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

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

Serve in Dimpled mug, Shaker

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From the cask at Rossi’s it poured a chocolate brown color with a thin off white head that left minimal lacing around the glass. The aroma was of sweet and bitter chocolates, nuts, and roasted caramel malt. The flavor shows much the same with milk chocolate, nuts, caramel, and some bittering from hops on the back end. This is more full bodied and roasted than their regular brown ale. This had a nice smooth finish of caramel and chocolate with a touch of hops. This is drinking really well right now and was very solid coming off the beer engine. I am glad I got to try this.

2006 bottling, BB 07/06. Poured clear, darker copper with an explosive cap of beige head (1" liquid, 6" head). The aroma picked up dusty sweeter chocolates and cocoa with a bit of English floral notes.. definitely some sourness creeping in due to age. The flavor was quite tasty.. sweeter chocolate, light molasses, brown sugar, and vanilla with rising vinegary tartness toward the back (managed to compliment the maltage rather well).. sweeter finish with a mild herbal bitterness. Lighter-bodied and smooth across the middle of the palate.. light bitterness and some sour notes toward the back. Held up better than it probably should have, but doesn’t have much (if any) life left.

Pours a clear dark copper mahogany with a spotty-lacing, small frothy tan head. Has a sweet toasty, bready caramel malt aroma with some nuttiness. Body starts slightly fizzy revealing some more sweet toasty darker malts and earthy English hops before a drier, sticky bitter finish. Could be smoother and better balanced.

This bottled brew marked best enjoyed before july of ’06 from a bottle shop poured a head of all foam finely sized light brown colored bubbles that was mostly diminishing and left behind a transparent typically carbonated red brown colored body. The aroma was sweet and caramel malt. The mouth feel was thin and weakly tingly at the start and strongly tingly at the finish with a strong caramel note. The flavor contained notes of sweet caramel wheat and softly acidic.

2006. 12oz bottle. Reddish brown with a layer of off-white head. Plummy and vanilla. Cocoa aromas. Medium and sweet. Lively body with cocoa and fruity notes. Bready. Nice.

Pours much darker than I would expect from a brown ale, especially in comparison to Shipyard’s standard Brown Ale. The head was thick and looked rather creamy, taking some time to settle down. The scent had again a standard brown ale scent, with a bit more sweetness though. The flavor is a nice mix of hops and malts. Its got a bit on each, not too bitter, but not too malty. Easy to drink, but definitely not a beer you would drink to get drunk. While not really heavy, it tastes heavy enough. Overall, I enjoy this one, but its nothing I would rush out to grab.

Better than most Shipyard brews I have tried because sour English hops are well balanced by malt sweetness, Rich, brown color.

Bottle 2006. Poured dark brown color with a large frothy light brown head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Moderate roasted sweet malty aroma. Medium body with a sticky texture. Medium sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. Solid drinkable beer.

There is a mild malty aroma and the pour is a moderate brown. The head upon the initial pour consumes nearly the entire glass. Flavor is slightly malty with a somewhat spritzy feel to the tongue and slight smokiness.

Clear, light reddish medium brown body. Light, sweet, but slightly dry chocolatey aroma. Taste is bit flavored like chocolate ice cream with some light hopping. Its okay, but still a brown.