It truly is time for jubel when Deschutes releases its once-in-a-decade bottled Jubel.
As part of the Reserve series, Jubel joins the likes of the Abyss, Mirror Mirror, Black Butte, and the Dissident as Deschutes flagship ales. And this is, not surprisingly, a good one. It’ll be even better after a year, but really, buy a bottle for storing and one (or more) to try now.
Jubel pours a deep ruby red color with a nice creamy head. Give it a good sniff, and the smells will reveal an instant depth. Fruit and oak, spices and malts. And that’s just after the first whiff.
The scents carry over to the flavor; nice and oaky, almost with hints of red wine. Even with a relatively high ABV—10%—there isn’t much of a boozey aftertaste. Mouthfeel is somewhere on the upper side of medium.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Jubel tastes like a year from now. For now, though, I gotta say—quite the fan of it even this early after bottling.