I typically avoid beers with names that include fruit products or words like “cornucopia” or “bouquet” that evoke images of bridal showers and wild flowers. I prefer names like Terminator and Abyss, but I made an exception for Deschutes’ Menagerie Sour Ale, an off-the-beaten path offering from the newly reopened Bond Street Public House. The brew, which is better quaffed, sipped and savored than slurped or slammed, is a complex, but accessible, sour that the pub markets as a good introductory to this ale style. To create a more user-friendly sour, Deschutes brewmeisters combined the barrel-aged Mirror Pond with the Green Lakes Organic and aged the concoction 14 months with a lacto bacillus strain that creates a “mild sourness and a noticeable oak finish.” In MicroCosmos’ opinion, it’s a great way to experience a new beer in a newly revamped Deschutes. Here’s to new things.
This article appears in Jan 26 – Feb 1, 2012.
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