I have written about Black Bridge Brewing a couple of times since they hit the radar on Saskatchewan’s beer scene (like here and here). I will readily admit the Swift Current brewery has impressed me in the early going. No new brewery offers perfect beer – it takes time to iron out the wrinkles and kinks in any brewery. Yet, I have consistently been impressed at the early offerings of Black Bridge. Interesting flavours, well-designed intepretations.

They have three beer available in Saskatchewan and Alberta – Milk Stout, IPA! and Centennial Rye Ale (although the latter will undergo a name change soon due to some trademark issues around “centennial rye”) in both cans and kegs. And while they have only been fully operational for a few months, I think there is ample evidence they are making a mark very quickly.

To that end, I decided a profile of Black Bridge’s three beer would be appropriate for my Planet S/Prairie Dog column in Saskatchewan (you can read it here). While I have reviewed the stout here on the website and the rye ale both here and in Vue Weekly recently (I didn’t re-post it, but you can find it here), the Saskatchewan column is my first take on their IPA.

It seems to take its inspiration from northwest IPA traditions, offering a pig piney, grassy hop character. While the beer has a pleasant toffee and biscuit malt note, this beer builds on hop. I get pine, accents of grapefruit and a resiny linger. It has a complex hop profile.

I can say with accuracy that the beer are still in motion. The Stensons have been clear they are still tweaking and seeking out subtle adjustments that might improve the overall quality of the beer even more.

So, that gives us all an excuse to pick up packs of their beer on a regular basis to find out what tweaks have been made recently.