Shipyard Monkey Fist IPA

Shipyard Brewing Co.   Portland, ME

Notes:

English IPA

12oz Bottle

6.9% ABV

Appearance:  Pours a darker caramel orange copperish color…a nice rich color, I can see some bubbles in the middle…head is a light khaki, creamy and thin, but consistent…(3.5/5)

Smell:  English yeast galore with this one…piney, woodsy and citrus hops, particularly pink grapefruit, hit my nose next…overall though, this has a heavy aroma, full of that musty yeast smell…there’s almost like a taffy candy aroma without the sweetness (if that makes sense)…mild caramel, earthy malts round things out a bit…as it warms, a piney bite becomes more apparent…(3.75/5)

Taste:  English yeast and piney hops bitterness hit the tongue right away and lasts through the after taste…there’s a noticeable pink grapefruit flavor and bitterness that sneaks up about half way through the taste and also extends into the after taste…this brew is very musty, earthy, mildly piney with a caramel and citrus lightness that keeps it from going too the extreme…though it’s borderline…(3.5/5)

Mouthfeel:  Light to medium body…kinda light on the carbonation as well…it doesn’t really fluff up much on my palate, though I do get some mild woodsy/light lemony residual bitterness…it’s got a heavy feel for having a light body, with woodsy bitterness, musty yeast and earthy malt resting all over my palate...(3.25/5)

Overall:  This is good, not great…the flavor, while at first I didn’t particularly like, has grown on me…could it be the 6.9% ABV? Maybe…classic English style IPA’s aren’t usually my bag, but this one has a pink grapefruit thing happening that I’m really digging…it gives it some zest…it’s easy to recommend, though it may not be my favorite...I could easily drink a few of these in one sitting, laughing, talking over old trail stories…(3.5/5)

Score:

(3.50/5)