Shipyard American IPA
I quite enjoyed the last Shipyard beer I tried, so I'm hopeful of a similar experience with this IPA version.
Details
- IPA, 5% ABV
- 500ml bottle
From the website:
With Grapefruit notes at its core and a delicate bitterness in taste, this deep gold coloured Beer is refreshing with every sip.
An approachable American style IPA, combining the finest malted barley with a bunch of audacious American hops. This thirst-quenching deep golden and gutsy American IPA is deliciously refreshing with subtle grapefruit notes at every sip. Full of hop flavour balanced perfectly with a malt base for sessionability. Starts smooth and finishes with a dry, crisp, subtle bitterness from the hops. With food? Think roast chicken, crusty bread or seared beef. The roasted malts in our IPA make this beer the perfect companion for meat between bread.
Expectations
It's an IPA, with several mentions of hops and grapefruit in the description. I'm hoping the grapefruit is more toned down in this one, and I'm looking forward to a refreshing drink anyway.
Experience
There was a very satisfying "Pfft" as I opened the bottle, followed by a curl of escaping vapour. The beer is a slightly cloudy amber, with a thin head and loads of tiny bubbles.
The smell is quite sweet, but indistinct. It reminded me of walking past the loose fruit at a greengrocers' shop.
The taste is quite bitter and also quite strong. It's very dry, and as soon as I swallowed my sip I wanted another to wet my mouth again.
I don't get any grapefruit from it though. There is maltiness for the sessionalization or whatever, but I'm surprised by the lack of grapefruit taste. I'm not disappointed, just surprised.
I thought this might be one of those beers where the taste develops as you drink it. Not in this case though, it started off strong and bitter and ended up that way too. Honestly, I really enjoyed it, and more than I had expected too.
Verdict
4/5 : Tasty, refreshing, dry, but not really grape-fruity.
