BridgePort to releases bourbon Old Knucklehead in bottles

After a few years without finding its way into bottles, BridgePort Brewing's Old Knucklehead Barley Wine Style Ale, No. 12, salutes a pillar in the local brewing community, John De Benedetti, as the latest "knucklehead." Since 1989, BridgePort has honored figureheads in the community with this esteemed honor. De Benedetti joins the ranks of Fred Eckhardt and former Mayor Bud Clark as people in which the beer has been dedicated. De Benedetti, the steward and owner of F.H. Steinbart Company, provided essentials to BridgePort’s brewmaster, Karl Ockert, when he was making his first batches of home brew in his mother’s basement.



Brewed with double the malts and hops and aged in bourbon barrels, the 12th vintage of Old Knucklehead is a slightly stronger version at 10-percent ABV (alcohol by volume) and will be sold in 22-ounce bottles.

"What gives the bourbon a nice vanilla flavor is the American oak." said Ockert "What it does for the beer is it really compliments that malty caramelly flavor. By putting ten percent of the beer in the oak, it gave it complexity in the finish as compared to the finished beer as compared to a regular heavy ale. Twice the amount of barley and three times the amount of hops that a regular beer would be."


BridgePort's Old Knucklehead Barley Wine Style Ale, No. 12 Stats:
IBU's: 60
ABV: 10.0%
Color: Dark Amber, Toffee
Ingredients: English and American hops, blended with three types of pale and
roasted malts.
Description: A barley wine style ale that is aged in American Oak Bourbon
barrels, creating notes of vanilla, toffee and sherry.



On Tuesday, February 5 at 6 p.m. BridgePort is hosting a changing of the "knuckleheads," a "knuckling-in" ceremony and tapping of a cask conditioned Old Knucklehead firkin. Free and open to the public, attendees can be among the first to sample the new brew and purchase the limited-edition 22-ounce bottles of Old Knucklehead. The Old Knucklehead release celebration is at BridgePort brewpub and bakery in the Pearl at 1313 NW Marshall St.

According to the company, seventy-five barrels, or 1,100 cases, of BridgePort’s Old Knucklehead have been made. Beginning February 5th, 2008, beer enthusiasts will be able to find BridgePort’s Old Knucklehead on tap at BridgePort brewpub and bakery, BridgePort Ale House and other draft outlets. Twenty-two-ounce bottles will be sold at BridgePort brewpub and bakery and at finer grocery retailers in the Portland area.