Deschutes "Lil' Squeezy" Juicy Pale

I'm not going to lie: I'm pretty hopped up to see another Deschutes beer in front of me. They haven't all been spectacular, but enough have been excellent that I want to see this juicy pale ale knock it out of the park. I am certain these guys know how to put a good beer together, and the juicy pale ales are an excellent platform for them to demonstrate their prowess on. 

The mostly clear, honey-colored beer has a reasonable head that dissipates quite rapidly. The remaining dusting is enough to let you know carbonation once was here. The aroma is juicy and tangy with grapefruit, tangerine, and orange sitting under their rind awning, enjoying the light breeze on a warm day. It's more inviting than I would expect.

First sip is kind of a "what the heck?" The fruit is there, but the malt is doing something very strange and the result is that the enjoyable fruit is a bit spoiled by the intrusion of something a bit too rough and flaky for the smoothness that the hops can evidently provide. I don't know what to tell you - this wasn't great for a sip.

Tip-in is grapefruit and tangerine atop a carbonation sizzle with a flat sliver of drywall under it. The middle is nettles and carbonation sizzle while the fruit tries (and fails) to do something underneath. The finish is bitter and dull with a dusty trail off.

Bottom Line: Not the best of its kind.

1.75/5