Deschutes Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 6.4%

Intro: Red Chair was first released in 22oz bottles last year as the “Red Chair IPA”, but it is now taking Cinder Cone’s place in Deschutes’ lineup of six-pack beers. Based on a response from a brewery rep, this Red Chair recipe is the same as the old:

The Red Chair that was in the 22 oz bottle last summer and the one that we just released in the 6 pack are based on the same recipe. But, the flavor of the current batch is slightly different than the last one. Just like Hop Henge and some of our other seasonals, the flavors do shift as brewing is both art and science

Description: Pours a clear light copper with big head. Citrus hops shine from the beginning aroma till the last bitter drop. Plenty of biscuit and caramel malts to balance throughout. Bitterness is solid, but not overwhelming. This has all the hop flavor I look for in a good IPA or pale ale. Its medium body is enough to carry the hops, but it is light enough to encourage more than just a single bottle. It really drinks much lighter than the 6.4% ABV. Overall, this is a perfect six-pack beer for my preferences. I rarely buy sixers these days, but I just might while this one is still around. You can often find Deschutes six-packs on sale at your local grocer, and at $7 or $8 per sixer this would be an absolute steal.

Verdict: Buy the hell out of it
Availability: Widely available in six-packs at grocery stores and bottle shops through April.

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Commercial Description/Press Release:

Red Chair NWPA is named after the oldest operating lift at Mt. Bachelor here in Central Oregon. And just as the locals line up for that fabled mountain ride, they flock to our Bend brew pub whenever it goes on tap. One thing we’ve learned, “when the brew pub talks, listen.” For the past two decades, the serious beer fanatics down there seldom miss when we’ve hit on something truly special.

What makes this copper colored beauty so wildly popular? As a debut Northwest Pale Ale, it’s an adventure all its own. It has a plush body with satiny caramel flavors derived from seven varieties of malt. Yet, despite it all, it remains a hop-forward ale with that distinctive citrusy punch. Just minus any mouth-puckering bitterness.

In the interest of full disclosure to satisfy the FTC’s law, this review was of a sample bottle received from the brewery.