From Central Oregon where I sit, you just can’t get enough of Deschutes. (I know, I’m sounding like a broken record with all that I blog about them.) Tonight’s no different; I opened up the bottle of 20th Anniversary Wit that the Brewery sent me last week, and enjoyed it thoroughly—enough so that I shamelessly included a blatant promotional photo of the beer below the review.

They’ve released it under their Reserve Series of 22-ounce bottles, and it should be available throughout the summer (until September). Here’s what they say about it:

This unique Belgian-style wheat beer was brewed with zested Curacao orange peel and just enough spices to keep your taste buds guessing. The Deschutes brewers tinkered with the recipe for months at the original Deschutes Brewery and Public House in Bend, Oregon…. A test batch of the Wit was sampled at Portland’s Spring Beer and Wine Festival in March where it won a gold medal.

With its slightly citrus taste and spices, the 20th Anniversary Wit pairs well with spicy Thai dishes like Pad Thai, garlicky Caesar salad, rosemary chicken or smoked cheeses such as Gouda.

It’s only 5.5% alcohol by volume, and I like the fact that for their 20th anniversary, they chose to go with something lighter like this—not that there’s anything wrong (by any means!) with The Abyss or Black Butte XX, but special beers don’t always have to be big beers, you know?

Appearance: Pale golden, slightly hazy, with a thick pure white head reminiscent of beaten egg whites.

Smell: Delicate floral nose punctuated with coriander—though not too strong—and Belgian-y yeast phenols.

Taste: Bitter orange peel, the grainy slightly peppery spiciness that I’ve come to associate with grains of paradise, a character that reminds me of edible flowers—clover or bachelor buttons or something. Very bright on the tongue. It’s tasty and subtle and enjoyable.

Mouthfeel: Light with a firm presence, delicate and open and refreshing.

Overall: I’m drinking this at about 7:15 in the evening and it’s still in the mid-80s outside; this tastes really good and goes down well—it’s a winner.

On BeerAdvocate, it only (already?) has 5 reviews, but those tally up to a grade of A-. On RateBeer, there are only 2 reviews, but those average 3.45 out of 5 so far.

Finally, there’s that blatantly promotional image I was talking about. I took it myself, it’s not something provided to me. But hey, I couldn’t resist. (The hops in the background are my own meager vines.)