Deschutes Mirror Mirror Barleywine

The Reserve Series romance all began with our first release of this limited-edition brew. Mirror Mirror, born of a double batch of Mirror Pond Pale Ale, is an inspired, barrel-aged barley wine layered with intriguing nuances. Explore this latest incarnation and enjoy its delicious complexity in every sip.

3.8

736 reviews

Bend, United States

Community reviews

4.0 2016-10-07 Sample from bottle @ Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival. Grape juice, butterscotch and oak.

2.4 Bottle sample at SBWF. Pours brown with white head. Aroma is sweet but taste is too alcoholic for my taste.

4.0 Sample at SBWF 2016. Reddish/brown with a small head. Aroma of malt, toffee, some bourbon and dried fruit. Similar taste. On the sweet side with an almost full body. Some warming alcohol in the finish. A beer to sip.

3.9 Bottle sample at SBWF. Trash brown water look, white head. Aroma of horse food, caramel malt. Taste sweet, nice texture.

3.8 Sample @ SBWF. Nice british style barley wine with notes of almonds, leather and vegtables.

2.9 2010 edition. Ageing, despite promises by the brewer, is pot luck. There is the remnant of an interesting beer here, but some skunking in the taste and smell, despite my best efforts.

3.7 Bottle sample at SBWF. Pours red brown, heavy looking. A UK style BW with a taste of raisins and alcohol, vinous.

4.0 Bottle. Light hazy deep amber liquid with medium white head. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, oak, toffee and red berries. Taste is light to medium sweet and light bitter with notes of vanilla, bourbon and toffee. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Nice!

3.8 Bottle shared with Gus on "Fuck it Sunday." Aroma is caramel, toffee, dark fruit, bourbon, barrel, really nice. Appearance is reddish brown, light tan head. Taste is caramel, butterscotch, toffee, earthy hops, bourbon, barrel, subdued but good. Mouthfeel is medium body, light carbonation, caramel hop dry aftertaste. Overall, this is drinking real nice.

4.0 2014 bottle. Wow, this is drinking great right now. Deep, creamy, very flavorful. Mellow as hell, I imagine this was a booze bomb awhile ago though.

3.7 Sample @ Blåbær ’16, from bottle. Light hazy copper pour with a small off white head. Tons of sweet malts, caramel, vanilla, toffee, some light hops, quite bitter and some prunes.

3.8 Bottle thanks to Darrin. Pours hazy dark amber with a large offwhite head. Notes of hops, caramel, malt, toast, sweet oranges.

4.3 Good barley wine with a chewy texture and a lot of sediment. Aged for over 2 years in the cabinet. Worth the wait.

3.7 Bottle in blåbær line 2016 thanks to Darrin. Pours a hazy, Dark orangy amber with a big, off White head. Aroma has caramel, toasted malts, hops, orange, syrup. Taste is sweet, malty, bitter, hoppy. High carb for The style, oily body.

3.8 Bottle thanks to BobbyHeenan! Pours opaque burgundy-brown with a medium-large offwhite head which recedes to a foamy layer. Aroma is raisins, rum, red berries and oak. Taste is dried fruits, raisins, honey sweet and oak notes, though more dusty than vanilla. Full bodied with a sticky feel.

3.9 2014 variety. Brown with amber tones. Lots of caramel, toffee, dark fruit, raisin, dark cherry and oak/alcohol. Flavor is sweet molasses, caramel, toffee, raisin, and oak. Smooth. Really good and glad I waited on this one.

3.9 Dark amber with a thick laced sticky head. Big powerful aromas fig, cake, brown sugar, slight alcohol ( actually well hidden), maple. The alcohol comes through in the flavors. There’ s fruity fig, true toffee, maybe maple, outstanding oak. Medium to high sweetness, medium alcoholic stinging finish. Its a fully functionally finally flowing fabulous beer.

3.4 Bomber. Pours golden with a white head and aroma of caramel and fruits. Taste is of malt, caramel, and dark fruits with some hops coming into the finish.

3.6 With Z, pours a mahogany brown color with a beige head . Nose is sweet caramel and toffee . Taste is very sweet with a very rich sugary caramel and toffee taste . Ends on the same sugary notes with a moderately long finish . quaff score 7 / 10

3.9 Draft at Bru Craft. 2014 vintage. Murky dark copper brown pour topped with soft tan foam. No lace. Great aroma. Thick jammy caramel flavors. Dried strawberries. Prunes. Dates. Medium-full body. Strong hints of red wine barrels underneath. Huge but very smooth.

4.1 Red brown color with a small, light tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of dark fruits, caramel, vanilla, wood, wine, and booze. Taste of dried fruits, caramel, nuts, toast, vanilla, wood, sherry, and light alcohol in the finish.

3.9 Bottle share. Pours a deep amber color, clear, small whitish bubbly head. Aromas of sweet malts, caramel, wood, spirits. Flavor was super smooth spirit notes, wood, caramel, touch of vanilla, sweet malts. Full bodied, creamy texture, soft carbonation, smooth to finish. Easy drinking for such a big beer.

3.5 Bottle share at RBB. Pour is hazy brown/red with a medium tan head which leaves nice lacing. Notes of mild bitter hops, sweet plums, candi sugar, and dough. Finish has a bit more booze and brown sugar.

4.0 Tap at Chimera brewing, Fort Worth. Pours deep murky brown, off white head. Aroma is lots of caramel, fig, toffee, booze, dark fruit, plum, burnt sugar. Just a light spit of citrus. Delicious Aroma. I love it. Flavor is big robust malty notes, mild citrus, fig, toffee, caramel. Just all around good. Mild hop bitterness to stop it from being unpleasant. Phenomenal.

4.0 Drinking a 2014 bottle. Pours a nice cloudy brown. Smells sweet and of dried fruit. Tastes plum, raisin, caramel, and fig. It drinks lightly carbonated and silky smooth. Quite good.

4.5 One of the best of the night. 22 oz bottle shared during a poker/beer tasting party. lots of dark dried fruit and yummy delicious malts.

4.6 2014 edition enjoyed on 01.18.16. A: Lots of orange marmalade and red fruit. Strawberry and grape are there too. A: 1 1/2 finger head that fades to a ring and swirls of foam. Tawny brown nearly opaque body. T: Follows the nose. Orange marmalade, strawberry, raspberry, red grape, oak, and a little raisin and caramel all mix together very well. P: Slightly oily balanced by an astringent finish. Smooth and easy. O: The flavors from Mirror Pond are all there and seamlessly blend with flavors from the wine barrels. It leans to the sweet side, but it’s nowhere near cloying.

2.8 [1/30/16] Bottle sample at the Encomium bottle share, after RateBeer Best awards ceremony at Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel in Santa Rosa. Thanks everyone who shared bottles! 2009 bottle. Amber. Malt, caramel, stale hops, fruitiness.

3.3 Bottle (22 oz) shared by mathieuc at tasting, thanks! 2014 vintage. Hazy reddish with a small off-white head leaving little lacing. Aroma is super sweet and boozy with caramel/brown sugar and loads of fruitiness. Taste is also sweet, boozy and fruity with caramel and mild spiciness. Full body. Moderate carbonation. Sweet lingering finish with alcohol warmth. Average BA Barley Wine at best. Sweet, boozy and cloying. Not super complex. Really nothing to get excited about.

3.7 Bottle 660ml. Pours hazy dark copper with low beige head. Good lacing. Aroma is of malt, sugar, vegetal stuff, alcohol. Taste is of malt, sugar, bitterness, alcohol, some oxydation. Palate: Full bodied. Soft carbonation. Overall: Good, sweet. Complex.