A LAZY SIP THROUGH A BLUE HERON PALE ALE

I was in the midst of one of my periodic bouts of beer mania when a co-worker announced she was going to Portland for the weekend. Naturally I steered the conversation to which beers she was going to pick up for me whilst traveling. A rare HAIR OF THE DOG oatmeal porter? The rarely-sighted LUCKY LABRADOR “Super Duper Dog”? We settled on “just surprise me”. Well as it turned out buying beer for me was lower on her list than visiting her friends, but she was kind enough to stop at the “Made in Oregon” store at the airport on the way out and pick me up a BRIDGEPORT BLUE HERON PALE ALE. She said it was one of her faves while living in the great state in the 1990s, and having only had an Xmas beer of Bridgeport’s to date, I approached it with open eyes and throat.

Initially I wasn’t particularly excited by what I was tasting – the pale ale was fairly lifeless, without much to sniff at or enjoy on the palate. That said, I was getting a slightly sweeter taste than I do out of most pale ales, and a very “soft”, gentle sort of mouthfeel. As it warmed, I started enjoying it more, and I took my time getting through it, because, anticipating this review, I could barely think of anything to say. I queried my wife, who is one of those “supertasters” of lore, and she said she liked it, a little bitty and a little fruity and that’s about it. We agreed that on tap this might have a little more oomph to it, and left it at that. 6.5/10.