Shipyard Brewers Choice Special Ale Brown Ale (05-06, 09-)

Brewed by Shipyard Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Portland, Maine USA

2006 edition, 12 oz bottle, purchased at City Market and disgorged into me gullet via a Flying Fish pint glass at cellar temperature. Near as I can tell this is the same thing as last year’s so I’m rating it here....dark, fairly clear chestnut brown, with smallish lasting creamy topping and a bit of lacing...sweetish, hazelnut-vanilla dominated malty nose with nary a trace of hoppy-herbal qualities but little diacetyl either (a plus from these guys)....the body offers a tiny bit of bite, but is mostly sweet, a touch fruity and nutty, and a bit grassy-dry especially towards the finish...there is a bit of roasty-charred wood character at the end that’s nice, but it isn’t really given much breathing space in the thin, watery body and rather artificial-seeming, heavy carbonation. Better than average from this brewer but not something I’m dying to try again.

[bottle] Clear ruby brown with a nearly white ring and wisps. Inviting aroma of roast and toast intermingled with hops and notes of chocolate, caraway, and parsley. Medium bodied with a chocolate and toffee flavour that tastes a bit young and is a bit too sweet for the bittering. This beer also has too much dark malt flavour for the style. Medium body with moderate carbonation and a lingering malt bitterness. I probably won’t have this beer again.

Pours dark brown with tan head. Highly carbonated, too high in my opinion for a brown. I had the same problem with their pumpkin ale the other day as well. Malty and very nutty with a slight hop bitterness and slight carmel flavor. Thin mouthfeel, finishes quickly and with little aftertaste. Very drinkable once the head settled.

Nice hoppy/quasi-alcoholic roasted nose to this beer. Quickly-dissapeaing head and little else to impress by looking at it -- it’s a brown. The flavor is dry and crisp, for a brown, but relatively thin. Not a bad beer by any stretch, just wouldn’t be my "choice" if I were a brewer. But I’m not one. And that’s a good thing.

One of the better brews by whatt i consider a very mediocre brewer. This brown ale is very drinkable but don’t expect a big hop bite as it is very restained in the English tradition

I had the 2006 version of this the other day and despite them claiming it’s a different beer every year I beg to differ. It’s the same thing i tried last year...not sure why they put the year at the top of the bottles then... (2005) Pretty much an average brown in all categories. Nothing stands out about this beer except for the fact of how easily you can drink a bunch of them.

Pours redish brown with a creamy tan head. Aroma is malty and somewhat tart and slightly fruity. Slightly thin and watery. A definate malt presence and a very small hint of hops. Quite astringent on the palate and with a fresh crushed malt character.

A very tasty brew, smells of apples and raisins. Taste is complex with fruit, chocolate and even a touch of tobbaco. Lots of Malt and a very subtle hops flavor. For a brown ale, this is quite different. YUM.