Taking its seat too soon?

By now, I’m getting used to pumpkin beers showing up in summer, and winter beers in September.

But a spring beer before Christmas? That’s essentially what we have with Deschutes’ Red Chair NWPA (Northwest Pale Ale), which has started settling into stores.

OK, it’s not your typical spring beer, since the titular chair is the oldest operating lift at the Mt. Bachelor ski area near Deschutes’ home base in Bend. But it was introduced in bottles in May 2009, and has been billed as a spring seasonal since, though the release was moved up to January through April.

I would eagerly anticipate it – along with Sierra Nevada’s Ruthless Rye IPA, always released right around the same time – as a bright spot in the otherwise bleak post-holiday midwinter, a harbinger of better times to come.  

That sentimentality aside, the issue isn’t really the early arrival of Red Chair (6.2 percent alcohol by volume, 60 International Bitterness Units). It’s a great beer anytime, with its creamy texture, lightly sweet malt complexity and juicy, citrusy hops. Truth be told, I’m drinking one as I write this.

The problem is the departure of Deschutes’ Jubelale – with its festive flavors and artistic wintry label – just when it should be coming into its prime for the holidays. (Of course, since it’s been around for more than three months now, it’s already worn out its welcome. Plus our weather isn't exactly screaming "winter.")

The bottom line, literally: Seasonals are hot sellers, and breweries always are trying to get a jump on the competition, regardless of what the calendar might say. 

So what do you think? Are you always ready for something new – whatever, and whenever – or should there be reasons for the seasons? Click on the headline above and leave us a comment.