Double Old Thumper Ale

Thanks to Eric Mathis for bringing over a bomber of this a couple weekends ago for our weekly beer tasting. Enjoyed with pita chips and guacamole!

Appearance: Lightened amber with a strong head retention taking on a off white color and densely textured. Lacing is speckled and wet. Quite hazy, but still looking.
Aroma: Rich and effervescent! Caramel bread and fruity esters. Some leathery aspect to the beer. There's peaches, pears and even aromatic notes of plums and figs. Alcohol prominent, but not solventy.
Taste: The front is largely carameled and sweet, to follow, undertones of brown sugar...nearly reminiscent of syrup. Plums and raisins present and even a dash of soapiness. The second half is a complete opposite, Hops all the way. Drying, floral and grassy, while still maintaining a palatable element. The toasted malt runs on out through the finish. Touch of spice...
Mouthfeel: Body is medium, but the mouthfeel is a lot lighter due to the carbonation. However the texture is slick and some stickiness resides on the lips. Drying finish - resined.
Overall Impression: There is an awesome division between the start and finish. In Sync, they clash and produce two big, totally different flavors. I'm more for a balance. The alcohol was at large while all other components matched, but stood out separately.


83/100

Prelude Special Ale

Tasted Wednesday night following a long day at work and with a delicious Chinese-style dinner, Wai Wai Rice Vermicelli noodles, green onions, carrots, egg, and soy sauce.  Drank in the company of Eric Chalus, Jason Lindberg, Josh Schipp, and Jen.

Appearance: Brown colored with a dark rubied glow when held up to the light. Head is almost non-existent except for a bubbled ring and inconsistent film. Carbonation is still present, even against the dark profile of the color.

Aroma: Rich caramel and toffee sweetness. Slight hint of dark fruit similar raisins with a bit of candied sweetness and a slight buttery. Extreme emphasis is placed on the malt. Nutty and mildly alcoholic.
Taste: Taste is initially very sweet, revolving around caramel and toffee, as noted in the aroma. Mild taste represents a subtle nuttiness, but really nothing else.  By the finish a substantial fruitiness develops, exhibiting pear and some sort of dark fruit, reminiscent of cherries and raisins.  As the beer warms, the presence of alcohol becomes more apparent in the back of the throat.  Slight bit of bitterness near the finish  that doesn't last long.
Mouthfeel:  Has a dense medium body with a smooth yet somewhat dry finish.  Ample amount of carbonation that gets relatively lighter, the more you drink.  Contributes to the presence of alcohol in the finish.
Overall Impression: A decent winter ale. The beer leaves a lot of residual sweetness, especially in the finish which is characterized by a robust fruity and caramel malt bill. Booziness warms the chest. Decent, but not spectacular.


Tim: 80/100
Jen: 82/100

Old Thumper

Tasted Wednesday afternoon after going back to my old house to finish cleaning up everything in time for the check-put. Unfortunately the rest of my roommates neglected to finish in time and we pissed off the landlady. Thanks to Rob Liva for donating this beer to the blog!

Appearance: Upon pour, the beer exhibits a high carbonation and an enormous cream colored head. Once the bubbles settle the beer is very clear with a rapidly rising carbonation from the base of the glass. Color is a simple amber. Lacing is wet, but densely foamed.

Aroma: Extremely bready with a yeasty pungency to it. Smell reminds me of half baked dough. Some spicing and herbal hops follow up the sweetness with an earthy character.
Taste: Initially the beer is relatively grapy and vinous. Some tart fruit character emerge along with a bittering leafy element which is near puckering. A subtle graininess thrusts the malt flavor into a slightly astringent profile. The hops do little to help, only making more of a floral and grassy bitterensss. I'm guessing there was some strange candied sugar added to this one, along with a dash of spices. Oranges come through along with apricots and unripened pears. As the beer warms, more of a toasted, biscuity malt base emerges from under the strange flavors the predominate the beer. A dry leafy/rind aftertastes remains.
Mouthfeel: Rather light in body with a watery front and a medium fizzed carbonation. Somewhat smooth but leaves a cloying after texture along with a dryness at the front of the mouth
Overall Impression: Interesting beer, it definitely captured some strange elements within it that could easily be narrowed down into a few words. I found its bready sweetness to meld well with a toasted undertone. Though I wasn't very sure about the hops and the after malt flavor.


80/100

Export Ale

Tasted in celebration of getting a job for the summer at Great River Brewery. I'll be doing cellar man work, working the taproom, as well as assisting in events. Thanks to Robert (Al) Liva for picking up a 12 bottle craft pack and donating a bottle of each to the blog. This is the first time I've had Shipyard.

Appearance: Golden and clear with a thin soapy white head on top. Carbonation is apparent but doesn't look anything out of the ordinary. Brilliant with impeccable clarity.

Aroma: Soft ripe apricots and a light pale malt make up most of the nose. Some spicing thereafter accommodates with a bit of breadiness and...I'd say almost rye. But generally it is a pretty clean smelling beer.

Taste: Very sweet with an underlying graininess to it. Light biscuits and caramel. Fruitiness develops once you realize the finish. predominantly white grapes and leafy tannins to the back of the throat. A little juicy in the midtaste, which is then tamed down by a sweetened aftertaste with a drying bitter flavor that doesn't resemble hops. Almost herbal. Tart and resinous at the end.
Mouthfeel: Micro bubbles tickle the top of the tongue. The finish seems watery, but the body falls medium range. Otherwise this beer is puffy. Finishes very dry with a glutinous texture in the back of the throat.
Overall Impression: I would have classified it with a basic drinking lager/ale, but the unique taste in the back of the throat was actually appealing to me. It provided an earthy/grapevine flavor that isn't all too common to the beers I've tried. Still it is nice and drinkable. Something I'd actually like to try again


85/100

Pumpkinhead Ale

Tasted following Thursday's class. This was yet another I found in the cooler at work and the first of the Shipyard brewing line-up

Appearance: A lot lighter than expected. poured a normal golden amber color with complete clarity. Aggressive looking carbonation as some accumulated within the beer on the glass. Head is quite minimal, only amounting to a white bubbly ring.
Aroma: Sweet and pumpkin flavored with much of the sweetness originating from a brown sugar scent. Some earthy spices that follow most vegetable squash beers as well as some light spicing at the very end. Some phenols and fruit esters accompany the smell.
Taste: Zippy and sweet with a mild tartness and a bold brown sugar and honey malt profile. The pumpkin predominantly surfaces in the mid to aftertaste in corporation with spiced undertones. Cloves and ginger present, but not overwhelming. Some diacetyls at the finish leaving the tart flavor of apples and apricots that was a little deterring.
Mouthfeel: Carbonation is high and quite fizzy to the tongue. The remaining elements of this category are light body, refreshing but very dry on the palate as it washes down.
Overall Impression: Pretty sweet, but does obtain the pumpkin profile well without too much spicing. Perhaps there was too much reliance on the accompanying sweetness of the sugar and honey. The beer did however have an artificial aspect to it as well as candied sweet and oxidation. Not the best, but certainly not the worst. I think it should be in the line-up of any pumpkin ales that people are desiring to try.


77/100