Beer of the Week: Deschutes Brewery Jubelale

I’ve been putting it off for a while and my fridge is starting to fill up. Christmas beers are arriving earlier and earlier every year and I felt I needed to pay proper respect to the fall releases first before committing myself to the winter warmers. Despite local weather still pushing the 80′s, it was time to take the leap and kick off the Christmas season with one of my favorites, Deschutes’ Jubelale.

Every year, fall’s crisp, cool air signals the imminent arrival of winter. Thoughts of snow, friends and family, the holidays, and — Jubelale. Brewed with dark crystal malt creating a luscious holiday note with bountiful hops to excite your taste buds— it’s easy to see why Jubelale is the perfect complement to the season.

For the past 15 years, Deschutes Brewery has selected a local Oregon artist to create an image evocative of the season’s festive atmosphere. The intricate and unique art on the label enhances the Jubelale experience much like beautiful wrapping paper enhances a gift.

Central Oregon artist, Tracy Leagjeld, had fresh snow in mind when she designed the label for this year’s Jubelale.

“One of my favorite things about Central Oregon winters is how often we wake up to blue skies after a winter storm,” said Leagjeld. “In this painting, I was trying to convey the feeling of a crisp snowy morning being warmed by the sun’s rays, and how lucky we are to have the Deschutes National Forest as our backyard playground.”

You can view more of Tracy’s work on her blog or on Tumalo Art Company’s web site where you will find some past Jubelale artists, as well.

For a trip down memory lane, view this year’s retrospective poster!

216 calories per 12 oz serving
Available: October to December
Alc. by Vol.: 6.7%
IBUs: 60

As I said this was one of my favorite winter releases, I took this opportunity to try last year’s Jubelale along side this year’s.

Starting with this year’s Jubelale. This beer pours a nice dark color with a slightly off white head. The aroma is mostly sweetness and alcohol with a touch of spice. I think of the cold winters I had spent in Oregon when sniffing this beer as it proved a trusty companion of chilly cool evenings when coming in from the rain. There’s a sharp roasted bitterness in the flavor that belnds into a piney hop finish. Combined with just enough alcohol to warm the bones, Jubelale falls into the category of comfy sweaters and roaring fireplaces with a high level of comfort that comes with each pint.

When I got into my ’08 bottle I expected the same roasted flavors but the result was rather surprising. Immediately one could notice the increase cloudiness and lighter color. A lot of dark fruit and a softness come through once the oxidation has a chance to take hold of this beer.  The roasted character is still there but plays a more complimentary role as opposed to leading the way in the fresh bottle. The hops have definitely faded, but they are still there to provide a nice finish with the support of previously mentioned roasted notes.

The two beers were so strikingly different that those who were lucky enough to share the beer with me (lucky due to the beer, not the person providing it) were shocked to hear that they started life as the same recipe.  I double checked with head Brewmaster Larry Sidor about this and discovered a rather lucky coincidence; he had just finished a 6-beer Jubelale flight the night before (05-09 and 09 Portland Pub). It was his opinion that each beer tasted rather similar with the exception of the oxidation in the older samples. Considering the difference in cellaring techniques (Larry’s is prime, mine is acceptable) it was interesting to compare our impressions of the beer with one another.

Jubelale held up it’s reputation in my mind as one of the best winter seasonals out there and proved worthy of being the first holiday release I sampled this year. What has me even more excited is the news that the next Reserve Series release coming from Deschutes will be Jubel 2010.

Jubel 2010 will weigh in at 11.0 % ABV.  Approximately 40% of Jubel 2010 will be aged in oak, 15% in previously used Pinot barrels, 24% used French oak barrels, and 1% unused Oregon oak barrels.  Starting OG of Jubel 2010 is 24.4 Plato while our normal Jubel is 16.3 Plato (gota do something to get the alcohol up!).  In very basic terms, it’s a double the ingredients.  However, the formula must be tweaked in very subtle areas to balance the “bigness”.

Larry Sidor

Coming in February, I think it’s fair to say 2010 will be off to a good start.