Our local paper The Bulletin had an article yesterday about our local breweries’ sales figures and talks a bit about Deschutes Brewery’s new beers that I blogged about the day before (a nice bit of synchronicity). According to the article, Deschutes’ sales increased 8 percent in 2005, and Cascade Lakes Brewing saw a 42 percent increase. Both are respectable figures given the size of each brewery (147,000 barrels versus 3,400 barrels of beer, respectively), but it points out that Deschutes is trying to make up the difference.

Talking about Deschutes’ new brews:

Today is the official retirement of the Quail Springs beer, born from a Deschutes Brewery employee five years ago, and the first official day of the stronger-tasting Inversion IPA.

Deschutes Brewery also is launching a new seasonal ale, Buzz Saw Brown.

The move was a response to customers pallettes growing tired of the Quail Springs mild, English-style IPA taste, Wilson said.

Signature Northwest IPAs – like the Inversion IPA – have stronger hops, smells and tastes, he said, which will please Deschutes Brewery’s beer connoisseurs.

Although the Inversion will have a color profile similar to the Quail Springs IPA, it will be more bold, bitter and full-bodied, Wilson said.

"The Inversion is more aggressively hopped," he said. "That lends to a much more Northwest-style IPA."

The Inversion definitely fits the bill. More interesting to me was the fact that Deschutes apparently went through nine test versions of the beer before coming up with the final product. I’m thinking the tasters on that project had it pretty good for awhile there. :)