Shipyard Brewing Company out of Portland Maine brews several year round beers, but up for review is their India Pale Ale. At 5.8% ABV, this brew has somewhat hinted at its tendencies to more closely follow the English IPA rather than the more fuller bodied American IPA’s. Let’s see how this brew looks, smells, and tastes.
Appearance – Fairly typical hazy honey IPA color with a two finger dissipating head that leaves some lacing. Overall a nice looking beer.
Aroma – American adjunct lager smell, and some yeast like notes. I note a complete lack of hop character on the nose, and am slightly disappointed, but hold of judging until the taste.
Taste – Some bitter notes hit the tongue, but the initial taste turns more astringent, then followed through with a somewhat sweet, grainy leathery flavor. The website for Shipyard mentioned an apple flavor within the taste: its there, but thats reaching. Uneventful flavor profile overall.
Verdict – Truth be told, this beer comes off as sort of an imperial fizzy yellow mass produced light lager If that makes sense, or a slightly hopped canned mass produced lager. I don’t say that in anger or distaste, its just the closest comparison I could relate it to. So, with a lack of any hop character, coupled with the thin mouthfeel, I didn’t find anything in this beer that would push me to purchase it again. Also, this beer is probably brewed more toward the traditional English IPA style, a style I generally don’t find appealing, so in fairness, this beer earns a C.
www.shipyard.com
BA: B-
Ratebeer: 47
Available in the following:
Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Washington
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