Shipyard Barley Wine Style Ale (Pugsley's Signature Series) - Shipyard Brewing Co.

champ103

Texas

4.72/5  rDev +29%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a dark murky brown color. A small bubbly tan head forms. Light lace is left behind.
S: A great roasted malt aroma. Sweet toffee and caramel. Some coffee as well. Light dark fruits as the aroma lingers. A wonderful oak and wood aroma.
T: This is great. A large roasted malt flavor. Coffee and chocolate. Some sweet toffee again. Dry wood, and dark fruits. There are lots of layers here.
M/D: A rich full body that is creamy and velvety smooth on the tongue. Low on the carbonation end. Very decedent. The alcohol is not noticeable at all. So smooth and easy to drink. A great beer to sip on throughout the night.

This is awesome. A truly great English Barleywine. There are lots of complexities. Something I highly recommend.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2009 03:14:58 | More by champ103

charlzm

California

4.5/5  rDev +23%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Consumed 09/19/09. Served at 55 degrees F in a Triple Petrus snifter.

Beer pours a deep mahogany brown with almost no highlights. A fine head of tan bubbles a finger thick forms fast and dies slowly, leaving a creamy ring around the edges of the glass.

Beer is aromatic: sweet caramel, vanilla, brown sugar and a woody note. Very slight spicy hop note as well. Delicious!

Flavorful as well as aromatic, the palate is treated to essentially the same flavors as the nose, but with the added feature of some hop bite and a delightfully hot, dryly evaporative finish. Not parching, mind you, but the beer is gone and the spicy burn remains. Unique!

Beer is thick and a little chewy, but not cloying or coating. Fairly clean finish for a brew of this significance.

I'm looking forward to finishing the rest of this bomber with my pepperoni pizza. If I ever see this beer again, I will gladly snap up a pint or bottle!

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2009 20:10:02 | More by charlzm

yesyouam

New York

4.5/5  rDev +23%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Shipyard Barley Wine is a dark ruby ale with a brown sugar colored head that has excellent retention and lacing. It has a very wooden aroma. It smells resiny and smokey with some sweetness and warmth. It's full bodied and smooth with a chewy finish. It tastes very smokey and resiny with lots of roastiness. It has a whiskey barrel quality. It's mature with some nice complexity. It's a nice late night sipper.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2010 04:32:07 | More by yesyouam

rhoadsrage

Illinois

4.47/5  rDev +22.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

(Served in a snifter)

A- This beer has a deep dark brown-hued black body with a thick creamy tan head of foam on top. There are tiny bubbles that glide to the surface on the sides of the glass.

S- The aroma is complex with notes of caramel, roasted black malt and a small black coffee note. As the beer warms there are some pale malt notes and a finish that is good dark nougat.

T- Dark chocolatey malt flavors blends with dark roasted flavors and some soft licorice roast notes come through aswell. There are nice dark caramel malt flavors that are slightly sweet that pop through as the beer warms. The finish has a full bitter bite that is part black charred malt and part bitter hops.

M- This beer has a full mouthfeel with a creamy texture as long as the head last and a faint alcohol heat in the finish as the beer warms a good bit.

D- This beer is very smooth to drink but with nice complexity and new layers of flavor as the beer warms. This is a great English style barley wine that is big but shows depth aswell. I don't think I would age this one as it might lose some of its complexity.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2009 19:25:37 | More by rhoadsrage

Durge

Connecticut

4.43/5  rDev +21%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A very dark mahogany color with a medium fuzzy coffee color head and good lacing. The aroma is a deep rich flowery malty coffee cocoa, more like a porter. Very nice though. The flavor is a smooth chocolate over a thin charcoal, much more like a very drinkable porter. It has a nice complexity with some peanut butter with some grape juice sweetness. Very likeable but no barleywine from my experience.

Update more than 2 years later:

A super dark black brown ale with a ring of light tan big bubbles on top. Good lacing follows. The aroma is deep rootbeer evergreen with bountiful molasses malt and fig/raisin. Thick and bountiful. And wow, what flavor. Again a thick melange of coffee malted milk with more dark fruits and a touch of spruce. Just a beautiful mouthful of deep blended grains and figs. This is medium to full bodied with a very smooth but somewhat resinous feel. Carbonation is minor but perfectly adequate for such a flavorful brew. Outstanding stuff that deserves a slow appreciation.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2009 06:08:41 | More by Durge

BeachRez

California

4.35/5  rDev +18.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Picked up from BevMo in LB for $6.99

This poured a medium carmel colored brown. Light head that left a light lacing in the glass.

The smell was mild.

