Shipyard Chamberlain Pale Ale

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

Amber-orange hue. Light- to medium-bodied. Little nip of noticeable alcohol. Grainy malts with very little sweetness. Notes of toasted bread and burnt caramel. Spicy, tea-like hops, with elements of bitter flowers. Other notes of metal, pear, lemon grass and light tobacco. Piques the curiosity.

Clear coppery hue, modest head formation. Creamy toffee aroma, toasty malt, mild fruity hop spice. Hoppy, citrussy, spicy palate, plenty of bite especially in the finish. Toasted, mildly biscuity malt. Pretty much in the English pale ale mold.

12 oz bottle-pours a foamy off white head and copper color. Aroma is flat/metallic hops, secondary medium malt, some faint citrus. Taste is biting (dry, tannins) flat/metallic hops, secondary medium malt, some yeast. Had another without dry, tannins, so benefit of the doubt avg. is 3.2

22 oz bottle- poured a amber color with a receding head. Sweet taste throughout with a bitter finish.

Pours a nice dark gold color with a small white head. Aroma of caramel malt, bread, hops. Flavor is caramel malt and a little hop bitterness along with floral notes. Middle of the road, but not bad by any means.

Bottle. Pours a clear amber color with a very thin head. Aroma is mostly earthy hops. Flavor is sweet with earthy hops. Decent.

The aroma is very hoppy and sweet. Very pretty dark amber color. Flavor isn’t too hoppy-- slightly bitter with a nice smooth finish. Good pale ale.

Enjoyed from a 12oz bottle in a pub glass. The beer pours a medium to medium-light amber color, too light for a traditional English pale ale. The nose is hard to get a handle on, in large part because it is covered by a beautifully creamy white head. Some malt comes through, of the medium crystal variety. In terms of taste, either Shipyard’s hopping regimen is very light, or my sample had been extensively aged, as there was, at best, a balancing bitterness, without any decernable varietal hop character. However, malt character was pronounced and pleasing, showing a nice combination of slightly cooked caramel and toffee, with perhaps just the slightest hint of raison. The finish had a decent amount of residual sweetness that seemed to help round out the beer. Overall, a nice session beer, but lacking in overall malt/hop balance.