This one came in my beer club. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a red-amber color with a large orange-tan head. The aroma was light nut, caramel and fruit. The flavor was sour, tangy and nutty with a touch of fruit and some butter on the tangy finish. Eh.

Pours gold into a shaker. Off-white head with good retention leaves spot lacing as it recedes to coat surface. Orange and nut aromas. Sour orange upfront with a lasting bitter/sour finish.

Pours gold into a shaker. No head. Wheat and raspberry puree aromas. Raspberry seeds and wheat upfront with a nasty finish.

(Bottle from a non-ratebeer friend) Dark brown color, fluffy tan to brown head. Sweet caramel scent. Sweet, malty and fruity taste. Medium mouthfeel, medium bitterness.

This beer came in my beer club - I have never heard of the brewer before. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a bright golden color with a large yellow-white head. The aroma was sweet, tangy and a little tart and sour. There was a light fruity hop element and a hint of caramel. The flavor was bitter, tangy, sour and nutty with light caramel and fruity hops. There is an almost buttery undertone. The finish was long, bitter and tangy with a odd presence.

Best before May 2006 bottle consumed 12/7/05. Orange-tangerine-strawberry colored body, with light copper tinges. White head is pretty well retained, creating minimal lace. Filtered/force carbonated, that sort of thing (same as all shipyards). Aroma has light fruity esters (cherries, prunes, berries) with some vanilla, light toasted malts and light floral hops. Flavor has the same light yeast apparency as most shipyards, light diacetyl buttercream, floral notes from the hops and a crystally, hard tasting maltiness, not terribly complex at all. Light blandish white dough, some saltiness, lots of carbonation, watery texture, medium-light body, no alcohol apparency.

Best before March 2006 bottle consumed on 12/7/05. Grenadine syrup colored with an auburn-mahogany hue. Off white head is initially full, but recedes slowly to a cover, never falling below that, with a decent amount of lacing. Speaks to the freshness, as this is still force carbonated and highly filtered. Nose is very muted. Even swirling and sticking my nose in the glass produces, at best, a very light toasted grain and straw-like note. Slight fruity-butteriness from the yeast. Flavor is lightly roasty, licorice, chocolate, light espresso and grainy brown malts. Earthy with light breadiness on end. Nutty, herbal spicy hops on end. Watery texture, lively carbonation, medium-light body. Not nearly as hoppy as the golden and too grainy a malt creates problems when taken with the high carbonation. Huge head though, I’m impressed with that. Swirl as I may, I can’t get it to go away. Buttercream mixes with roast and water, along with light prunes and earthiness on end. No alcohol apparency.

12oz bottle, Best before Jan ’06. Consumed on 12/7/05. Pours a pretty near true golden, with light copper hues. Two-finger white-head initially with plenty of vigorous carbonation rising. Very clear (hey, it’s shipyard after all).
Smells of flowery, dry, lightly sweaty hops. Maybe EKGs. Hint of vanilla-cream and light honey. Pale grains are soft and creamy in the nose. For as fresh as this is, I’m impressed with the very low, almost undetectable amount of diacetyl in the nose. Head slowly recedes to cover, with little to no lacing.
Flavor is very hoppy (relatively speaking), with a strong barley grain backing and touches of honey. Quite complex in the hop profile. Begins flowery, lightly herbal, turning in to a straw/grass sort of dry spiciness. Carbonation is high and peppery, but the body is not thin and a honeyish, sticky malt holds it together and battles the carbonation. Really interesting hop profile and the honey-vanilla complements the dry, grassy, straw-like hops. I’m impressed, for once, with a recent Shipyard product! No alcohol apparency. Could stand more hops and malt, but as is, the balance is achieved well.