Shipyard Brewing Co., Portland, ME
Appearance
Clear light golden color, moderate effervescence. Not a bad shade for a lager or
pilsner but a bit on the light side for a pumpkin ale. Head was a light off-white,
uneventful and quickly vanishing. Very light and a little cloudy. Moderate to light
carbonation. The golden color doesn't bode well for an ale. No lacing and thin in
composition.
Aroma
Decent strength, a departure from the norm. More of an equal mixture of a
somewhat sweet lager or maibock malt and grains along with some pumpkin
and spice but no one component stands out. Cinnamon and sweet. The aroma
mirrors the appearance in that it is airy and champagne like. As a criticism the
cinnamon is so strong, I'm thinking Altoid and can't get past that.
Palate
Crisp, clean, and good but really a different concept from the typical pumpkin
beer line. The pumpkin is so light and blended that it basically just adds a base
sweetness as opposed to having a striking pumpkin flavor. The spice was the
same way, taking the place of a hop presence without any real prominence. Has
a background graininess. Thin and drinkable but it doesn't seem like a pumpkin
beer. This is more of a cinnamon beer and if you like that you would be happy
with this. I believe it is too one dimensional and lacking of ale qualities.
Finish
The same basic essence as the palate but with some more intensity. Amazingly
well blended and balanced if that is what one seeks. I prefer for flavors to have
some prominence rather than balancing to the point of being hidden. Once
again cinnamon, but some pumpkin sours do creep in to balance a delicate
sweetness.
Synopsis
Interesting and unique but more like a nice lager instead of a pumpkin ale. The
pumpkin and spice are well blended to a fault, difficult to detect among the
slightly sweet grainy lager qualities. Pumpkin and spice seem to stand-in for
malt and hops instead of being stand-out qualities on their own. I kind of like the
taste but hit the score hard because it is too far "outside the box" for the pumpkin
ale style. This taste reminds me of Cinnamon Life cereal. I hate to slam a brew
for the sake of it but this does not stand up relative to other pumpkin ales. It is an
ale (actually light lager ?) version of cider. It is seasonal and not terrible, maybe
a good dessert brew.
Clear light golden color, moderate effervescence. Not a bad shade for a lager or
pilsner but a bit on the light side for a pumpkin ale. Head was a light off-white,
uneventful and quickly vanishing. Very light and a little cloudy. Moderate to light
carbonation. The golden color doesn't bode well for an ale. No lacing and thin in
composition.
Aroma
Decent strength, a departure from the norm. More of an equal mixture of a
somewhat sweet lager or maibock malt and grains along with some pumpkin
and spice but no one component stands out. Cinnamon and sweet. The aroma
mirrors the appearance in that it is airy and champagne like. As a criticism the
cinnamon is so strong, I'm thinking Altoid and can't get past that.
Palate
Crisp, clean, and good but really a different concept from the typical pumpkin
beer line. The pumpkin is so light and blended that it basically just adds a base
sweetness as opposed to having a striking pumpkin flavor. The spice was the
same way, taking the place of a hop presence without any real prominence. Has
a background graininess. Thin and drinkable but it doesn't seem like a pumpkin
beer. This is more of a cinnamon beer and if you like that you would be happy
with this. I believe it is too one dimensional and lacking of ale qualities.
Finish
The same basic essence as the palate but with some more intensity. Amazingly
well blended and balanced if that is what one seeks. I prefer for flavors to have
some prominence rather than balancing to the point of being hidden. Once
again cinnamon, but some pumpkin sours do creep in to balance a delicate
sweetness.
Synopsis
Interesting and unique but more like a nice lager instead of a pumpkin ale. The
pumpkin and spice are well blended to a fault, difficult to detect among the
slightly sweet grainy lager qualities. Pumpkin and spice seem to stand-in for
malt and hops instead of being stand-out qualities on their own. I kind of like the
taste but hit the score hard because it is too far "outside the box" for the pumpkin
ale style. This taste reminds me of Cinnamon Life cereal. I hate to slam a brew
for the sake of it but this does not stand up relative to other pumpkin ales. It is an
ale (actually light lager ?) version of cider. It is seasonal and not terrible, maybe
a good dessert brew.
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Our store has glasses,
apparel, dispensing
equipment, books,
beer pong stuff, and
more, CHECK IT OUT !
apparel, dispensing
equipment, books,
beer pong stuff, and
more, CHECK IT OUT !
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