Bridgeport has always been one of my favorite breweries in Portland, and I always get a little giddy whenever I see something new from them. Kingpin was released in late December of 2010 along with their Cafe Negro (coffee-infused porter). I haven't gotten my hands on that one yet, but I was lucky enough to try the Kingpin this evening.
It is a very dark red, similar to a shade of burgundy I would say. Like most beers from Bridgeport, it has no haze and is as clear as it gets. It has average carbonation; nothing out of the ordinary. Pouring produced a solid tan-white head with decent retention and lacing.
My first impression of its aroma was a very strong malt character, which is to be expected with a double red. There is a bit of tartness to this scent as well. There is a little bit of sweetness in there and a quite noticeable fruity yeast smell. Hop scent is there, but definitely lingers in the background. What you do get from the hops is rather earthy, herbal, and just tad bit spicy.
Upon tasting, the malt character here is definitely very strong, a little toasty, a tad bit tart/astringent, and a bit dry. This one was brewed with rye as well. I'm definitely getting lots of fruitiness at about the midpoint in taste. With such strong malt and yeast character, this really reminds be of a Belgian red. Hops are modest, not quite as prevalent as I was hoping. It's advertised as 65 IBUs, but I'm just not getting that. What is there is quite herbal and works well to finish off the ride. Body is definitely within the medium range but just a tad on the thick side.
Overall, this is a great beer. I'm not too crazy about it, but I would definitely say it's worth checking out. The hop flavor works well for this style, but I think they needed to be a little more pronounced (especially with Triple Hopped boldly labeled).
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