You’ve seen the fanciful illustrations of Travel Oregon’s “Only Slightly (More) Exaggerated” campaign. Now you can fill your cooler with a craft brew inspired by that same sense of magic.
Deschutes Brewery — one of Oregon’s largest craft breweries, based in Bend, with pubs in Portland’s Pearl District and Portland International Airport — has just released a limited edition of Only Slightly Exaggerated IPA in bottles, perfect for summer adventuring.
“We love the campaign and the video — it’s so whimsical and fun,” says Veronica Vega, director of product development for Deschutes. “We’re all lovers of Oregon here, inspired by its breathtaking beauty.” In a similar fashion, “we wanted to bring a beer that expands your horizons of what you think an IPA could taste like,” Vega adds.
At 6% alcohol by volume, the beer is made with an American hop called Sabro, grown in the Northwest, with warm aromas of bourbon barrel, coconut and other tropical notes. “It’s kind of mind-blowing,” Vega says. “It’s surprising that a hop could bring these characteristics to a beer.”
The label’s art pictures Oregon’s enchanting Clear Lake, a popular destination for camping, hiking, fishing and water recreation — especially scuba diving — about three hours southeast of Portland.
While this is the IPA’s debut in packages, the first batch actually debuted on draft in 2018 with Travel Oregon’s first “Only Slightly Exaggerated” video, at the Deschutes pub in Bend. It was such a hit with fans that it sold out in two weeks. This time around, Bend pub head brewer Robin Johnson passed the baton to the production brewery to release it as a seasonal beer for enjoying mid-August to late October, wherever Deschutes beer is sold.
