Deschutes Hop Trip

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: American Pale Ale
Bend, Oregon USA

Date: February 03, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party
Appearance: clear dark gold
Aroma: sweet fruity orange aroma
Flavor: sweet caramel malt flavor, nice hop flavor and a long bitter finish

Date: September 20, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: portland brewpub
Score: 3.3 to 2.8
Score: ii+ to ii
Appearance: clear copper, fine off white head
Aroma: sweet caramel malt aroma, light floral hops
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, touch of caramel, light floral hops, light bitterness

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

22 oz Bottle from Enniskillen; Nose of floral hops with a little pine and some caramel; Amber with a small off-white head; Flavor of light hop bitterness, caramel, and very light pepperiness; finish is light hops.

Bottle, purchased at Bottle Barn, Santa Rosa. Pours an attractive, mostly clear dark copper with a tight medium off-white head. This was bottled back in hop harvest time so the aroma understandably isn’t striking but a very pleasant mix of floral hops, a little pine and a hint of tea and biscuits. Flavor starts off with heavy, clean notes of toffee/caramel, then comes a rush of a somewhat orange-like citrus character, then some pine. Ends with the taste of some tropical fruit and iced tea - in a good way. A little on the sweet side, the bitterness is subdued and plays a balancing and flavor role in this beer. Medium bodied a soft texture and subtle carbonation. It would be nice to see how this was right after bottling. I will say that everything has melded together rather nicely in this beer since bottling.

Thanks to bmartin08 for the bottle. Hazy orange with a medium to large head. Fair lacing. Aroma is sugary caramel mainly with some grassy and floral hops. Tastes almost like an English Pale. Very big caramel malt with just an undercurrent of hops. They are fresh hops, however.

Giving the drinker a peek into the conception of a pale ale is Deschutes with their American pale ale, Hop Trip. The marketing on this beer gives me the impression that it is big and loud; the perfect beer for a dedicated hop head. Already I’m a little queasy. Still, I cling to a lingering hope that this pale may be subdued, and move to pop the cap. The thick and clouded bronze beer wells up quickly, whipping up a thick, creamy and pillowy head. Its grip on the glass seems strong, but affected, producing a widely spaced lacing that reminds me of an old and ragged doily. I make extra effort to draw on the aroma, it being both wet and diluted, but at last begin picking up the scent of wet Saltillo tile, mineral water, grapefruit, hops (of course), pineapple and most delectable of all, angel food cake. The sugars are faint, both because they resemble faintly sweet desserts and because they appear in a faint aroma, but they mingle well with the mild bitterness of the hops. So far, so good. The Hop Trip has all the symptoms of a feverish pale ale, but shows some restorative capabilities with the pineapple and angel food cake. My tongue curls in dread of a hop whipping, but finds the Hop Trip to be surprisingly gentle. Grapefruit with all the fructose extracted washes over the tongue in wave of mild bitterness, followed by a grapefruit-biscuit duo. The first 1.5 seconds of the pure grapefruit flavor is really dull, and the proceeding drier, grainier stage makes my salivary glands work overtime, but these two flavor forms are the entirety of the Hop Trip. Yes, I was practically sniveling in fear of a hop lashing, but this is just a tad too lifeless, even though the aftertaste is pure bliss.

Bottle scored in Haines, AK. Nice lacing and head retention. Hazy amber color. Very fresh tasting indeed. I think Mirror pond is the base recipe for this one. Nice lacing and decent head retention. biscuity british base malt flavors (Maris otter?) generous caramel/dextrin flavors, but not too cloying. Surprisingly, not much hop aroma at all. Nice spicy, mild, soft hop flavors. Similar hop falvors to Hallertau MF or Mt. Hood. Extremely drinkable, very enjoyable.

Bottle. A hazy amber beer with a off-white head. The aroma is citric, peach and caramel, the taste is light sweet hoppy, citric and peach. Medium body with a light sweet finish.

Bottle. Clear amber coloured with a small white head. Fruity aroma of berries, pine needles, hops and grass. Fruity flavourof hops, pine needles, grass and grape fruits. Dry hoppy finish.