I’ve been drinking more of Deschutes Brewery’s Jubelale since reviewing the early showing last month, and I can confidently say it’s better now than it was then. Then, I wrote:

Taste: A bit hot and green, no getting around that—but spicy and dark like a pumpernickel bread. Solid bittering in the middle—peppery-spicy and a bit earthy and slightly resiny. Some sweet dark caramel and a hint of burnt sugar.

Overall: It’s Jubelale—albeit still green.

The “green” and hot character is gone—mellowed nicely, in fact—allowing more of the malty sweetness to come through. It’s another good year for Jubelale and I suspect it’s going to get better as we get closer to winter.

On a somewhat-related note, I’ve got a 12-pack of 2008 Jubelale, and six or nine bottles of 2007 Jubelale put away; I’m thinking I might break out a bottle of each and have a three-year vertical tasting.