Great tasting, low malty sweetness. Very balanced flavor that seems to try for style versus originality.
Very drinkable. No boozy aftertaste. This is something I would drink OFTEN.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2009 16:36:45 | More by BeachRez

tr4nc3d

Kansas

4.35/5  rDev +18.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bomber poured into my snifter

Appearance is almost opaque black with a one and a half inch slightly tan head. Good head retention with lacing left behind as the head subsides.

Aroma consisted of dark chocolate, molasses, figs, dark fruits with cherries and plums, caramel and toffee along with dark candy sugar. Alcohol was quite noticeable on the smell as well.

Upfront sweet cola taste with dark fruits like cherries and plums. Chocolate creeps in with a hint of vanilla and espresso?Roasted slight coffee finish gives it a little bit of bitterness in the end.

Medium bodied with average carbonation.

Overall great barleywine that is not too sickly sweet like some other ones are. This is a job well done and definitely recommend for others to try.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2010 15:40:01 | More by tr4nc3d

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Impressive beige head that leaves some good chunky lace on the glass. Pours dark ruby mahogany color where light barely shines through the edge of the glass.

The aroma is fruity sweet without any overpowering alcohol aromas. Lots of darker malt smells but little hop.

This is a creamy beer. It has many of the elements of a superior English Porter. There's a dark chocolate with cherry flavor that has some notes from a barley wine. Still, this is a strong departure from the style. And I like it. I find it very drinkable without too much alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2008 21:49:40 | More by smcolw

UCLABrewN84

California

4.33/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clear super dark brown with a 2 inch foamy khaki head that fades to a small cap. Thin rings of foamy lace cling to the glass on the drink down. Smell is of toasted malt, nuts, brown sugar, toffee, and caramel. There is a fruity smell that I am getting as well. Taste is of toasted malt, roasted nuts, coffee beans, and some burnt sugar flavors. I am also getting some cocoa powder as the beer warms. A medium roasty bitterness lingers on the palate after each sip. This beer has a nice level of carbonation with a crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a great barleywine that is much darker and more roasty than I was expecting.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2011 04:00:23 | More by UCLABrewN84

StrangeBrewer76

Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a DFH snifter, very dark brown color. Large bubble light tan head quickly fades to a creamy ring with various sized bubbles and and an island of the same in the middle with a tiny bubble skin covering half of the rest of the surface. This is a very impressive looking barleywine to my eyes.

My first smell was musty oak and faint bourbon with something sweet, maybe vanilla in the background too.

There is a lot going on in the taste but it tastes balanced between caramel, chocolate, and roasted barley malts. The label says there are some hops in here but they must be used for bittering only because I don't really get any aroma or flavor. The finish is dry and a little cocoa-like.

The mouthfeel was at first a little sharp with the carbonation but a little warming and swirling later the body is right on, medium density and creamy on the tongue.

Drinkability with this one is a case in point of what drinkability really means. If it means could I have another someday? yes. Tonight? at 8.5 abv I really shouldn't. Can I finish this one without considering a drain pour? Absolutely. Do I wish I had 2-12oz bottles instead of this bomber? Yes.

Overall I really like this one, it bridges the divide between English and American barleywines. If I saw this one again I would probably grab one to have and one to lay down.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2009 04:38:42 | More by StrangeBrewer76

abriggs1

Connecticut

4.3/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This is a very good barly-wine, if not too traditional. It tastes a lot like a porter with the addition of the chocolate malt. Goes down very smoothly and even on this hot summer day, is very refreshing for the style. The alcohol is subdued, which is a welcome attribute as barley wines tend to be a bit too heavy on the alcohol. I realize that high APV% is indicative to this style of beer, but I think too many go a bit too far with it at the expense of drinkability. I appreciate beers like Dogfishhead's Olde School with it's 15% APV, but this is a barley-wine that can be appreciated in the warm weather as well as in winter. By far the best beer I've had yet from Shipyard.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2010 21:20:31 | More by abriggs1

Norfawkers

Virginia

4.3/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A big smokey flavorful beer appropriate for a cooler night, possibly enjoyed around a campfire

Appearance: Deep dark amber with a foamy tan head

Smell: Sweet malts, barrel, smoke, and earth

Taste: Huge flavor of toasted malt, smoke, and wood with a sweeter malt back

Mouthfeel: Smooth and enveloping with a bitter finish

Drinkability: A crescendo of flavor, complex and sippable reminiscent of a good whiskey

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2010 17:25:21 | More by Norfawkers

DIM

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2008 vintage

a: Quite dark for a barleywine, it was a nearly opaque brown with mahogany edges. It poured with a short tan colored head.

s: This smells like a darker barleywine, if that makes any sense. I noticed chocolate liqueur with coffee notes that seemed unusual but very appealing. It fit neatly with the more usual suspects like toffee, faint dark fruits, and a little herbal bitterness. I'd call this a barleywine with fairly pronounced porter elements. Works for me.

