hops, nothing outstanding but not bad at all.

Serving type: on-tap

10-31-2009 01:55:11 | More by david18

Jemonster

California

3.2/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: Clear amber with foamy yellow head that quickly fades away. Sticky lacing and large bubble carbonation.

S: Grains and hops. Some light stone fruits, peach maybe, and some cedar/wood.

T: Grains and medium hop bitterness. Starts off with an IPA-like flavor and ends bland. Bitterness fades quickly.

M: Thin with bubbly carbonation. Typical for the style.

D: This is a beer that people are usually glad to see you show up at a party with, since it's a little better than the terrible stuff that is the most common. Easy to drink casually, but nothing there for people looking for something interesting.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2010 04:13:46 | More by Jemonster

winomark

Missouri

3.18/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle notched with a "best before end of month" marked August.

Appearance: Pours a beautiful copper with a substantial off-white head.

Aroma: Good hop citrus balanced with sweet malt. Slight hint of wheat?

Taste: Good rich maltiness help balance a good dose of hops.

Mouthfeel: Coating, but with a dry finish. Lingering bitterness is quite pleasant.

Drinkability: My first real love of west coast beers. Thanks to Dave for making me try this one. Well done, but wish I had a fresher bottle.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2003 16:18:52 | More by winomark

ShrLSU

Louisiana

3.18/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The appearence is a clear copper color with some nice white lacing and almost zero head. THe nose has some piney hop and a fail amount of malt in there as well. Taste is some slight hop bitterness with a light malt taste coming through and taking over. A slight grassy hop taste at the end. Mouthfeel is medium with nice carbonation. Overall a pretty modest pale ale. Good but nothing to get excited about.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2009 03:23:00 | More by ShrLSU

nohead02

California

3.15/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

The label talks about a generous helping of cascade hops but I think this beer lacks a bit. Not much of an aroma upon pouring and there seems to be a very subtle sweetness that distracts from what hoppiness there is. Kicks up a frothy head that makes you think there might be something to this beer but in the end it doesn't deliver.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2006 03:40:44 | More by nohead02

jethrodium

California

3.15/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle. Pours dark golden amber with a small white head that leaves a good amount of lacing on the glass. Aroma is light floral hops as well as some sugar cookie. Not terribly complex, but enjoyable. Taste is very similar to the nose. Some sugar cookies as well as some floral hops. Clean finish with a light bitterness. Light body. Medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2011 20:07:12 | More by jethrodium

ryrust5301

Louisiana

3.13/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Similar to a glass of apple juice in color. Clarity is of the highest order. Doesn't seem to have enough body to it, and it seems as though it should be very thin. Head was a nice white and certainly up to pale ale standards, but once again nothing holds together very well.

Smell - Pale malt shines through with a hint of apple skin. Seems as though there's a bit of a sweetness to it as well.

Taste & Mouthfeel - A very average pale ale, and much to thin for my taste. Almost watery in a way. A very solid pale malt backbone wins the day here, and I don't taste very much hops at all. I do taste the apple more than any other fruits. Feel is very thin with little carbonation.

Drinkability - Sierra Nevada curb stomps the crap outa this beer. It is highly poundable due to it's light body. If you lived in Oregon a sixer would make for a nice session beer at a gathering.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2009 03:29:48 | More by ryrust5301

321jeff

Maryland

3.13/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

12oz bottle into my Troegs pint glass. Best by date of 8/19/10, received in a trade in early December 2010 and consumed in February 2011.... great, thanks for that.

Pours a gorgeous amber caramel color with lots of suspended carbonation and a finger of just off-white head. The head fades to a solid layer and leaves some decent lacing. So far, so good.

The aroma is actually holding up well. A solid blast of grapefruit and orange teams up with some sweet caramel to create quite the sweet smelling concoction.

The aroma may have held up, but the taste doesn't seem to have made it. Some caramel sweetness and bits of citrus but it's all kind of muddled by a faint taste of tea in the background. Kind of a mess at this point.

