Deschutes Cinder Cone Red Ale

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
Bend, Oregon USA

From notes taken at the Southwest Beer Festival in Scottsdale, Arizona. The conditions were hard to take notes in but these are the ratings and they stand. Draft. Light red color, no head. Malty aroma with some medicinal smells. Well hopped flavor. Clean finish.

The Cinder Cone is another offering, practically pouring into Colorado after a recent border invasion that was welcomed by many beer avids. Though I’m often in the mood for a "red ale" these days, which I take to mean a beer with lots of caramel notes, the Cinder Cone fell a notch short of my appalingly high expectations. After the pour the Cinder Cone’s custard colored head flattens immediately into a thick, dense pancake, below which the deep red brew sits expectantly. The aroma cascades from the glass, robust and provocative with caramel, toffee, more caramel, brown sugar, caramel, and a dry cinder block dustiness. The flavor is somewhat akin to the aroma, starting sweet with a razor sharp cinnamon edge, then dipping into a thick bath of malt bitterness. From here it zig-zags between sweet, spicy and bitter all the way to a quiet and echoing aftertaste. The Cinder Cone is bold, but blocky, strong but bungling - a strong flavor, but lacking the good grace to be a nice flavor.

A good intro to reds and Deschutes. A little heavier than your normal amber, and a hint of roasted barley in the color and taste.

Deep amber with a great aroma. Malty flavour with a decent amount of complexity and a good bitterness to back things up.

Bottle. Poured a relatively dark amber, with reddish highlights and a thick head. Aroma was mostly malty and caramel. Taste was again most malt and caramel, with a bit of a hoppy bite on the back of the tongue. Somewhat thin and a little watery. Not bad, but not too exciting either.

Mmmm, another example of why I love this brewery... Awesome bottle with raised hops along the shoulder. Pours a redish amber. Not much head, though. The scent is a wonderful cross between hops and malt with a hint of...pine! The taste is a well balanced hops/malt. The hops aren't Cascade, which suprised me knowing the brewery, they're Eask Kent Goldings and Tettnang. Great mouthfeel, just enough carbonation to cleanse the pallet but not so much for a mouthful of foam. I could *easily* kill a six-pack of these. I hope there's some left as I will surely be buying more.

12 oz bottle. Pours a caramel color with a frothy head and big lacing. Malty aroma. Flavor is great mixture of malts, roasted barley, citrus and grass notes from the hops. Subtle hop bite lingers in the finish. I am not a big fan of ambers, but this decent.

Bottle, pours a very cloudy yeasty amber orange beer with a very thin head. Aroma is hoppy like a citrus IPA. Flavor is a medium body of caramel, grapefruit, pine. Very smooth and delicious, thanks TikiE, from outwest!