t: Tastes like a darker barleywine as well with some strong (for the style) roasty notes. Definitely different, but it works quite well. Up front are chocolate and coffee liqueur notes that are joined by stronger toffee and brown sugar flavors towards the middle. The finish adds some dark fruits and herbal bitterness. This lacks both the strong bitterness of an American barleywine and the strong sweetness of the English variety. Interesting.

m: Medium bodied with gentle carbonation, both fine for the style.

d: Decidedly different and significantly underrated. I thoroughly enjoyed this offering.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2010 10:51:59 | More by DIM

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4.23/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

as authentic a barleywine as you can find in the states these days. english in origin and true to character. pours darker than expected, quad colored, with a quarter inch light brown head. smell is bourbon barrel and vanilla, with some chocolate malt and booze poking through. flavor is amazingly complex on the malty front, with caramunich and chocolate malts putting the final one, two combo on you. booze creeps in slowly as it warms, tons of wood and dark red dried fruits to this as well. mouthfeel works, less carbonated than a normal brew, but more carbonated than a lot of american barleywines, tons of heaby malts in the body too. a great bomber if you are only having one. this is a true to its heritage barleywine, worthy of any fine cuisine.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2012 03:20:48 | More by StonedTrippin

Blakaeris

Iowa

4.22/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours dark burnished copper with a modest creamy beige head that leaves slight lacing.

Aroma is very malty, toffee and brown sugar really stand out. Hops have an earthy, woody nature.

Taste is robust overall. The generous earthy and herbal hops are very green and offer a balancing bitterness to the slightly syrupy caramel malt sweetness and hints of dark fruit. Brown sugar and molasses, and an oak woodyness. Finish is clean, with lingering fusel alcohol burn.

Mouthfeel is medium-full. Slightly chewy initially, but the resinous hop oil then brings a slick feel.

Not too bad. Surprising amount of leafy hop, balanced with generous malty brown sugar sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2009 02:44:29 | More by Blakaeris

jamescain

Texas

4.22/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a sniffer, thanks to StoneBrewFanatic for bring this one to the tasting

Appearance: Pours black with dark red hues on the side and a thick off white head about a finger thick that leaves a thin lacing over the top of the beer.

Aroma: Dark fruit, raisins, figs, roasted and bready notes, and caramel sweetness.

Taste: Roasted coffee, raisins, slight citrus with caramel, chocolate and a slightly boozy finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a creamy mouthfeel and medium-low carbonation.

Overall: I enjoyed this one and kind of wish I had picked up one while I was in New Hampshire, I guess I'll have to next time I'm up there.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2011 15:53:09 | More by jamescain

Adrianized

Connecticut

4.2/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I believe this is a 2010 vintage, poured into a Stone RIS snifter.

Pours a rich very dark copper or mahogany, it's practically black though.  Nice one finger foamy tan head slowly settles to a thick layer with big bubbles.  Excellent lacing.

On the nose I get roasted malt, coffee liquor, and espresso.  Some prunes and dark fruit.  I also feel like I smell bourbon, but I don't believe this is barrel aged.  Smells great.

Taste is malty but incredibly balanced.  I get roasted malt and coffee up front, followed by dark chocolate, molasses, and dark fruit... Prunes and raisins.  Finish is crisp, a little dry, and moderately bitter from hops.  Very, very well balanced.

Mouthfeel is full bodied with good carbonation.  Drinks easily for a barleywine.

I held onto this one since last year, bought as a Signature Series pack.  This blurs the line for me for what a barleywine should be, but it was so damn good.  I was pleasantly surprised, I'll be buying this again for sure.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2011 21:31:32 | More by Adrianized

n0rc41

California

4.18/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a goblet from a bottle.

A- Great looks,Dark brown color with great looking head tan color fades semi-quickley with not a lot of lacing.
S- Smell good, Fruits and wood in there. Small sweetest aroma?
T- Tasted pretty darn delicious. Roasted malts and chocolate little sweet with the fruity and wood smell it really brings the bottle together for a great beer.
m-Mouth feel was good. didnt really taste the after burn alcohol at all. Starts of a little fruity with the chocolate. Ends with a little oily wood aroma...good.
D- Drink it as a sipper, I pulled this beer out of my fridge and after I was into my second half it had warmed up a little and I noticed on the bottle it says drink at 55 degrees, well they are right. tasted a lot smoother at the warmer temp. I could really go for another!!!

Overall, very good! i really like it. I would love another. I highly recommend it. great beer and the cellar aging I am sure helped the smoothness of the beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2010 05:13:13 | More by n0rc41

JayNH

New Hampshire

4.15/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A- Pours a very dark burgundy with a small foamy head.

