Shipyard Brewing Imperial Porter
Tonight, I had the opportunity to sit down with Beersurfers Mark and Steve and sample two beers from Shipyard Brewing based out of Maine – the Imperial Porter and the XXXX IPA. Not being much of a porter fan myself, Steve dove right into the Imperial Porter delighted with its tastiness. He didn’t seem to mind the muddy brown appearance of the beer and was very happy with the strong odor and taste of coffee. I also enjoyed the coffee taste, along with subtles hints of alcohol and burnt wood. This beer was similar to many of the winter lagers I’ve been drinking lately, particularly the Sam Adams and Sprecher winter lagers. Palate-wise, this beer is watery and foamy, and numbs your tongue as soon as it hits your mouth. It’s very enjoyable to swallow, with the aftertaste reminiscent of an espresso shot. While I am not huge fan of porters, this beer really grew on me. Steve was quite a bit more enthusiastic about it and loved the bitter, coffee-like aftertaste offered by this porter. Overall, this beer ranks well against other porters, and we both agreed that we would definitely drink this again.
Shipyard Brewing XXXX IPA
The XXXX IPA from Shipyard was, in short, incredible. My initial reaction to this beer came from the aroma – the smell of hops emanating from the bottle made me salivate, and I did not hesitate to pour myself a large glass of it. It smells amazing! This beer is reddish-orange in color, and smells of candy, syrup, and an unbelievable amount of hops. While IPA’s are typically bitter, the XXXX is one of those rare exceptions – in addition to the hoppy aroma, this beer has subtle floral and fruity smells enticing you to drink it. The taste vastly differed from the smell – it is incredibly sweet, slightly bitter, and reminded us all of dry champagne. Like many of the high gravity IPA’s I’ve tried in the last few weeks, this beer has the consistency of syrup and is very enjoyable to swallow; it’s very similar to the Dogfish Head IPA’s and about as enjoyable. Hopheads will absolutely love the XXXX IPA. Overall, I really enjoyed this beer and am disheartened that I won’t be able to find more of it in Phoenix. Excellent job on this one , Shipyard – I might finally have a reason to visit Maine!
Shipyard Brewing Imperial Porter and XXXX IPA
