Deschutes Brewing Co. Mirror Mirror 2009 Reserve Series
When we came back from this summer’s trip out west, I brought back a few gems from our various brewery stops. Since then, I’ve been covetously holding onto these beers, knowing that someday I’d be opening the only bottle of that beer that I had, and in some cases may ever have. Who knows when or if we’ll be out that way again?
As the months have passed, we’ve opened up one or two of these treasures, but there have been a few that I’ve been loath to crack open – I’ve just been too excited to try them. Among these was a bottle of Deschutes Mirror Mirror, the oak aged barleywine that they released last spring. It was one of the beers I was keenly looking for during our trip, was super excited to find, and possibly more excited to try.
I was finally inspired to open it as a result of the work we’ve been doing to plan a series of tastings at Amherst Coffee that will take place over the next few months. One of the tastings we’re going to do is a whiskey and beer theme, where we’ll taste a whiskey alongside a beer that was aged in that distillery’s barrels. So, as I brainstormed the various barrel-aged beers that are available today, my mind turned to the few special beers that I’ve been holding onto, and Mirror Mirror in particular.
Deschutes first released Mirror Mirror in 2006, but then didn’t release it again until April 2009. In 2006 it was the first beer in their Reserve Series, a series that now includes The Abyss, The Dissident, and Black Butte XXI. Mirror Mirror, The Abyss, and Black Butte XXI all have some portion of the finished brew aged in bourbon barrels, while The Dissident is brewed using a couple of strains of Brettanomyces, producing an oud bruin style beer.
35% of Mirror Mirror was aged in bourbon barrels, the other 65% in stainless steel. The beer was brewed to a strength of 11%, with 30 IBUs thrown in for good measure. From start to finish, Mirror Mirror took Deschutes 10 months to produce, with much of this time spent in bourbon barrels.
The beer pours a crimson-orange red with a creamy off-white heads that surges up and then drops just as quickly, leaving a thin lacing in its wake. The nose has rich aromas of toffee, malt, and caramel, accompanied by a trace of mint. The palate is soft and velvety with loads of creamy, viscous texture supported by medium carbonation. Once the flavors kick in you can tell it’s not 100% barrel aged. Instead of being overly sweet, the barrel aging element is well-balanced and mixes well with the big malt body. The flavors are a blend of caramel, toffee, vanilla and spiciness and tannins from the barrel aging, alongside a deeply malty body, bready, rye flavors, and an edge of bitter, piney hop flavors. The finish is soft and mellow, with flavors of caramel, crystal malt, and hop bitterness.
This is a totally amazing beer. I kick myself for not picking up two bottles during our trip (why did I buy just one bottle? what was I thinking?!), but am very, very glad that I had the chance to try it. Excellent flavors all in great balance. If you ever come across this in a shop, pick it up fast. Two bottles. Yet again, Deschutes has knocked the ball out of the park. I’ve really been impressed by all of the beers of theirs that I’ve tried, and once again can only wish we were somewhere that their beers were distributed to.
So this leaves The Abyss, their bourbon-barrel aged imperial stout, as the last of their Reserve Series beers that I have not tried. Given my love of this style of beer, it does give me a bit of a pang to figure I’ll probably not have the chance to try it, simply given the crazy demand for it, and my living on the east coast. But who knows, maybe someday I’ll be out in Bend or Portland on The Abyss release day. That would be amazing.
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