New Brews from Widmer

You've probably already heard about the Widmer product shakeup:

• Broken Halo IPA has been retired.
• W'10 is now year-round in $9 4-packs as Pitch Black IPA.
• Deadlift IIPA is now called Nelson IIPA (still in $9 4-packs).
• Broken Halo's 6-pack slot will be filled by various IPAs labeled Rotator.
• The latest Brothers Reserve is out: Galaxy Hopped Barleywine.
• The summer seasonal that was called Sunburn last year, is now called Citra Blonde.

Let's have a brief moment of silence for Broken Halo.  Born into the world as W'05, it was a satisfying, clean, middle-of-the-road Northwest IPA, made more attractive by the fact that you could often find it on sale at the supermarket for $7 or less per six-pack.  I'll miss it a little, but I think Widmer made a very astute move by recognizing that tastes have moved on since Broken Halo came out, and they can stay on top of the game by releasing a different recipe of IPA every so often.  It would never have occurred to me to do something like that, but once you hear it, you realize it's a smart idea.

The loss of Broken Halo is amply compensated for by the first Rotator IPA, called X-114, named after the experimental hop variety that is now called Citra.  An IPA by that name has been on and off at the Widmer Gasthaus for a couple years now, and I even remember seeing it on tap at Belmont Station once, but odds are that the recipe has been changing during that time.  The version that's out on tap and in bottles right now is very nice.  It has that beautiful orange-blossom aroma that Widmer's Drifter Pale Ale has, even though the aroma hops are different for the two beers (Drifter uses Summit and Nelson-Sauvin instead of Citra).  But X-114's sturdy backbone keeps the flavor up right to the end, whereas Drifter's flavor falls disappointingly flat.  X-114 isn't a barn-burner, but it's a solid IPA that I'll be indulging in regularly while it lasts.

The Galaxy Hopped Barleywine that's out right now is also a treat, and well worth seeking out.  It's darker than what you might be used to in barleywines (see the picture above), and has a comparatively light mouthfeel.  The Galaxy hops give it a nice tropical fruit aroma; in your mouth it takes a second for the hops to kick in.  They provide a kind of guava or tangerine flavor, followed by a moderately long, bitter finish.  It's very smooth and drinkable: I don't get the Old Foghorn maple/alcohol kick that I usually find (and appreciate) in barleywines.  It might age OK, but it seems better to drink it now while the hops are in full bloom.

In the interests of disclosure, I'll note that Widmer sent me samples of the X-114 and Barleywine, though I bought some of my own X-114 both before and after receiving the freebies.  Both beers are only available for a short time -- the Barleywine is a one-and-done; the brewery says the X-114 is due to be replaced by the next Rotator sometime during the summer -- and I recommend both of them, especially the cheap and plentiful IPA.

Bridgeport's Product Shakeup

Jeff's review of Bridgeport beers inspired me to hit the Bridgeport pub in the Pearl for lunch yesterday.  That visit brought home some details of the brewery's recent product shakeup that hadn't yet occurred to me.  We knew that Bridgeport had axed the slow-selling Blackstrap Stout, and introduced two new six-packs: Kingpin Red Ale and Cafe Negro Coffee Porter, that I reviewed last month.  I suppose it had also dawned on me that Cafe Negro had supplanted the porter that was often on tap at the main pub.  But I didn't realize that the tasty Bridgeport ESB was gone.  Not gone like put into a seasonal rotation, just gone.

Apparently I wasn't the only one surprised by this, because as I was sitting near the bar eating lunch, I overheard one of the waitstaff talking to one of the cooks.  The cook needed a pitcher of ESB for one of the recipes in the kitchen.  "No más," said the bartender. "Not ever."  Now, the stout and porter are not a huge loss, but the ESB -- especially fresh on tap or from the firkin -- was a satisfying, sessionable beer, and I'm sad to see it go.  I understand the decision to axe the ESB sixers -- I almost never bought one myself -- but it's too bad it won't be offered at the pub.

Here is a summary of the Bridgeport reshuffle:

• ESB: gone
• Stout: gone
• Porter: replaced by Cafe Negro
• Ropewalk Brown Ale: gone
• Haymaker Extra Pale: no longer bottled; still on tap in the Pearl

When I looked chagrined about the loss of the ESB, the hostess yesterday said, "Kingpin is the closest to ESB, if you liked that".  Um.... not really.  It's about 25% stronger and much hoppier -- a different beast entirely.  Haymaker and Ropewalk never really caught on, so you could see why they were canned.  I wish they had kept ESB at the pub instead of Haymaker, but they must know which one they can sell more of in the restaurant.

If you know where to pick up some bottles of Bridgeport ESB, leave a comment.  They didn't have any left at the pub, nor the Safeway across the street.  I'd like to have a last taste.