As the price of craft beer continues to skyrocket, it’s always a good thing to get a bargain now and again. No surprise, then, that that bargain should come from Bridgeport Brewing, always a leader in providing wonderful beer to consumers at a fair price. A few months ago, I raved about their Hop Czar Citra IPA, the first in a series of variants on their popular Hop Czar Imperial IPA. These special beers are being released to celebrate Bridgeport’s 30^th anniversary.

Now I’m here to tell you about the second release, Hop Czar Topaz Copper IPA. While I picked up a six-pack of the Hop Czar Citra, I’ve only seen the Topaz Copper IPA in 22-ounce bomber bottles, and recently snagged a couple at my local Kroger.

Bridgeport says this about Topaz Copper on their website:

Topaz hops shine in this copper IPA. A generous dry-hopping with these unique hops creates an unmistakable aroma, alive with intense fruit and earthy grass. Bravo hops in the boil balance the Topaz aroma. The hop aroma and flavor combination is supported by sturdy malt body, while bottle conditioning achieves a remarkably smooth carbonation. Look for more exciting hop explorations to come from this, our new Hop Czar IPA series!

Ingredients from the website:

Great Western’s 2-row pale for base, U.S. Bravo hops, Australian Topaz hops, caramel malts.

Hop Czar Topaz Copper has an alcohol content of 6.5% by volume and 70 IBUs. This seems to be a limited run brew, so grab it while you can. Now for the real kicker-I paid a whopping $2.99 for a 22-ounce bomber bottle.

Bridgeport Hop Czar Topaz Copper pours to a bright orange color with a huge fluffy white head and a very herbal, spicy oregano aromatic nose. A huge layer of Brussels lace forms on the sides of my glass and descends with the liquid to the bottom as I drink. Taking a sip the caramel malt comes out up front as per usual for the style. The hops here though are so much bigger on aroma than bitterness, although the latter is here too. Actually in a big way. The hops are so aromatic that they do remind me of fresh oregano and minty grassy herbal earthy deliciousness. It’s at the last that the bitterness emerges, a big, long, sharp dry bitter blast.

I am in love with the herbal and bitter hops here, with the chewy malt, and the drinkability. And for $2.99? You just can’t go wrong folks. $2.99 for a craft beer bomber (let alone a special release craft beer bomber) is unheard of. At that price, this beer just should not be missed, and gets a full 5 stars for quality and value from this reviewer.

And I hear a "Cascadian Dark" (really an India Dark Ale) is next up in the series.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

 



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