Bridgeport Trilogy: Rock the Vote

Drink Features

It’s hard to imagine what starting a brewery would have been like 30 years ago, when there were like, I don’t know, two craft breweries in the U.S. Could you imagine going to a bank in the ‘80s and asking for money to start a brewery?
“Like Budweiser?” The suit holding the money would probably say.
“No. Nothing like Budweiser,” the would-be brewer would respond.
“Like Milwaukee’s Best?”

It takes guts to start a brewery in 2014, when the craft beer market is bullish, but can you imagine the cajones on that first generation of brewers in the ‘70s and ‘80s? The first batch of brewers to say, “I think we can do this better. And I think people will buy it.”

Bridgeport was there in the beginning, part of that first wave of visionaries who knew they could reimagine American beer, and they’ve decided to take a victory lap 30 years later by releasing a series of three beers—the Bridgeport Trilogy. Think of this series as a walk down beer memory lane—a chance to revisit some of the breweries history while also hinting at the future.

And who can blame Bridgeport for being proud? Three decades is nothing to sneeze at. What else has lasted 30 years? Menudo. Menudo lasted 30 years (32 years, actually) but they just changed those kids out like dirty underwear, so I don’t think that counts.

But I digress.

Bridgeport has released each of the Trilogy beers individually throughout 2014, and now that all three have reached the public, they want us to vote on our favorite. The winning beer comes back next year.

Paste had the chance to sample each of the Trilogy as they were released, but now that Bridgeport wants to pick a winner, we’ve decided to revisit all three beers in one sitting.

Here’s the rundown of the three beers.

Trilogy 1 is a dry hopped pale, with a fruity, citrus nose. Good call starting a tribute series with a pale, considering that’s the style that kicked off the American craft beer movement decades ago.

Trilogy 2, is an IPA that smells like a pine forest after a light rain. The taste follows suit. It’s a collaboration with Bridgeport’s original brewmaster who now brews in Australia.

Trilogy 3 is a dry-hopped brown brewed in collaboration with the students at the fermentation science program at Oregon State University. It has a nice nutty character, with a bit of sweetness, but still manages a dry finish.

All three beers are highly sessionable, each coming in under 6%, which is a good thing when you’re drinking all three bottles at once in an attempt to discern a winner.

Right out of the gate, I pick my favorite: Trilogy 1, the pale. Then I change my mind half way through the bottles and put Trilogy 3, the brown brewed with the college kids, in the lead. I was wooed by the subtle, malty character. It goes back and forth like that throughout the entire session until finally I land on the IPA. It’s dry, light on the tongue, and the pine notes grow on me as I work through the session.

Scratch that, I like Trilogy 1 the best. The pale. Yep. The pale.

If you live in one of the 18 states within Bridgeport’s distribution circle, pick up the Trilogy and decide for yourself which beer is the best. Get a bunch of bottles, gather some friends, and debate amongst yourselves. Arm wrestle if you have to, then vote at Bridgeport’s website.

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