Shipyard Brewing Company Chamberlain Pale Ale; Summer Ale; Blue Fin Stout; Double Old Thumper Ale; Pumpkinhead

The Shipyard Brewing Company was established in 1994 and brews out of Portland, Maine.

Chamberlain Pale Ale - This beer pours a sparkling copper-amber in color with a big somewhat pillowy head that leaves medium lacing in the glass.  The aroma is creamy, yeasty, biscuity and fruity with a cherry and plum type of fruit.  The taste is malty, creamy, nutty, hazelnut with a slightly bitter finish.  The mouthfeel is very smooth and creamy to start, but the effervescent carbonation cuts through at the end to tickle the tongue and throat.  This is a really delicious pale ale and I would love to try this on tap in Portland, Maine.

Summer Ale - This beer pours golden in color with a half-inch of pure white foamy head that dissipates fairly rapidly.  The aroma is subtle and hard to define, slightly fruity, slightly grainy, slightly aromatic, floral, bitter.  The taste follows the aroma.  This beer is tasty, yet hard to pick out and discern a lot of individual elements.  It has a little bit of everything in the aroma, but together makes a nice whole.  It is less sweet and a little more bitter (in a good way) than many summer ales.

Blue Fin Stout - This beer pours an intense, deep, opaque black with a quarter inch of light brown head that leaves medium to thick lacing down the glass.  The aroma is slightly sweet, chocolate, coffee, dark roasted malt.  The taste follows the aromas, it is more dry than sweet, and has the bittersweet, tart finish common to stouts.

Double Old Thumper Ale - This 11.2% ABV beer pours copper colored with brown and ruby.  There is a quarter inch of creamy off-white head that leaves light lacing down the glass.  The aroma is very fruity, lots of jammy apricot and some aromatic and tropical fruit notes.  The taste is sweet, but not cloyingly so, there is a good balancing bitterness on the finish.  This is a slightly sweet, dense scone slathered in a sweet, but tangy apricot jam.  This is delicious and exceeds my expectations.  This is made in cooperation with England's Ringwood Brewery

Pumpkinhead - It seems like everyone is now coming out with a pumpkin beer.  This is Shipyard's version.  The beer pours a dark golden, amber, with a tinge of orange-copper.  There is a quarter inch of white foamy head.  The aroma is spices, cloves and nutmeg, on top of a malty base of grain and clear, but mild, pumpkin.  The taste is much stronger pumpkin, spices, the grain less forward.  This is much like a liquid pumpkin pie, but not so sweet.

http://www.shipyard.com/