As a member of the ever more influential beerygentsia (a fancy word I just made up for beer blogger), we’re getting more and more perks. First there was the well-attended junket to Astoria. The free samples. The BBQ gear. Heck, we’re practically swimming in schwag over at BS HQ, probably because we’re so influential (take note, aspiring PR mavens).
Last Friday morning (it’s tough work if you can get it), Bruce, Thom and I were granted backstage passes at the recent bottling of this year’s Stumptown Tart.
The fine fellows from Green Bottling were hard at work on the 750 cases of 22′s (16 kegs are also being produced), a task they estimated would take just under seven hours. Bottles were flying as we chatted with Steve Bates, Bridgeport’s affable Packaging Manager (and a former Blitz Weinhardt employee) about the task.
They first moved to the 22 oz. format with the original Hop Harvest as a way to better connect with the beer geek crowd, but also as a way to get additional shelf space in the coveted cold beer aisle. It seems six- and twelve-pack territory is pretty well defined, and it can be hard to get a new product into an already-crowded shelf. The 22 oz. area is much more conquerable territory, with shelf space changing nearly every time a new product is released since it tends to be dominated by seasonal offerings that come and go frequently.
Rather than invest in a new bottling line (“Where would we put it?”), they’ve done what so many other Oregon breweries have done, and called in the specialists at Green Brewing when they want to step up from the 12 oz. format. Customers of Green include Laurelwood, New Old Lompoc, Southern Oregon Brewing and the lagerheads at Heater Allen, to name just a few. Don’t call it street cred, but it’s a move that’s paid off, according to Bridgeport, growing sales in their flagship beers in addition to selling out each of the beers released in the Big Brew series.
And what about the beer? It’s tasty. They call it a cherry wheat, but this is nothing like what that name would suggest to this fruit beer skeptic (I’ve been burned so many times … and I’m looking at you, Cranberry Lambic!). It’s tart, with a really nice cherry and almond aroma, but not so very sweet. Perhaps it’s the 2,000 pounds of sour pie cherries it aged on for five weeks. Or maybe the beer’s time in oak chardonnay and pinot barrels mellowed some of the flavors out. Whatever it is, it works. I could actually see myself drinking a whole bottle of this, but at 8.3% abv, it’d probably be on a Friday night. The base beer is Fallen Friar, which wasn’t my favorite of the series, but the addition of a little wheat and a lot of cherries make this a refreshing summer treat.
Of course, having Steve lead our backstage tour kept things from getting too geeky. No cassis notes were tasted or taken.
When I asked Karl Ockert, Bridgeport’s Brewmaster, what type of glass he’d suggest for a beer like Stumptown Tart, Steve interjected “it comes in its own glass!” (If you’re not the “from the package” sort Karl suggests a goblet or red wine glass.) Awesome.
Taste Stumptown Tart for yourself this Thursday, June 25 for the release party at the brewery. The label’s model, Bernie Dexter (somewhat NSFW), and Karl Ockert will both be on hand to autograph bottles or ask your lingerie questions. Who you ask what is up to you (and the amount of Stumptown Tart you’ve consumed).
Bridgeport Brewing
Thursday, June 25, 5:30 – 9:00 PM
1313 NW Marshall, Portland
