Two Row Bar, Fitzroy (Melbourne)
Deschutes is among one of the Pacific North West's best and most respected brewers. In Chasin' Freshies we have a delightful brew that was generously wet-hopped with the relatively obscure, very citrus-forward Mosaic variety. The end result is an inglorious, bright and sumptuous IPA - one that is among the year's very best.
Chasin' Freshies pours a delightfully alluring, slightly turbid light orange with a thin head that does its level best to linger. The nose is immediately struck by shimmering, bright fruit forward aromatics. There is dried apricot, peach; pineapple and a slight malt-driven sweetness thus providing leverage.
Seriously, this is a veritable fruit salad of a beer but instead of a cream topping (gross), we have a pungent, piny and resinous hop kick that provides well weighted balance. Said resinous hit is the second chair here rather than the limelight-hogging star of the show. It makes its presence known during the encore rather than the full performance piece.
Between entry and finish a cascading wash of tropical fruit flavour delights the senses: dried apricot, peach, mango, tangerine, ever so slightly sweet pineapple and passionfruit shine through. As the beer warms, peppery spice lingers thereby adding yet more complexity.
Somehow paradoxically Chasin' Freshies boasts a full-bodied but somehow refreshing mouthfeel, which may be attributed to the brew's medium carbonation. Moreover, the lingering hit of resin coats the teeth leaving them feel rather dried and chalky. It is much like drinking Coca Cola but with a helluva lot less guilt.
Those who enjoyed Sierra Nevada's Northern and Southern Hemisphere wet-hopped brews need to get on this post haste. This is the sort of beer that commands both attention and many a return visit.
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