Lovemaking: Pale Ale Edition Vol 2

Here it is!  The second edition of my pale ale love affair chronicles hot off the press.  I had plans to sell my spicy story to a publisher of those romance novels but they said it was a little too racy.  I even had plans to pose shirtless for the cover but they said I looked too much like Fabio they would have copyright issues.  My next pale ale mistress is fresh in from the west coast, Deschutes Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale. 

The New Belgium Dig began losing its luster and I was looking for a way out of the relationship.  As a sign from the beer gods, Deschutes Red Chair roared into town at the perfect time.  I let The Dig down gently and moved on.  The Red Chair poured with a big three fingered pillowy head.  The nose bursts out of the glass with big bright clean citrus notes and some malt hiding in the background.  A biscuit infused maltiness greets your palate before the hop character sweeps you off your feet.  Big bright citrus notes emerge with hints of grapefruit and an almost orange quality.  The initial sweet biscuit character carries through the entire palate providing a perfect background for the delicious hop character.  The bitterness in this brew is refreshing.  It is smooth, coming on gradually at the end of the palate.  Another unique feature to this brew is the mouth coating quality that showcases the great hop character well into the aftertaste. 

The Red Chair was not as exotic as The Dig.  The Red Chair had the more traditional hop character but was outstanding nonetheless.  The Red Chair suffered the same fate as the Dig.  The hop character subsided and the malt profile becomes more prominent.  The specialness wears off and they become shells of what they once were.  So if you’re like me and have a soft spot in your heart for seasonal pale ales, you have to love fast and hard.  They are sassy vixens that will rock your world but eventually leave you with only memories. 

Cheers!