S- Starts with a solid alcohol smell, not an offensive smell, possibly a little fruity. As your nose cuts through the alcohol there is a dark malty sweetness. It's a fruity sweetness with notes of raisins and cherries.

T- The taste is not as strong as the smell would suggest. The alcohol is very well hidden. Tastes like a strong dark malty sweet, notes of bitter dark chocolate. Finishes somewhat smokey/hoppy, almost porter-like.

M- smooth , full bodied without being too thick, carbonation is just right.

D- excellent! The alcohol is well hidden and the flavor is well balanced.

I'm not usually a big barley wine fan but this one was good. A nice strong brew, plenty of oomph without being obnoxious.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2008 23:27:33 | More by JayNH

asabreed

New York

4.15/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bomber into a Brooklyn tulip.

Appearance: Not an opaque black, but an opaque very dark brownish amber color. Nice raindrop lacing and good retention from the off-white head that dissipates maybe a little more quickly than I'd hoped.

Smell: More American than English, in my opinion, with citrus hops dominating here, versus fruit and brighter aromas. Wet hop spikiness is there too, along with some tobacco and mild leather and tar aromas.

Taste: Hops and very dark candied fruits dominate, with a lingering bitterness of citrus, especially grapefruit. Nicely balanced through and through. Some chocolate and slight coffee comes in and lingers also.

Mouthfeel: For a medium to heavy-bodied brew, there's a good creaminess to this by which I was fairly surprised by. Beyond pleasant.

Drinkability: I was surprised by this on the whole, because to me it's more of a hybrid style -- I would've guessed, from all the English versions, that this is pretty much distinctively an American version. Complex, not insanely alcoholic, and worth your time sipping. Nice job, Pugsley.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2011 18:24:04 | More by asabreed

Kelp

New Hampshire

4.13/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cellared bottle

Poured a bit darker than caramel with a little tannish head. Very little lacing left by the beer.

Barley malts are on the forefront of the smell. Followed by toffee, chocolate and alcohol for the finish.

Has a nice slickness to it, almost oily. A bit thinner than i thought it would be but decent carbonation.

This was nice a good beer to have on occasion not my favorite BW but an enjoyable one.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2010 16:25:09 | More by Kelp

BedetheVenerable

Missouri

4.1/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Presentation: Gorgeous 24oz brown pop top, foil-capped

Appearance: Beautiful dark walnut/cola colored beer with a dark cream cap of large bubbles which lasts well

Smell: HUGE chocolate notes, bready malt and biscuit, and notes of dark earth and minerality as this warms slightly

Taste: Tons of malt, alcohol, and a medium hop bitterness on the finish...lots of chocolate, dark fruit, alcohol, and a slight earthiness...the bitterness grows as this warms

Mouthfeel: Fairly full-bodied and tongue coating

Drinkability: Pretty decent

Conclusion: This is definitely an end of the night beer...the alcohol gets a little hot after a bit, but this is big, bold, and seductive, as a barleywine should be.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2009 16:42:04 | More by BedetheVenerable

SDtastentune

California

4.1/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Dark dirty red, some head when pored faster, no lacing.

S - Smells of alcohol, and some malty'ness.

T - Alcohol, chocolate, bourbon/malts. Caramel candy.

M - Feels a little carbonated, more at mid way down. Aftertaste is rich and flavorful.

D - Drinks great for a night/dessert beer, very unique flavor and different for the average barleywines out there. Over all I enjoy it, but not my favorite.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2011 03:21:14 | More by SDtastentune

Blitzstyle

Florida

4.08/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a sniffer glass. Little head and a cola like color. Some light laceing but not much.

Malty caramell sweetness, some toffee as well as some light chocolate. Some citus hops added as well.

Has a little hop bite to it, I like that balanced with the sweetness of this brew. Toffee and licorice finish, can hardly taste the alcohol in this beer. Has a very sugar sweetness to it.

Roasty aftertaste medium heavy body. Very nice Shipyard does well with there pugsley series. Will drink this again!

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2009 22:42:01 | More by Blitzstyle

weissbierdrinker

Belgium

4.08/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a mug. Deep ruby red color with a thick creamy tan head that hangs around for awhile. Leaves a bunch of lacing around the glass.

Smell is of sweet malt, hops, and some burnt scent.

Taste is malty sweet followed by some floral hops, smokey flavors, back to hops and some thick medicinal sweetness. Aftertaste has some malts and lingering burnt notes. A very thick chewy beer. Well balanced and drinkable. Very very tasty. Perhaps even to complex for me to pick out everything going on in it, but I know I like it!

Big thanks goes out to jerz on this one.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2010 19:46:59 | More by weissbierdrinker