Review Date 5/7/2012 Last Updated 8/4/2012
Try?
Re-buy?
What’s this? Another new brew from Portland, Oregon’s Bridgeport Brewing? For some reason, Bridgeport just doesn’t seem to be a favorite in the halls of Beer Geekdom, at least not if you go by the reviews on Ratebeer.com and Beeradvocate.com. That’s not true with me, however, and to quote an old Clarence Clemons song, Bridgeport, “You’re a friend of mine”.
Anyway, the Bridgeport Brew I’m sipping tonight is Bridgeport Summer Squeeze Bright Ale. Here’s how Bridgeport describes it on the neck label:
Meet your new Summer Squeeze.™ The refreshing brew infused with lemongrass and yuzu, the exotic asian citrus fruit. The result is bright and crisp with a complex citrus finish. Perfect for hot summer days.
Lemongrass, by the way, has nothing to do with lemons. It’s a grass (duh) popular in Asian cuisine, and gets its name from the distinct citrusy aroma and flavor it imparts. That can be true for beer as well as food, and it certainly adds a lemony zest to Summer Squeeze.
Bridgeport Summer Squeeze Bright Ale pours to a hazy golden orange color with a medium foamy head formation and a bright lemony nose. The palate has light malt up front, the crisp and biscuit kind that reminds me of a pilsner, thought this is an ale. Zesty citric grassy notes come along next and follow the beer into the gently bitter finish. I definitely get the lemongrass here, but not the yuzu. Mind you, I’ve never had a yuzu, so I am not so sure what they taste like. But I am not getting much fruit here.
Luckily, the pungent herbal citrusy lemongrass does a fine job all on its own making this a tasty beer. That could also mean that the lemongrass just overpowers the fruit, but this beer is well done overall, zesty, bright, and refreshing, and not too thin. It’s a very quenching brew perfect for summer hot weather, and slightly lower than average in alcohol content at 4.5%. It’s also easy on the wallet as beers go these days at $7.49 a six-pack.
Update August 4,2012: Enjoyed a mug of Bridgeport Summer Squeeze this evening. This was an excellent selection as first beer of the night, and the crisp biscuity malt and strong citric component proved very refreshing once again. The beer washed down spicy Angry Shrimp and Three Mile Island wings wonderfully, and was a true bargain at $4.50 for a pint.
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
