So anyway, on with the beer!
Tonight I'm sipping on a Witch Hunt Spiced Harvest Ale from Bridgeport Brewing Company, located right here in Portland. Witch Hunt rings in at 5.8% ABV, and brags "something wicked this way comes." We shall see!
 |
| What is that orange thing? A moon? Pumpkin? Basketball? |
The Pour
The beer comes out of the bottle a gorgeous red-golden-copper-brown color and is free of cloudiness or floaties. You know that crayon color from Crayola "burnt sienna"? And you know how none of us really knew what the hell "burnt sienna" was supposed to be (admit it, you didn't know). Well, this beer is that color: burnt sienna... but as a beer, not a crayon. Trust me, it's pretty. There's really no head present and it even resists being whipped up. The miniscule layer of head I produced by force was about the color of the pith of a clementine - I know this is the color, because I've eaten an entire bag of clementines in three days... so I am an expert on this. It disappeared rather quickly, though, into a leopard like pattern of bubbles and beer on the surface. The aroma has some very pleasant caramelly sweet notes in it, as well as a strong acrid presence of hops. There's some unidentifiable spice aroma as well, maybe cinnamon?
The Taste
Holy shit. Hops! Mmm, hops. Not IPA hops here, but this is definitely a hoppy beer. How many more times can I say hop? Hop hop hop. There's a good level of fizz on the tongue to indicate the beer is well carbonated, but not overly so. Interestingly, there doesn't really seem to be a change in flavor from beginning to end... it's a very hop-forward taste with a subtle presence of caramel malt and spices (I'm still thinking cinnamon).
Overall
It's a nice, mostly balanced ale with plenty of hop presence to satisfy even an IPA fan during the harvest season. It's beautiful in a glass and pleasant to the tastebuds. That being said, I probably wouldn't pick it again for a "harvest" beer, simply because my preference for this season isn't for hops, but instead for mellower, spicier flavors. If you're a hops fan, though, looking for something seasonal to enjoy, this definitely gets my recommendation. It's not overtly fall-spiced, but there's enough of a presence that it isn't missed. I'll give it 7/10 arbitrary beer rating units.
