Brewery Website: http://www.shipyard.com
Type of Beer: Extra Special / Strong Bitter
Alcohol Content: 5.9%
Beer Review -
Appearance: Crystal clear burnt orange color with a thick two-finger head that sat on top of the beer like a dollop of cream until dissipating into a fine film. Not a whole lot of lacing happening here just a little sticking to the glass when swirled vigorously. Carbonation was good and continued to stay strong throughout the entire review.
Smell: This old English beer has a subtle yet complex nose with soft scents of sweet malts, citrus esters, earthy hops and a pleasant buttery (or as the professionals would say, diacetyl) smell that alerts you to the fact that this baby was made with that special ringwood yeast.
Initial Taste: Taste begins with a nice medium body that is quite sweet with a crisp maltiness that covers the pallet. That buttery scent we picked up in the nose makes it’s presence very well known. While being quite a buttery flavor there is a nice hop backbone that cuts through and brings a well needed shot of bitterness into the taste. The finish is a slightly fruity, bitter hoppiness that lingers just long enough to pull you back in for a second drink. Aftertaste is clean and dry with slight bitterness.
Thoughts: This is a special beer as it isn’t originally an American one. The story of this beer starts in Ringwood England at the Ringwood Brewery where it stands as their flagship beer. Lucky for us colonials Shipyard Brewery’s brewmaster Alan Pugsley worked at the Ringwood Brewery and tutored under their brewmaster who allowed him to take this recipe to America and be brewed solely under the Shipyard name. So what we are tasting isn’t just another great Shipyard beer but a great European beer that no other brewery can offer. But what makes this beer so special isn’t it’s history but the special Ringwood yeast strain that is used. This yeast comes from the town of the same name that imbues a unique buttery (diacetyl) flavor which gives beer a rich, buttery smooth palate. So if you like ringwood beers then you must go out and try this one. It’s a rich, sweet, medium bodied, buttery yet bitter beer that is balanced extremely well. I highly recommend. Cheers!
Brewery Website: http://www.sierranevada.com
Type of Beer: American Barleywine
Alcohol Content: 9.6%
Beer Review -
Appearance: Dark copper color with thick two finger head that recedes very slowly leaving incredible lacing and nice foam peaks. Clarity is good with some sediment on the bottom.
Smell: Rich, bold smell. Hops are quite strong, floral and piney. Hop scents are rounded off a bit with some malty sweetness and dark fruits like figs and raisins. Alcohol esters are noticeable.
Initial Taste: Like the great Emeril once (or twice) said “BAM!”. The aggressive hops instantly dominate your palate – citrus, pine, leafy and earthy. After the initial wave of bittersweet hopiness the malts comes in to help smooth things out. The malts, while not as powerful as the hops, do give a welcome sweet caramel flavor that takes some of the bite off the hops. The mouth feel is smooth and creamy with a dry and slightly alcohol warming finish.
Thoughts: Like most barleywines this is true to their nature with lots of flavor and tons of hop goodness. Bitter, oily, sweet and earthy this Bigfoot is a beer to be sipped and enjoyed slowly. This being my first time trying this particular beer from Sierra Nevada I can’t comment on the differences from previous years. I will say that if you are a fan of hoppy barleywines you will be hard pressed to find one like Bigfoot. The recipe for this beer changes slightly every year so if like me you enjoy this make sure you grab a few. And with the high alcohol content it’s ok if you let it sit for a while….if you can. I highly recommend this to all hopheads and barleywiners out there. Cheers!
http://www.smithwicks.ie
Type of Beer: Spiced Ale
Alcohol Content: 6.80%
Beer Review -
Appearance: Pours a deep red amber. Tight one finger off-white head that receeds quickly leaving very little lacing.
Smell: Mmm. Big scent of buttery sweet caramel, hazelnuts and butterscotch. There is a little bit of hops on the back end but the main smells are sweet. Almost smells a bit like ice cream with nuts and caramel topping. Yes…that good.
Initial Taste: Not as sweet as the smell but just as enjoyable. Soft malt sweetness with a hoppy bite and a nice buttery mouthfeel that makes this a spicier beer than anticipated. The strong hop infusion gives this beer a bitter but clean aftertaste.
Thoughts: Another good Winter beer. This is by far my favorite beer season. The beers are spicy, warming and full bodied. Prelude by Shipyard delivers to us a perfect example of winter seasonal brews. This beer has an awesome smell and the taste is warming and spicy with a little sweetness and nice buttery mouthfeel. I like this beer but it’s not one of my go-to winter selections. There is just a little too much bite in the aftertaste for this to be on the top of my list. But overall it’s a great representation of the style.
