Brewer's Choice Special Ale 2008: Royal IPA
Shipyard Brewing Company

Brewer's Choice Special Ale 2008: Royal IPABrewer's Choice Special Ale 2008: Royal IPA
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From:
Shipyard Brewing Company
 
Maine, United States
Style:
English IPA
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.62 | pDev: 14.36%
Reviews:
30
Ratings:
35
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 14, 2014
Added:
Jan 25, 2008
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by tempest:
Photo of tempest
Reviewed by tempest from New York

3.63/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pulled from a variety case and poured into a pint glass.

So this is hoppier than their flagship IPA, but still not too huge. That's not to say it's bad. It follows the normal Shipyard character of of a dry, herbal hop finish with a whole lot of Ringwood in the aroma and flavor. This, however, has more citrus hops and American hop flavor, which makes a tasty combination. Worth a try for something a little different.
Sep 20, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.75 by Cruick from Massachusetts

Aug 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by harpus from Alabama

Apr 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by ejimhof from Pennsylvania

Jul 24, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by dalepryor from Kentucky

May 08, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by DrFunkenstein from Pennsylvania

Nov 23, 2012
Photo of selecter70
Reviewed by selecter70 from Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
First off, I love the label with the brewer hanging out with his cat (though we all know cats only drink port & sherry). This Special Brown Ale is definitely a great little pale ale with interestin qualities. The pour is a light honey brown to yellow-brown with hazy, near hefe yeast. The head sits a good 1 and a half fingers & the lace sticks around throughout. The aroma has bitter hop with fermented fruit & yeasty flowers. The flavor holds up with good crisp hoppy bitterness, mild malt to round it out and subtle apricot hints in good medium body. Refreshing & fairly hearty this ale made me a fan again of the pale ales...not extremen hops & a nice blend of the un-expected.
Mar 23, 2009
Photo of ybnorml
Reviewed by ybnorml from Rhode Island

3.15/5  rDev -13%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A hazy copper/amber beer. Has a small off white head. The aroma has more sweet malty notes ( toffee, caramel and butterscotch) than hoppy notes. Just a hint of floral and spicy hop notes in the background. A toffee sweetness runs down the middle of your tongue. The floral hops gradually become more earthy as they hit the back of your throat. I'd suppose this would be a good session beer if not for the abv.
Mar 23, 2009
Photo of Yeastcakes
Reviewed by Yeastcakes from Colorado

3.98/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Serving notes: 0.5L German glass, cellar temp
Aroma: Hop aroma present but not as dominant as I would expect in an IPA. Hops somewhat earthy seeming more like a English IPA. Nice light maltiness in the background.
Appearance: two fingers of head that goes down to a steady finger. Medium-dark amber with a very slight haze.
Mouthfeel: Medium-full body, medium carbonation.
Taste: Beautifully full hop flavor with ample malt backbone. Very balanced IPA. Rather earthy hops that give nice flavor and very smooth bitterness.
Drinkability: This is a wonderfully drinkable IPA. It has enough hoppiness to be the most notable flavor but with a smoothness and balance that stands it apart from more hop-forward American IPAs
Feb 19, 2009
Photo of maximum12
Reviewed by maximum12 from Minnesota

2/5  rDev -44.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Foaming, foaming, foaming, keep those brews a'foaming...I hate foamers. It delays that all-important first sip, often leaves me with foam on my nose, & just makes me wonder if the brew is infected or the batch was screwed up. And I despise the taste, & I just had to suck some up to keep it from overflowing despite a baby-gentle pour.

This smells like something that isn't quite beer, & tastes the same. Apricots? Lighter fluid? Old malt? Funk? I can't quite identify the ingredients, but there don't seem to be any hops in here. In addition it's overcarbonated.

This beer is a mess of unidentifiable stuff.
Feb 09, 2009
Photo of dsa7783
Reviewed by dsa7783 from New Jersey

3.38/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Single, twelve-ounce bottle just copped from Nikki's Liquors in Providence, Rhode Island...
Appearance: Rusty, tawny, copper-hue with a minimal head and minor lacing...
Smell: Oil-like aroma, gasoline in the nose... Not too appealing... didn't notice too much hops here...
Taste: Gasoline-solvent flavor... Similar to the smell, not too attractive... Slight citrus noticeable with some hints of lemons...
Light-to-medium-bodied mouthfeel...
Not bad...
Sep 23, 2008
Photo of Asgeirr
Reviewed by Asgeirr from Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands

3.75/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Appearance: Brewer's Choice Special Ale 2008 (Royal IPA) pours an amber-to-carrot orange colour along with a rather tall, cream toned crown (approx one and a half inch) that persists for quite some time and leaves plenty of lacing.

Smell: Apricot, plenty of hops and a tad of sourness can be detected, but overall pretty fresh and fruity.

Taste: At first there's a rather distinct bitterness which is closely followed by a slightly more reserved fruitiness -- which brings to mind the aforementioned apricot -- and finishes of with more of those bitter hops.

