There’s only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and the fact that both Deschutes and Dogfish Head Brewing always put out some great tasting beers. We proved it once again last Saturday night at Cheers Bar in Las Vegas, Nevada when we tasted Deschutes’ Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Dogfish Head’s Palo Santo Marron. The results were, well… intoxicating!


With special guest Rose Christopher from Legal Shield, the show definitely started out strong since we have yet to taste a beer from Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon that we weren’t impressed with. When we did a show on their Jubelale, the beer was amazing. The Mirror Pond was no exception. We found this beer to be highly sessionable coming in at 5% alcohol with a distinct hop flavoring. This particular pale ale has won a variety of major awards and after tasting it on the show, it’s not hard to see why. The pour is clear copper in color with a frothy white head, with great retention. We smelled a light pine and mild black pepper aroma giving way to a slightly bitter but rich caramel malt taste and a tremendously smooth and full bodied finish. Mirror Pond is a great beer to drink with your traditional hamburger or chicken style meal – and probably makes a great drinking beer for the Superbowl. Hmmmmm…

Next we shifted gears to a more heartier “surprise” beer. Of course you already know about Dogfish Head’s 120-Minute IPA from our Season 2 Premiere Show, but the Palo Santo Marron was something else! This great tasting brown ale is aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels and delivers a unique caramel and vanilla flavoring. Palo Santo means “holy tree” referring to the brewing vessels. Our reaction was more like “Holy Cow”! (or words to that effect!). This 12% alcohol highly roasty and malty brew was first released in November 2006 and makes a great pairing to steak and cajun style menus. The beer pours black with a small tan head, similar to what you’d expect from an Americano coffee. The aroma of roasted malt, wood, and coffee combined with a fantastic coffee and vanilla aftertaste makes this a very complex beer, yet with a very balanced taste which hides the high alcohol content masterfully. Once again, Dogfish Head has another winner.

Go out there, find these beers and taste them for yourself. And in the meantime, don’t forget to give Rose a call at 702-845-2201 or send her an email here to find out about how her Legal Shield program can work for you. After all, we all need legal help at one time or another. Go to someone who actually knows what they’re talking about and is passionate about all the benefits you can derive. Would you like to be a guest on the show? Let us know and we’ll make it happen!