• The Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Back Issues
    • Features
      • Brewing
      • People
      • Culture
      • History
      • Food
      • Travel
      • Styles
      • Homebrewing
    • Departments
      • Coming Soon
      • Columns
        • Visiting the Pub
        • Behind the Bar
        • It’s My Round
        • The Beer Enthusiast
        • The Beer Curmudgeon
        • In The Brewhouse
        • Michael Jackson
        • The Taster
        • Beyond Beer
        • Your Next Beer
        • Industry Insights
      • What’s Brewing
      • Pull Up A Stool
      • Travel
        • Beer Travelers
        • A Closer Look
        • Beer Weekend
      • Stylistically Speaking
      • Home Brewing
      • Beer Talk
      • Beer Books
  • Events
    • World Beer Festival Raleigh – April 1, 2017
    • World Beer Festival Durham
    • Event Calendar
    • Brewery Tastings & Events
    • Beer Explorer
  • Reviews
    • Staff Reviews
    • Beer Talk
    • Flights
    • Book Reviews
  • Learn
    • What is Beer?
      • Water
      • Malt
      • Hops
      • Yeast
    • Styles
      • Lagers
      • British and North American Ales
      • Belgian and Continental Ales
      • Wheat Ales
      • Stouts and Porters
      • Seasonal and Specialty
    • Glossary
  • News
    • New on the Shelves
  • Web Only
    • Blogs
      • Daniel Bradford
      • John Holl
      • Acitelli on History
      • The Beer Bible Blog
      • Bryson
    • Video
    • Photos
    • Podcasts
Menu
logo
  • Advertise with Us
  • Subscriber Services
  • Retailer Services
Give a Gift Subscribe

Hop Czar

January 1, 2009 Portland, OR
Reviewers: Roger Protz

Bridgeport Brewing Co.
Portland, OR

Available: n/a

Hop Czar is brewed according to BridgePort’s IPA recipe, then triple-hopped and bottle-conditioned to produce this double IPA.

ABV: 8
ABW: 6.4
Color: 22
Bitterness: 90
Original gravity: 1071

I have reservations about the trend to produce double IPAs and Imperial IPAs, as such designations did not exist in Victorian England. That aside, this 8 percent beer is a delight, a pale bronze ale with a big fluffy head and a whole candy shop of aromas: orange and lemon slices underscored by a big waft of hop resins. Tart citrus fruit in the mouth is balanced by bitter hop notes and biscuity malt. The long, complex finish is dominated by bitter, resinous hops, lemon jelly fruit and juicy malt.
- Roger Protz
The cap is covered by a heavy foil capsule that inflated menacingly as I opened the bottle. After the special effects, the beer pours a honey color, raising a thin tan head. The nose is wonderfully resiny, a pure expression of funky green “hop-sack” character. One expects a blast of bitterness, but the beers hits the palate gently, using a full malt backbone to balance robust bitterness. It’s a fun beer to drink and it will meet a spicy Thai coconut curry on its own terms.
- Garrett Oliver

Roger Protz
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

Garrett Oliver
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.

Comments are closed here.

Follow @allaboutbeer

Beer in your inbox

More Like This

  • Capt'n Krunkles Black IPA
  • El Dorado Single Hop Imperial IPA
  • St. George Porter

Most Popular

  • Report: Bell's Files Federal Action Against Innovation Brewing
  • Bell's Issues Response on Innovation Trademark Dispute

The Magazine

  • Advertise with Us
  • Subscribe
  • Give a Gift
  • Staff
  • Subscriber Services
  • Retailer Services

Learn Beer

  • Reviews
  • Back Issues
  • Articles
  • Writer Guidelines
  • Internship Program

Events

  • World Beer Festival
  • Craft Beer Events
  • News

All About Beer

  • P.O. Box 110346
  • Durham, NC 27709
  • CONTACT