Cinder Cone Still Not Year Round…But Out Now

To the glee and distraught of folks like Casey Flesch, Deschutes Cinder Cone is the latest spring release from Bend’s premier brewery.  Flesch, spokesperson of PFYRCC (People For Year Round Cinder Cone), loves the beer, but would like to see this amber-bodied seasonal available 365 days a year. The creamy, fruity red brew is yet another reason to love Deschutes and raise a pint to Spring, making an appearance (finally!) this weekend. I guess the PFYRCC and the rest of us will just have to live with the fact that this delicious beer is finally on shelves and pouring on select taps.  I mean, we’d love to have our birthday year round, but it might not be as special.  That said, we are still with Flesch on the idea that this brew would make a nice addition to Deschutes Brewing’s year round repretoire.  Any old way, raise one up and enjoy the sun while it’s here.

Below is the official press release from the big dogs at Deschutes.

While some look for crocuses and daffodils, fans of Deschutes Brewery look for their own first sign of Spring: “Cinder Cone Red.” The arrival of this seasonal ale from Deschutes Brewery is one cheery note for Bend, Oregon locals, whose days of cutting tracks in fresh powder down local Cinder Cone Butte are sadly nearing their end. Cinder Cone Red, available only in the spring, was named for Cinder Cone Butte, whose red cinders start to peek through the snow as spring begins.

Initially available only from the tap at the Deschutes Brewery and Public House in downtown Bend, Oregon, Cinder Cone Red’s local fans demanded that it be bottled. In 2003, the brewery complied, making it available from March to May in 6-packs and 12-packs. The beer is still available on draft at Deschutes’ Bend and Portland brew pubs, as well as at pubs and restaurants throughout the Western U.S. Locals are now asking that it be sold year-round, although Deschutes currently has no plans to expand the availability beyond the spring season.

Deschutes Brewery’s Principal Brewer, Jimmy Seifrit, attributes the beer’s addictive nature to several factors. “Tettnang and Amarillo hops give this beer an earthy and spicy characteristic with bitter orange, citral and tanic flavors that play off the caramel notes from the malt. A combination of crystal malts and blackened barley give it the distinctive red hue.”

According to David Gadd in Patterson’s Beverage Journal, Cinder Cone Red “…is gorgeous to look at, with constantly-shifting coloration ranging from ripe apricot to molten magma… The complex, never-ending hops notes are the icing on the cake. Killer beer.”