The mouthfeel is a bit off as well, almost grainy but at the same time thin and watery with an especially weak finish. I'm sure this is a good beer fresh and I wish I had noticed how far past the best by date it was when I received it. Lesson learned: drink your pale ales fresh.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2011 01:34:24 | More by 321jeff

magictrokini

California

3.1/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

As pales go, this is a very good beer. Pours clear amber with a medium white head. Malty with some hops and a nice citrus back. Consistent throughout. Clean taste. Better than a Sierra, but about the same in every category as a Firehouse with less hops.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2008 23:07:22 | More by magictrokini

BuckeyeOne

Washington

3.1/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

This is one of the first craft beers I'd ever had. Based on this beer, I didn't think I was a craft beer drinker. It pours with a nice head and has a beautiful amber color. But, the malt sweetness smacks you in the face. And, the taste follows. It's just way too sweet for me.

If this APA has hops in it, I'm hard-pressed to find them. I just can't get past the malt. I know there are others who prefer the balanced English pale ale to the West Coast-sytle hop forward style, but I'm not one of them.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2010 21:02:50 | More by BuckeyeOne

alcstradamus

Illinois

3.1/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Reviewed from notes

Pours a light golden color with a half finger of head and a tad bit of lacing. The aroma is pretty light, made up mostly of bready malts and earthy hoppiness. The flavor is very crisp, but the hops are virtually non existent. This would be fine if the malt profile was a bit cleaner, but there is some mustiness that holds it back from really being an easy drinker. Bitter finish. Overall, a nice beer perhaps to have with a burger and fries but not something I would purchase again.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2010 20:53:25 | More by alcstradamus

justintcoons

Pennsylvania

3.1/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured into a pint glass.

A: Light amber with 1 finger of creamy looking head. Moderate carbonation with excellent clarity.

N: Lemongrass, tangerine and caramelized sugar.

T: The caramel malts are very forward in this beer. The hops bill is comprised of notes of lemongrass along with dollops of grapefruit, tangerine and pineapple.

M: Medium bodied, crisp, smooth, clean and refreshing.

O: A very underwhelming APA. It's balanced and easy drinking but I would prefer the hops to be a little more forward.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2012 20:51:31 | More by justintcoons

crossovert

Wisconsin

3.08/5  rDev -21.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22 ounce bottle, best before 08/12/10.

This one actually gushed on me when i popped the cap, but it was a really slow gush and it never overflowed. It pours a nice, if standard, golden orange with a creamy white head. As it quickly recedes there is some lacing.

There is a definite grapefruit scent in this one, some bready, almost buttery malt and a bit of herbal character.

The taste is smooth, with a hint of hops and butter, bready malts, it is rather average though, a bit too buttery for my taste.

This brewery produces some liquid gold, unfortunately not this.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2010 23:20:57 | More by crossovert

chugalug06

Colorado

3.08/5  rDev -21.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A - Big thick white foamy head. Brew is clear amber color with lots of orange and some reds. Moderate lacing.

S - Some big pineapple. Slight kiwi. Lots of apples and other citrus.

T - Very nice and light. Not aggressive. Underwhelming.

M - Decent carbonation. Average bitterness, not as much as I would like... No bite.

O - An underperforming brew. Last time I had this one, it blew me away, this time the brew/batch has let me down... COME ON DESCHUTES, don't let me down....

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2011 00:31:12 | More by chugalug06

RBorsato

Virginia

3.05/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Tasted on-tap 06/04/07 at a sports bar near the (closed at eh time) Tugboat Brewpub in Portland, OR.

Nice golden color with a decent off-white head and some lace. A nicely balanced malt and light hop aroma and flavor. No real defining hop characteristics that stand out. Medium-light bodied and easy drinking.

A very average APA. I wonder if this bar didn't take care of their kegs very well...

Per DB website:
Hops: Cascade
ABV: 5%
IBUs: 40

Serving type: on-tap

04-18-2008 18:42:54 | More by RBorsato

PEBKAC

New York

3.05/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

The scent of hot asphalt coming through the AC really works my appetite.

Pint glass pour. Toasted, chill-hazed orange caramel color. Chunky off-white head. Sticky resins turn the glass ugly.

Smell kind of like what you'd think dry-hopped Tang would be like. Just a touch bready in the back.

Citrusly bitter upfront, nearly tart(& quite refreshing). A touch steel-y though. Midway through a sourdough sort of malt fills it up, dragging along whatever lingered. Aftertaste is almost salty.

Feel isn't my favorite. It's a touch gritty. The alcohol, though low, paired up with the hop oils, becomes solvent-like.

BB: 09/30/09

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2009 23:58:59 | More by PEBKAC