Twilight Summer Ale

Twilight Summer Ale by Deschutes Brewery 

Trying another summer ale and this time it is from the west coast.  The beer I am trying tonight is Twilight Summer Ale. which is from Deschutes Brewery. Deschutes Brewery is located in Bend, Oregon and is becoming a very popular craft brewery among all the craft beer drinkers. I have had a beer from this brewery before, on this blog, it was Red Chair. Red Chair was a Northwest Pale Ale and was very informative to me on that particular style of beer. I am looking forward to trying Twilight because it gives me another chance to try a beer from this buzzing brewery. Twilight Summer Ale style is an American Blonde Ale. The alcohol by volume or ABV is 5.0% and the IBU is 35. According to BeerAdvocate, Twilight Summer Ale is listed in the top 40 American Blonde Ale. Twilight did win an award in 2012, for World's Best Seasonal Pale Ale. I did have an American Blond Ale recently and that was the Session Ale by Evolution Brewing Company.  Now it is time to see which of the two, I like better. 

Glimpse of Twilight Summer Ale

Time to look at and examine this beer to see what I like or do not like about this beer. First thing, I noticed was the dense head of the beer and amber tint to the head of the beer. Looking further into the beer, I glanced at the color or appearance of the beer. This Summer Ale has golden tint to the beer and is clear as day, so no cloudiness to the ale. The aroma I picked up from this ale is very interesting. I smelled some citrus notes and spiced notes. The citrus aroma, I felt was a blend between orange and lemon zest. The spiced aroma hit after the citrus aroma and left me curious to the taste of the beer. Sometimes when drinkers smell a beer for the first time, it can turn them off on that particular beer. For instance, with myself when I usually smell a strong bitter aroma from the beer I usually tend to not drink it because I know it is going to be hoppy. There was a subtle hop aroma that was given off from this beer, but I wanted to try to enjoy this ale and see if I can try to develop my taste for bitterness. Last thing, that I need to do is to taste this beer to see what this Summer Ale is really like.

Try this Seasonal Ale, Twilight Summer Ale

Try the first sip, the one thing that I noticed that the hop aroma that I thought the beer had: the taste had the same subtleness. The bitter taste from the hops was blended in very well to the flavor of the beer. There is taste of bitterness that lingers afterwards but it is not overpowering. The primary flavor that I taste is biscuit like and a caramel taste. This Summer Ale is very crisp and gives the beer drinker a summer style beer that has a smooth hop taste. This is not your typical Summer Ale. If you are into Pale Ales and Summer Ales then this is the brew for you. I think that this is a refreshing twist on a Summer Ale and I think that Deschutes did a great job creating Twilight. Twilight in my opinion, might be a stepping stone for trying IPA's or styles of beer that have more of a bitter taste to them. If you want to explore beers that have a bitter taste this might be one to try first. I cannot wait to try some more beers from Deschutes Brewery, I might have to take a trip out to try their beers in person. Once again this is a seasonal beer, so if you want to try it make sure you do before the end of the summer.