This is my first BridgePort beer, and it certainly won't be my last. BridgePort Brewery is the oldest craft brewer in Oregon, and was once known as the Columbia River Brewery. They make a full range of traditional craft brews: an IPA, an ESB, a stout, a brown ale, and even a porter, but today, I'm interested in their special seasonal holiday brew; Ebenezer Ale. In the glass, it's a deep brown, with lighter deep copper (almost red) highlights, and a creamy but narrow head. It's slightly sweet and spicy in aroma, but the taste is incredibly rich and complex; caramel and chocolate and something almost citrus. This is about as close as I've tasted to Christmas in a beer bottle. It's fabulous on its own, but I heartily recommend it with dark high cacao percentage chocolate; I'm curious to see how it pairs with chocolate chip cookies made with cocoa nibs, and with mole sauce.

The BridgePort Web site informs me that Ebenezer Ale has an ABV of 6.4%, and that it's made with four roasted hops, as well as a blend of "local and imported hops." BridgePort Brewery has been making Ebenezer for some years; long enough to have one a "Highly Recommended" rating in 2002 from the Beverage Tasting Institute in Chicago, as well as a more recent silver medal from the 2008 World Beer Championship in Portland, Oregon. I notice BridgePort's Ebenezer Ale, technically classed as a "winter warmer," fares well with Beer Advocate raters, as well as with DraftMag posters.

Looks like the BridgePort Brewing Company is another of those amazing Oregon breweries. Between the Portalnd breweries like BridgePort, and Widmer Brothers, and Powell's Books in Portland, I can definitely see an Oregon road trip in my future.