Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale. (Joe Kline/Bulletin photo)

Two years ago, in one of my first beer columns for GO! Magazine, I wrote about how Deschutes Brewery discontinued its popular Twilight Summer Ale and introduced Hop Slice Session IPA. Hop Slice was lemon-accented, crisp, and bright — but was not viewed entirely favorably by the brewery’s die-hard Twilight fans.

After two years Twilight-free, Deschutes brought the popular summer ale back this year. Knowing how popular this beer is, I reached out to the brewery to find out more about its return.

“Twilight does have a large fan base, and that definitely contributed to our decision to bring it back,” wrote brewmaster Veronica Vega via email. “Ultimately, our beer portfolio depends on what the majority of our customers tell us they want to drink and what sells in the market.”

Vega noted that the brewery even incorporated the public outcry into marketing materials for the current Twilight release. For example, “Back by Mike’s Demand” reads one poster, citing a fan from Montana. “We tried to replace this beer, but our fans wouldn’t let us,” says the caption at the bottom.

First introduced in 2004, Twilight Summer Ale was a staple in Deschutes’ seasonal lineup for a dozen years. Though frequently categorized as an American pale ale, I have always considered Twilight to more properly be an English-style summer ale. Vega agrees.

“Because it uses an English style yeast strain, I would classify it as an English Summer Ale. Our spin on that is the use of the American grown Amarillo hops from Virgil Gamache Farms,” she said.

English summer ale as a style is a relatively recent addition to the world of brewing. Author Randy Mosher credits England’s Hop Back Brewery for brewing the first of this style in the late 1980s, and the Great American Beer Festival has awarded medals in the “English-style summer ale” category since 2003.

“Paler than most English bitters, summer ales are likely to be a little more intensely hopped as well,” Mosher wrote in his book “Radical Brewing.” “Hops have center stage, with moderate to high bitterness backing up loads of fresh, citric aroma. Late kettle additions, and perhaps even dry hopping, contribute to this forward expression of hop personality.”

Also known as British golden ale, the style is similar to American pale ale, though tends to be a bit lower in alcohol and emphasizes British malts and a fairly dry finish. Hops should be the showcase, and despite the English origin, examples often feature American hops for their citrusy qualities.

Twilight Summer Ale has always exhibited these traits, from delicate toasted malt character to bright, crisp hoppiness. The question now is, after a three-year absence, is Twilight as good as fans remember? Deschutes sent me a bottle to evaluate, so I could judge for myself.

It looks the same — a brilliantly clear golden orange color with great lacy foam. The aroma is hop-forward, tending toward the lemony, with a grassy and herbal character that reminds me of lemon verbena leaves. There is a touch of cattiness (similar to the pungent scent emitted by tomato plants) and citrus zest that accentuate the mildly sweet malts.

The flavor emphasizes the malt with a pleasant biscuit quality. The hops are relatively mild, offering up a fresh green herbal note with a kiss of sweet lemon at the back. Overall the body is crisp and on the lighter side with a clean finish. My final impression returns to lemon, which perhaps evokes the memory of Hop Slice.

Twilight has always showcased floral and juicy, sometimes tropical, hop character, but this season’s lemony essence struck me as being different from years past. I posed the question to Vega.

“We are hitting the same target ABV and IBU’s of past years, but worked to evaluate our available crop years and formats of Amarillo, and made a slight increase to boost aroma, while maintaining drinkability,” she said.

The Amarillo hop variety is known for its citrus qualities of orange and lemon and has been used in the Twilight recipe for a number of years. According to the brewery’s website, this year’s Twilight has 38 IBUs, up from 35 previously, reflecting the increase Vega mentions. Based on my impression, this Amarillo boost is quite noticeable.

Overall however, this is a beer that is as crisp, hoppy and delicate that I remember from Twilights past. So far, the response has reflected that as well.

“Our fans are overjoyed to be reunited with their Twilight,” Vega said. “It’s going to be a great summer.”

— Jon Abernathy is a local beer blogger and brew aficionado. His column appears in GO! every other week.