BridgePort Stumptown Tart (Marion Berry)

Formerly brewed at BridgePort Brewing (Gambrinus Company)
Style: Fruit Beer
Portland, Oregon USA

(22oz bottle, thanks acrdz) Minimal beige head atop cloudy dark amber body. Aroma is moderately sweet, raspberry, some syrup, light sourness, caramel. Taste is moderately sweet, raspberry, some sourness, light cherry, lactose. Light dryness in the finish. Light-medium body, light stickiness, alcohol well-hidden.

22oz bottle acquired in trade with riversideAK (thanks!). Poured a cloudy amberish color with a brown tint and an averaged smaller sized, pink tinged, head. Aromas of wood, some earthiness, berries, somewhat funky, some red wine, and some spices. A lot going on there and I liked it. Tastes of tart berries, vanilla, some wood, fruity, and if I reach, a trace of red wine. Light tartness with a sweet balance. Alcohol content well hidden.

22oz bottle pours cloudy rusty red/purple in color. Nice nose at first... somewhat tart and true to the actual character of the marion berries, light funky/tart notes of pumpkin spice and nutmeg along with the (more heavy) fruit and (lighter) wood/nut character. Medium body, moderately tart at first with some general berry flavors, a raw stem/hair flavor of raspberries and marion berries, but turns a bit pasty and filmy on the palate, with some strange apple flavors, developing an thinness to the body that kind ruins the whole experience. Basically I get none of the French Oak Pinot Noir Barrels that Bridgeport so proudly mentions on the bottle, but overall it’s not terrible.

Bottle: Pours a ruby caramel color with little head and no lacing. The nose is musky with some light vinegar and berry notes, husky malt, caramel and some chewy fruit notes. The flavor is tart with a balanced oakiness, some cobbwebb and yeast esters and a sour funky tail. A little unassuming at 8% and packs more complexity than I’d give bridgeport. A fine fruit beer, I’d even call it a pseudo fruit lambic.

Bottle. Pours a reddish color with a small slightly pinkish white head. Has a fruity tasrt berry aroma. Sweetish and slightly tart berry flavor. Has a fruity finish with some tart berry hints.

Bomber from BottleTrek. Ruby tinged amber color with a thin beige head. Aroma of berry. Near medium body with rather coarse carbonation. Flavor is wry berry with something like chewed berry seed. It’s a big flavored beer - like the old berry drinks at Knotts Berry Farm in So. Cal. It’s a bit one note, but it is certainly different, and I have no regrets at having tried it. Have to drink a bit before the oakish astringency is noticeable. And the berry is ever present.

Picked up a single 22-oz bomber at Bottleworks in Seattle, WA and sampled during Minnesota first annual Sourfest. Pours a semi-clear salmon colored brew with a fast dissolving light pink head that dissipates to a fine off-white ring. Aroma of golden grain malt, some tart cherries, a hint of gouda cheese, and citrus zest. Taste is medium bodied, plenty of carbonation with flavors of mildly tart cherries and strawberries, some cereal grain, and some wood character. Finish is slightly watery, not as funk dense as most other lambics but still has some flavor.

Bottle. Amber body with no head. Cherries and vinous pinot notes. Some oakiness with a berry finish.