Shipyard Monkey Fist IPA - Shipyard Brewing Co.

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

2.36/5  rDev -30.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25

12 oz bottle into a nonic pint glass.

A: Pours a very murky dark copper color. The head is a fairly pretty one finger offwhite color with nicely even texturing and lacing. Retention isn't great, though.

S: At first, it seems like it has an okay amount of hops, both grapefruity and piny/peppery. After a while, the malt aroma pops up with strong caramel, biscuit, toffee, and even brown sugar. Malty, but actually pretty solid. Has Shipyard done it? Have they actually brewed a decent American IPA?

T: Erm...no. The malt backbone is not too bad here - a bit sweet, but it features nice flavors of brown sugar, nuts, and toffee; kind of like a strong ale in a way. However, the overuse of both crystal malts and buttery yeast hurts its quality. The finish is very bitter without any distinct hop flavors - actually, it might be a bit plasticky in flavor. If the malt profile hinders things, then the generic finishing bitterness ruins things utterly. Meh.

M: A bit on the coarse side through the maltiness, the carbonation, and the hop bitterness. The malts really prick the tongue in a slightly unpleasant way, and the hops are too astringent for their lack of flavors. At least it's not undrinkable.

O: I half-hoped for a okay American IPA here, what I got was a blah English strong ale. A pairing with sharp cheddar cheese could make this one more palatable, but I don't care to drink it again to find out. Seriously brewers, us IPA drinkers don't want generic bitterness and massive amounts of crystal malt in the name of 'balance', we want complex hop flavors with a nonintrusive malt backbone. Next!

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 21:31:09 | More by ThisWangsChung

Durge

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev +10%

06-20-2013 05:38:06 | More by Durge

Barmato

New York

4/5  rDev +17.3%

06-18-2013 00:30:26 | More by Barmato

swinyeju

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev +2.6%

06-16-2013 16:10:50 | More by swinyeju

samibr

New York

3.75/5  rDev +10%

06-14-2013 21:02:05 | More by samibr

DCH

New York

4/5  rDev +17.3%

06-12-2013 22:34:54 | More by DCH

irv2424

Massachusetts

2/5  rDev -41.3%

06-11-2013 03:47:41 | More by irv2424

GinDC

Virginia

4/5  rDev +17.3%

06-09-2013 18:49:13 | More by GinDC

dmorgan310

Panama

3.25/5  rDev -4.7%

06-08-2013 03:34:32 | More by dmorgan310

curasowa

New York

3.15/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Appearance: Clear, copper color with one finger of head that fades with chunky lacing.

Aroma: Sweet malt, a little butter and a subdued hop aroma, mostly an earthy, woody smell with some lemon rind notes.

Taste: Here and gone before you know it. A bit of malt, some bitterness and then a fast and fairly clean, for an IPA, finish. A nice, full body upfront with a with an almost creamy mouth feel, then a strong kick of spicy hops before the quick finish.

The Rest: I'm not really sure how i feel about this one. It has a great, full-bodied malt base, which I like in an IPA, but the hop profile isn't very interesting. Decent, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 00:30:31 | More by curasowa

Rheaume17

Vermont

3.25/5  rDev -4.7%

06-07-2013 17:19:51 | More by Rheaume17

Didier

Maine

3/5  rDev -12%

06-06-2013 22:49:45 | More by Didier

Roguer

Connecticut

3.61/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Second try on tap, different location. A little bit warmer than I prefer.

A - Dark, reddish copper. Thin head (less than a finger), reasonable carbonation.

S - Strong hints of grapefruit, a nice balance between sweet and bitter. Little else.

T - Bitter and mildly sweet grapefruit, very well-balanced against some caramel malts. Definitely not a bad flavor, but it's a stretch to call it "outstanding."

M - Not a beer I wanted to chew on (despite the citrus notes). It wasn't a bad mouthfeel, it just occupied an uncomfortable middle ground where I didn't feel like drinking it quickly, but also did not feel like allowing it to linger in my mouth.

O - Not a great beer at its typical price point; usually if this is on tap, a better IPA is also on tap. It's absolutely worth a try; it reminds me of a less hoppy, less malty Stone (similar flavor profile, just less of everything).

Serving type: on-tap

06-06-2013 19:36:16 | More by Roguer

Brewsed

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev +2.6%

06-04-2013 23:21:41 | More by Brewsed

Chugs13

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +2.6%

06-02-2013 22:30:22 | More by Chugs13

hockeyfighter19

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +2.6%

06-02-2013 21:45:39 | More by hockeyfighter19

MikeyJ777

New York

1/5  rDev -70.7%

06-01-2013 04:00:40 | More by MikeyJ777

BeerBeast

California

3.25/5  rDev -4.7%

05-29-2013 16:48:25 | More by BeerBeast

wiegs4life

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -4.7%

05-28-2013 02:14:57 | More by wiegs4life

chudson1992

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +10%

05-26-2013 21:52:36 | More by chudson1992

BRYeleJR

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev -19.4%

05-26-2013 17:44:35 | More by BRYeleJR

KeyWestGator

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -4.7%

05-25-2013 23:01:03 | More by KeyWestGator

ScaryEd

New Hampshire

1.75/5  rDev -48.7%

05-25-2013 19:51:14 | More by ScaryEd

allentownpaguy

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +10%

05-25-2013 04:14:54 | More by allentownpaguy

NHSTEVE

New Hampshire

3.25/5  rDev -4.7%

05-25-2013 00:02:38 | More by NHSTEVE