Deschutes' Jubel 2010 - Beer of the Week

by Joshua M. Bernstein, Posted Mar 8th 2010 @ 5:00PM

deschutes jubelale Photo: Deschutes Brewery

The story starts with a thief: Several decades ago, a burglar tried nabbing a keg of Jubelale, the winter seasonal from Bend, Ore.'s Deschutes Brewery. But the bandit dropped the hefty keg outside, where it froze in the cold weather.

When Deschutes' owner, Gary Fish, found the keg the following morning, half the beer became a Popsicle -- and the other half turned into a super-concentrated, super-delicious version of Jubelale. The serendipitous discovery has since become an annual tradition, with Super Jubel gracing taps at Deschutes' pubs every winter.

"We usually only do a very small batch at the breweries," says marketing manager Jason Randles. "But for our 2010 Reserve Series lineup, we said, 'Let's put some in oak and make it a bit more available for drinkers.'" The result is that, for the first time since 2000, Deschutes bottled the jacked-up Jubel.

Grab a bottle, cut off Jubel 2010's wax cap, decant the strong ale (10 percent ABV) into a snifter and you'll marvel at the deep mahogany hue. There's an aroma of berries, cocoa and oak, owing to a 13-month stint in Oregon Pinot Noir barrels. Like fine wine, Jubel is best in small sips so you can relish the rich, velvety flavors of caramel, chocolate, dark fruit and a welcome hit of hop bitterness (55 IBUs).

Perfect? Hardly. A glance at the label reveals that the beer's best after January 2011. "Jubel is good now," Randles says, "but it'll be even better in a year."

Care for strong ales? Hate 'em? Spill it in the comments.

Joshua M. Bernstein has written about brews, bars and booze for New York Magazine, Time Out New York, ForbesTraveler.com and the New York Times.

Filed Under: Drinks
Tags: Deschutes Brewery, deschutes jubelale, DeschutesBrewery, DeschutesJubelale

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-09-2010 @11:16AM kentopolis said... How much does it cost?
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3-09-2010 @12:05PM nataku said... If it's like a bottle of their limited release imperial stout, The Abyss, probably going to cost $12-15 a bottle. Hopefully I can snag a bottle or two of this to try as well!
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