Deschutes Brewery's Red Chair IPA

The label says "deliciously intense hop flavor without the bitterness." We'll see, I guess. I've always thought that this brewery was good but overrated, and touting an IPA without the bitterness seems like something an overrated brewery would claim.

Pours a deep copper with a great tan head that gets pillowy and almost never recedes. Strong bread smell, but I smell what's probably going to be some fairly strong (and bitter) hops.

Decent body and I'll admit that it's not as bitter as many IPAs are, but you can't have this much hops of any type and not have the bitterness. I don't know why you'd want to, since hops without bitterness would seem out of place. You could easily make an all-malt beer, and they can be close to this of done a certain way (I had an all-malt amber that was), or even add other brewing spices instead of hops altogether, but then again, the whole point of an IPA is the extra hops, so this just seems pointless as advertised. If you discount the BS on the label, it's a good, middle of the road IPA. Not as hoppy as some, but solid body, malt and bitterness that a decent IPA should have.

Best when coldest. As it warms it gets a little soapy. An odd peppery bitterness creeps out in the aftertaste as well.