Deschutes Brewery’s Red Chair NWPA (Northwest Pale Ale) is nearly off the shelves, that’s how late this review of this year’s release is, but it’s still a fine and tasty beer that I have some notes for. You may recall it was originally sent to me back in late December in a PR package; since then I’ve enjoyed a fair amount more (bought a case at Costco a little while back).

It’s a good beer. 6.2% alcohol by volume, 60 IBUs.

Appearance: Copper colored and clear, with cream-colored fine head.

Smell: Fresh citrus and tropical fruit aromas; nice green hops pair with juicy sweet notes and lightly caramelly malts.

Taste: Toasty, biscuit malts that are soft and sweet, and nicely mellow-bitter hop presence that’s rich and flavorful instead of harshly bitter. Reminds me of arugula or other similar greens, a touch of lemon pepper, juicy fruity floral notes.

Mouthfeel: Incredibly soft on the tongue, makes me think “cask.”

Overall: Very good, great hop flavors and aromas, built on a solid, toasty pale ale base.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores an overall grade of A-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.57 out of 5 and is in their 95th percentile.