Bridgeport Hop Czar Imperial India Pale Ale

Bridgeport has made quite an impression to me this year.  In addition to their Big Brews series, they've really expanded their core series to include some outstanding varieties leap-years ahead of their original Bridgeport India Pale Ale (which has lost some of it's luster as more and more breweries offer their takes on the IPA).  Today, I crack open a bottle of Bridgeport Hop Czar India Pale Ale.

Bridgeport Hop Czar Imperial IPA poured the hazy color of over-steeped green tea in the glass and topped with a lumpy white head.  The nose was centered around stone-fruit and pine in even measures.

Bridgeport Hop Czar Imperial IPA opened with sugary, sweet notes of ripe citrus and undertones of subdued pine.  The IPA quickly settled into a caramel malt smoothness, and ended on a curious bitter aftertaste that reminded me of aspirin but wasn't unpleasant.

Bridgeport Hop Czar is a highly drinkable, easy entrance into the world of big IPAs, offsetting it's copious hopping with a sweet counter-balance of malts and barley.  Hop Czar was (I believe) a brave standard release for Bridgeport a year or so ago when they brought it to market, but seeing their Haymaker Extra Pale Ale and Cafe Negro coffee infused porter released brings it all into perspective.  Bridgeport is branching out and getting bolder.

Bridgeport Big Brews Hop Harvest Ale

Sticking with the seriously hopped IPA theme, I grabbed something new from Bridgeport Brewing.  Bridgeport is the oldest brewery in Oregon, and they've added a new line of beers called the Bridgeport Big Brews series to compliment their more typical and traditional offerings.  It appears the theme of the Big Brews series is limited release brews only made available in 22oz bottles (I'm sure they are available at the brewery as well).  When I saw the Bridgeport Big Brews Hop Harvest Ale, promising to be created around the concept of one hour between harvest and brewing of the hops, I had to give it a shot. 

In the glass, Bridgeport Hop Harvest Ale was a murky orange with sticky foam and a nose of piny hops with hints of sweet malt supporting it.

Bridgeport Hop Harvest Ale drank bright and light, with a flat, dry mineral taste dominated by orange blossom.  The ale faded surprisingly clean, leaving hints of grapefruit rind.

Another incredibly drinkable beer... less strong or hoppy than most IPAs despite it's claim of being a triple hopped, imperial style ale.  At 6.56% ABV, it is also on the tamer side for an IPA.  I really enjoyed this beer, and think it's a more thirst-quenching version of the traditional hop-centric ale.

Bridgeport Big Brews Nightcap Winter Ale

Time to start working through the last winter seasonal, so today finds me opening another 22oz. bottle from Portland, Oregon’s Bridgeport Brewery’s Big Brews series;  Bridgeport Big Brews Nightcap Winter Ale.  Bridgeport Nightcap Winter Ale, consisting of 67% winter ale and 33% bourbon-barrel conditioned winter ale, is presumably a boutique take on their Ebenezer holiday ale.

Bridgeport Nightcap Winter Ale poured a slightly hazy, bottle brown with medium effervescence and topped with a yellow and tan lumpy head.  The nose was dominated by herbaceous hops and undertones of bourbon and vanilla. 

Bridgeport Nightcap Winter Ale has a big, fizzy front, surprisingly thin in body but carrying a mild floral hop start.  The base of the ale was still light, with competing background notes of coffee, smoke, a tongue-gripping oak vanillin, and an aftertaste of bourbon fading to dryness. 

Unlike the Widmer Bros’ Brrrbon Winter Ale, which was enjoyable but leaned heavily on the bourbon barrel to carry the flavor, Bridgeport chose to respect the ale from which the brew started and use the barrel aging to compliment it with the Nightcap Winter Ale.  

Bridgeport Summer Squeeze Bright Ale

Bridgeport Summer Squeeze Bright Ale, a seasonal offering from Bridgeport, poured a clear, green tea hue into the glass, topped with a white head supported by  strong carbonation.  Lemon and pepper lead the nose with a dry, funky yeast undertone.

Bridgeport Summer Squeeze Bright Ale opened bright and carbonated, with yuzu fruit hitting the palette sweet and light before giving way to lemon, a peppery spiciness, and hop bitterness.   The core body of the ale was nondescript and it faded on slightly bitter, lemon rind note.

Despite my aversion to many mass-produced, fruit-infused ales, Bridgeport Summer Squeeze Bright Ale was surprisingly enjoyable and drinkable.  I would have preferred they walked away from the yuzu fruit and focused on highlighting the spicy citrus of the lemongrass, but that’s why I just brewed a batch of lemongrass rye ale.

Bridgeport Highland Ambush Scotch Ale

Bridgeport Highland Ambush Scotch Ale, a Big Brew Series offering from Bridgeport Brewing, poured a cola hue into the glass, topped with a long-lasting, buff head.  Vanilla and some fruity esters here present in the nose.  


Bridgeport Highland Ambush Scotch Ale opened surprisingly non-aggressive for a Scotch-style ale.  I'm guessing the barrels they are using are either unused, neutral oak or way past their prime.  That's not to say it's bad... it certainly isn't, but none of the Makers Mark (where the barrels are supposedly from) made it through and even the wood added, at most, maybe just a bit of vanilla and creaminess.


Bridgeport Highland Ambush Scotch Ale... fun beer, but don't walk in with style or process expectations.

Bridgeport Kingpin Double Red Ale

I'm up in Portland, one of the beer capitals of the Pacific Northwest, picking up some more exotic brews to fill the pantry for future tastings, and am starting off the experience with a new brew from Bridgeport Brewing, the self-proclaimed and to my knowledge uncontested "oldest micro-brewery in Oregon"... Bridgeport Kingpin Double Red Ale.

Bridgeport Kingpin Double Red Ale was a orange-red color, heavy with carbonation and topped by a small but fluffy white head.  The nose had light orange notes to it, backed by some caramel malts.

Bridgeport Kingpin Double red Ale had a highly carbonated front with no real distinct hop flavor.  There was an almost Belgium yeast quality to the middle before it settled into a malty, bready body that stuck around.  The ending notes were sugary and candy-like.

I wanted to like this one better than I did.  It's a good beer and very drinkable, but it's a malt bomb and doesn't really hit the hop standards set by other big reds.  It succeeds in masking a high ABV, but came off a bit too dimensional.

Bridgeport Stumptown Tart Strawberry Ale

Part of Bridgeport Brewing’s Big Brews Series, Bridgeport Stumptown Tart Strawberry Ale poured a thin, finely layered head over a reddish-pink body with little observable carbonation.  The nose started out malt heavy, but more and more of the strawberry came through as the ale warmed in the glass.  There was no detectable tartness our sourness in the nose.

Stumptown  art Strawberry Ale opened crisp and light and was surprisingly wheat-centric.  After a couple of seconds, the strawberry came through along with some interesting hop flavors like lemon, flowers, and a little bit of grassy spice.  Much of the fruitiness faded in the end, but a persistent (subtle) lemon sourness earned the ale the “Tart”.

Considering my general avoidance of fruit ales, Bridgeport’s Stumptown Tart Strawberry Ale does a lot of things right and makes for a refreshing drink.  Although nothing but the added fruit made it tart (I was expecting something with Brett), it does a fair job of emulating the sour ale experience for those who want to dip their toes in the water.