Blue Finn Stout, Shipyard Brewing, Portland Maine

Happy 4th of July! Well I'm sure we'll all be out there enjoying our BBQ's and there are plenty of great beers to enjoy with them - The Terminal Gravity ESB, Spring Reign from Ninkasi, Shine Bock, Hop Stoopid from Lagunitas, Independence Hop Ale from Rogue and sooooo many more! Me, I'm going to use this holiday to kick off my "Christmas in July" tasting. Although I am still trying to catch up from May and June's beer tasting adventures which will be interspersed throughout the month, I will use July to taste some of the Barleywines and stouts that I held on reserve... Let's start it off with the Blue Finn Stout from Shipyard. Located in the "other" Portland (Maine) it is available throughout the Northeast in 12oz & 22oz bottles...

It pours opaque with a big caramel colored head.

The aroma is deep chocolate and roasty malt.

It has a big full body with chocolate and sticky mildly smoky notes at the end. Hop bitterness builds near the finish and keeps it lively on the palate. This also helps it from getting too sticky at the end.

The aftertaste is roasty chocolate and malt that hangs around, but again, doesn't get overwhelming.

So you may wonder why you'd want to enjoy a sticky heavy stout or barleywine under these beautiful summer skies? Well, wait until the sun goes down, the stars make their best attempt to shine through the haze of the city or blaze in the country skies. Sit back and sip on one of these upcoming beers and like enjoying a fine bourbon or cognac, take the time to contemplate the complex notes while reflecting on these summer days! For me, it's a great summer additive, a relaxing evening, enjoying friends, warm weather and maybe a little Chet Baker on the stereo...

Cheers!

Pumpkin Head, Shipyard Brewing Company, Portland ME

So I was indeed excited to see Shipyard beers available here on the West Coast. They are from Portland, Maine and if you are near that area, they have tastings and a great store with a full stock of their beers available. Most of their brews are only available on the East Coast, but I have found Pumpkin Head at several stores around the Northwest. Let's give it a try....

It pours a pale amber color, and on their website, that it is a wheat beer.

The smell is definitely pumpkin pie, with cinnamon and nutmeg are noticeable. It definitely has a fall aroma.

The taste is predominately nutmeg with a little cinnamon. It lingers nicely on the palate. It is a crisp and refreshing beer. It has a light body and is very drinkable. The spice might be a little strong for a newcomer of pumpkin beers, but it settles nicely over the course of the beer.

The aftertaste is all spice, which lingers for a bit.

All-in-all, a great fall beer! Crisp and refreshing!

Cheers!

Shipyard IPA, Shipyard Brewery, Portland ME

Well, studying is only so much fun. Let's deviate from our beer lessons with wild abandon and take a look at another IPA, the Shipyard IPA...

And just so we don't loose all of our geekiness, IPA (India Pale Ale) is a beer from the 17th Century and was developed with the beer trading between Britain and India. American IPA's tend to be more extreme with their hoppiness. Okay, more about that in a later beer lesson, let's drink...

The Shipyard IPA pours a mellow amber with a creamy head.

The smell is of mild hop, not too florally. It has a little spicy aroma to it.

The taste is quite mellow and mild. It's a little on the bitter side, but nothing extreme here. It is crisp and refreshing. I think it goes well with the fall weather outside, which feels the same. From their website, I learned that this is a single hop beer (made with Fuggles hop, which is a traditional English hop). So, that explains it's balanced character. It is a medium body and fairly smooth.

The aftertaste is mild hop and slightly bitter, but dissipates quickly.

So, if you are a reader of this blog, you will notice that I try not to pass judgement on ranking beers. I am tempted at times, but I think it is important that all beers, like everything, have different purposes and different intents. Some align with my taste, some don't. What I am interested in, is understanding the intent of the beer along with it's history. So, I will continue to try to be as impartial as I can....but I do have my favorites!

Shipyard is available all around the Northeast in beer stores and bars. The gift shop at the brewery in Portland, Maine is massive and they have their beers available with lots of other swag. On an interesting note, I did find Shipyard's Pumpkinhead beer out here on the West coast last week and will blog about that in the upcoming days.

Cheers!