Portland-based BridgePort Brewing, one of Oregon’s oldest (and in my opinion most influential) craft breweries, is turning 30(!) in 2014, and to celebrate they are releasing a “Trilogy Series” of three limited-edition beers that will be released throughout the year, starting in January. The idea behind these beers, according to the press release, is:

The first two beers in the series will honor pivotal moments in BridgePort’s history by highlighting the adoption of aroma hops and the IPA movement.  In contrast, the third and final beer in the series will explore what’s still to come for craft beer in Oregon.

The first beer to be released in January is “Crystal Dry-Hopped Pale Ale.” Here’s some detail about it from that press release:

Given that aroma hops ignited the Oregon craft beer movement, it only made sense for the first beer in the “BridgePort Trilogy Series” to honor one of Edgerton’s favorite, the Crystal Hop, a varietal known for it’s slightly spicy and citrus notes.

“We chose to do a dry-hopped pale for the first beer in this series because of how well a pale can really spotlight a hop varietal,” said Edgerton. “We’ve experimented with dry hopping in the past but never built a whole beer around it. Our brewers are really excited and we think that BridgePort fans are going to love this first beer in the BridgePort Trilogy series.”

Trilogy 1 uses a big charge of Crystal Hops at the end of fermentation for a pleasant dry-hop aroma and flavor. The presence of Rye malt gives this beer a slightly spicy malt character and the Munich malts add a soft yet definite mouthfeel. ABV 5.2% | OG: 13.1 | IBUs 40

Based on the two pivotal beers released by BridgePort that shaped the Northwest and American beer scene (in my opinion), Blue Heron Pale Ale and BridgePort IPA, I would guess the second beer in the Trilogy coming out in May will be an India Pale Ale.

The third one—“exploring what’s yet to come”—I have no idea, but it will be released in September. And they say, “The release of Trilogy 3 will coincide with the re-release of the first two beers in the series and BridgePort will encourage fans to vote for their favorite. The winning brew will return as a year-long offering in 2015.”

I’m definitely looking forward to trying these beers, and I have to offer up congratulations to BridgePort on their three decades in the the business!