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Sunday, January 19, 2014

211. Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA


"You pair wheat, hops and belgian yeast and suddenly Bingo, a wheat like nobody else's.  With real depth, coriander and sweet orange peel, it's citrus-packed and silky smooth going down."

This is the last beer that I got to enjoy before a rather nasty cold put me down for the count for almost the entire week.  I'm still going through the effects now, haven't had anything more solid than mashed potatoes and mac & cheese in three days.  Still feel like crap but hopefully I'm turning the corner.  Hate when it happens over weekends.  Anyway, less about me, more about the beer.

This is my first beer from Deschutes, (http://www.deschutesbrewery.com) which seems to be one of those Oregon breweries that gets some solid attention across the states.  I had this with dinner, if I can remember right, it was with some baked chicken breasts, brussel sprouts, and California vegetable mix.  The cloudy, golden yellow colored beer was poured into a pilsner glass, kicking up almost three fingers of soapy white head that doesn't have much retention.  Webs of lacing still remain on the side of the glass.  I detect aromas of dough, wheat, lemon, grass, coriander and black pepper.  All the smells are subtle aside from the dough and the wheat, it doesn't give me the impression that this is an IPA.

The taste also doesn't give an impression of an IPA.  All the tastes are there, the dough, wheat, lemon, grass, spice.  Added is a slightly sweeter citrus note, like orange peel.  I also can taste bubblegum.  The finish is dry, but only slightly bitter.  For an IPA, this is very nuanced and controlled.  I would think this is a pale ale based on the finish.  With a moderate body with moderate carbonation, this beer is very easy to drink, has a lot of sessionable qualities to it.  Maybe that is appropriate for the style, being classified as a Belgian IPA instead of an American IPA.  

This was easy to drink, easy to enjoy.  Very solid beer, which I would heartily recommend.  If anyone can provide some other very good White IPA alternatives, I'm all ears.

Grade: B+
Price Paid: $2.50

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