Deschutes Mirror Mirror Barleywine

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Bend, Oregon USA

Bottle. Lots of vanilla, caramel with some oak and sweet fruits. Slightly bitter hop finish.

Slight bit of haze in the umber liquid. Small tight bubbled head. Big caramel and apricot aromas accentuated with grapefruit and light syrup. Full feel with just a hint of zip to keep it from being mouth-coating. Early light fruit and caramel followed by a blast of grapefruit hops. Hints of alcohol in the finish. Light has some dry grain and a touch of earth. An American style barley wine.

Bomber split four ways. The pour is really interesting on this one: bright cherry color, clear and luminescent. Does doubling mirror pond ensure a neon-hued reddening process as well? Anyway, nose holds some creamy vanilla, soft red fruit, and some charred oak. Palate is immediately experienced as chewy-full with mild effervescence. Flavor is, primarily, balanced, woody fruit sweetness. Think Old Horizontal mellow and tossed on wood. The faint toasted wood in the background, as well as the hops, keep things entertaining. Really delicious to drink overall, my only complaint is that the fruit seems a bit one-sided.

mostly clear rich coppery red colored pour is capped by a yellowish tan head. smells of bubblegum candy and breakfast cereal... really?... vanilla, malt powder, spice, brown sugar, bitter citrus pith and grass. a buttery caramel flavor stands out along with citrus pith, non resinous pine, grass and a dry lightly bitter green hoppy finish... pretty much same as the aroma with a slightly sticky medium body. the texture is aided by a sharpness which makes it easy to drink in quantity. 7/3/7/4/15/3.6

RERATE in MAY of 2010. Bottle. Shared by Joey Big Times, thanks dude. Pours a dark amber body with a tan head. Says its to early to be consuming this i should note. Sweet malty chewy caramel and etoh latent fruit. Some light vanilla and oak and more boozy warming. Nice but im sure it will be better down the road.

2009 bottle, procured by TheCheeseMan. Dark amber color, thin lazy off-white head. Very floral, almost mead-like honeyed aroma, lighter alcohol and oak notes, some hops come out later. The taste is introduced by caramel malts and heat, vanilla, slight tannins, some fruitiness is in there somewhere. Nice, but I’d like to see how a year-old bottle tastes before I compare it to my favorites.

Bottle. Deep brown with red hues. Sweet delicious caramel, raisin, vanilla. Really smooth. Let see how this ages.

Pours clear copper with gold edges and off white head. The aroma is yummy sweetness with malts, some caramel and a mild level of dark fruity esters. A big draw brings up malt stickiness, grassy hops and a hint of booze heat. The taste is caramel, malts, some mild spice, earthiness and grassy hops. The maltiness and caramel sweetness grow to midway before hop bitterness and a light sense of booze help bring this to closure. Interesting interpretation without the solid dark fruitiness of an English BW or the hoppy bite of an American BW. Should age nicely.