Deschutes Brewery - Hazy Ale - Beer Review

Brewed By: Deschutes Brewery
Beer: Neon Daydream Hazy Ale
ABV: 4.8%
Malts: Pilsner, 25% Wheat/Unmalted Wheat, Flaked Oats, Acidulated
Hops: Cashmere, Simcoe, Lemondrop
IBU: 35

Deschute Brewery - Neon Daydream Hazy Ale in the Craftd Alpha glass

"Drift beneath dayglow skies on a cool, refreshing current of zesty candied orange and lemon notes, immersed in the mellow malt embrace of a deliciously lazy, hazy afternoon"

Review

A seasonal release from Deschutes Brewery located in Oregon (USA), the Neon Daydream Hazy Ale is a new-world example of what pale ales can be.

Hazy's are normally reserved for IPA varieties - as large amounts of hops present in IPA's can really  help contribute to the haze effect in the beer. In this case though they've really managed to get that haze effect without the truckload of hops - more than likely from using a low flocculating yeast.

Pouring into the glass it come out very pale and murky - and my first reaction was "that look's like pineapple juice!" The haze is very prominent as you can see in the photo above.

With a mixture of some of the lightest available malts - pilsner, wheat and oats - it's no surprise the colour is so pale, and leads to a nice delicate and light body. Each sip reveals some notes of melon, tangerine and passionfruit - with some light citrus mixed in as well for good measure. The moderate bitterness follows this up and lingers on the tongue.

In typical ale fashion, the carbonation has been dialled right back to really let the yeast and hop flavours to shine through.

It's a well balanced mixture of bitterness and fruitiness as you'd expect from a full strength ale like this. A tiny bit more forward fruitiness would have been good - but this would perhaps lead into IPA territory. It's definitely nice to have a full flavoured, easy drinking, hazy beer that you could have a few of in a session without needing a nap afterwards.

Rating

8.5/10