Shipyard Longfellow Winter Ale

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

Penetrable filtered deep brown pour looks good with this nice looking beige film that is regular and foamy. Fake-ish floury and maraschino cherries juice, powdered fruit sweetness and strong ringwood butterscotch diacetyl blend together to make a rather chaotic and artificial feeling aroma that keeps on in mouth. I can say I was actually scared by that nose upon first sniff. The malts show mild roastiness and powdered cocoa notes that are overshadowed by watery liquid fruits - pear namely. Thankfully acidity remains limited, but the milkiness of the chocolate flavors betray an out of place lactic component. Thin bodied, unusually filtered for a winter offering, powdered light feel. I thought the ABV was higher which somewhat excuses some of its thickness lackings, but there are several improvements I can think of as far as my personnal likings go : Different yeast strain, lesser filtration, less fruitiness. It does feel wintery still, so I guess that’s what they were aiming for and I’m impressed by the spice absence in that regard.

Any first impressions?
-Frail head over a rich velvety brown gown.
-A bold chocolate and fruity butterscotch perfume might bother some diacetyl-fearing noses.
-Mouthfeel is thin and filled with prickly, fat bubbles.
-Roasted malts and cocoa powder dominate the flavor profile.

What if you dig deeper?
-Green hop bitterness and ashy roasted malts lie underneath.
-Smoky hints reside within the chocolate powder.
-Cherries proliferate in the malty sweetness.
-Not able to create its own identity, this diacetyl-laced hybrid misses its target with me.

Bottle; no date.

on tap at Federal Jacks dark brown color sweet smell and a nice toffee taste with the right amount of hoppiness at the finish real nice and smooth had to take some home

bottle, pours dark brown. aroma is a nice balance of roasted malts, some hops and other sweets such as toffee. taste is similar, some nuttyness; roasted malts and toffee linger, with a nice bitter hoppy finnish. nice mouth feel, this goes down nice and smooth. This is shipyards best brew.

Poors a deep amber with a brownish head. Smells of roasted caramel, malts, and some spices. Flavor is sweet and just a little bit fruity. Smooth on the palate, nice dry finish. A tasty brew for a cold new england night

Black, with notes of brown and red. Toasty, chocolatey aroma, with notes of prune. Surprisingly earthy taste, with notes of pine, chocolate and some weird moldy flavor I can’t quite identify. Dry finish.

Big hiss as the cap comes off, pouring a deep brown color with safire accents when put to light. Dense, tall and tightly packed tan bubbles form the head, and each consecutive pour seems to yield a taller and sudsier head. Aromatic invitation to the tune of rye, buttery pumpernickel, chocolate, butterscotch, peat, hearty pecans and caramel laden peanut brittle. Strong malt backbone rests on a scotch ale flavor appeal, warming like a single malt scotch on said winter day. Wonderful parry of rye and hop bitterness. Chocolate and hazelnut liqueur give a preemptive robust and nutty signature, sliding right into brazen walnuts, English toffee and sappy, spruce concocted caramel. A little harsh and sulfurous upfront, spritsy, and then waxy with a cohesive syrupy layer subsiding across the palate. A touch too carbonated, but the fizzles’ wake reveals a new layer of sweet nuances, finishing very much in line with hot buttered rum. An enjoyable change of pace, courtesy of tpkenned!

Maine Brewers Festival 2005. Cask. Very dark brown, good sized beige head. Interesting aroma, malt and earthy sugars. Sweet malt flavour with a bit of a bite to it. Lingering malt and (my notes have a blank underlined space I apparently intended to come back to). Sweet sugary malt is the impression of the over all. Average palate is superb for a casl. (3+) One of the better beers of the night on first sample. I came back to it later in the night and it didn’t seem as good, but the notebook was put away by then. I wonder if it was a different cask or if it was just me?