Mouthfeel: Low in carbonation and medium full in body.

Drinkability: This IPA bears a prominent resonance between the different sensory inputs of taste and smell and thus leaves one with a rather satisfying result.
Aug 04, 2008
Photo of TheManiacalOne
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

3.7/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light golden brown color, with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of caramelized malts, honey, citrus and a good amount of hops.

T: The taste is decently balanced with flavors of citrus, honey and caramel sweetness and a good hops bitterness. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean and dry.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, decent kick, good representation of style, this is a nice solid beer that doesn't have a stand-out quality or characteristic to it, but it's worth drinking for a while if you're in the mood for the style.
Jul 16, 2008
Photo of WVbeergeek
Reviewed by WVbeergeek from West Virginia

2.41/5  rDev -33.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
Appears a copper amber hue with a large off white head which sticks around for a while. Scattered fine lacing strung all around my pint glass. Aroma has a tart yeast note with pungent dirty hops with underlying caramel malt tones. Also a bit of evident alcohol and again weird barrel aging effects, although I know that's just the Ringwood yeast strain. BTW, their labels are whack from the Chamberlain on to the Export ale. I guess overall I'm not a fan of Shipyard brews, this one holds true with a collision of earthy hops actually give off dirt flavors, caramel malted sour dough bread with a heavy bitterness in the finish with the funky yeast notes. Mouthfeel is medium bodied carbonation a bit softer than the last offering but still an overall unimpressive note, touch of oily lubrication from hop oils. Drinkability is no so good, I just wish the yeast didn't dominate the flavor profile so much. It wears on you with each sip, not very refreshing and flavors are very uncohesive.
Jul 05, 2008
Photo of Ior
Reviewed by Ior from France

3.88/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Beautiful copper colour with two finger white head. Good lacing.

Smell is dominated by hops with citrus or pineapple-like hops. Some malt.

Very nice malty taste, with notes of caramel and butter, balanced perfectly by assertive but not aggressive hops. Some alcohol presence as the beer warms. Long, dry and hoppy finish.

Medium bodied, medium carbonation. Smooth mouthfeel.

A very well-balanced and drinkable IPA. Should get some more of these before they run out at Systembolaget.
May 24, 2008
Photo of baggio
Reviewed by baggio from Sweden

3.95/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Bottle@home

A: Golden orange with a nice, big, head that vanishes after a bit leaving some residue on the glass.

S: Grapefruit, Malts, Bread, Metallic notes

T: Pine, Flowers, Citric Notes , Hops, Caramel

M: Nice and smooth with an initial taste of malt that ends with a nice bitterness from the hops. Medium carbonation.

Very nice IPA that i might seek out again as long as it is available. Better than your average ipa and then some!
May 24, 2008
Photo of Ch1mpy
Reviewed by Ch1mpy from Sweden

4.22/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
This English IPA has an amber colour and a nice white creamy head. Good amounts of lacing remains on the glass.

Fresh hoppy smell which reminds me of strawberries and newly cut grass.

Mild in it's taste which contains smooth malty tones and well balanced bitterness.

Not much carbonation. Goes down quickly. The aftertaste is a lovely bitter which makes sure that this beer leave you with a smile on your lips.
May 20, 2008
Photo of largadeer
Reviewed by largadeer from California

3.91/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Copper colored with a hazy unfiltered appearance. The head on this brew lasts an exceptionally long time, leaving sheets of sticky lace all over the glass.

Smell: Biscuit malts, yeast, earthy hops - not a ton of hop aroma here but plenty of signature English ale character.

Taste & mouthfeel: Very similar to the aroma. Flavors of fresh bread, caramel and honey meld with an assertive but decidedly mild hop character. Buttery in the middle. Dryness in the finish brings out more of the hop flavor, though bitterness remains low.

Notes: I don't often like English-style IPAs, but this one won me over. Quality stuff.
May 10, 2008
Photo of bark
Reviewed by bark from Sweden

4.02/5  rDev +11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
The colour is deep copper; the beige head is two fingers high, very airy and firm. It leaves lots of lacing.

An almost aggressive hoppyness jumps out of the glass when sniffing. Bitter metallic flavours blends with butter, cookies, dried fruits, some alcohol and smoked traces.

The taste is bitter and hoppy, but it is in a balanced English way. Lots of bread flavours from the dry delicately roasted malts. The bitterness is robust and elegant at the same time; fruity notes of matured apples and orange peels, karambola and barely noticeable alcohol. The aftertaste is dry and bitter with some butter and fruits.

The carbonation is mild; the liquid light.

A well crafted interpretation of the English IPA style. With an added bitter bite...
May 09, 2008
Photo of BlindPig
Reviewed by BlindPig from Nevada

4.33/5  rDev +19.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
A- About a 1" off white head on a clear amber/copper body.
S- Sweet English grass hops, light English pale malt body, and a few earthy tones from hops.
T- Follows the smell. For an English IPA this follows the style very well with the mild English hops that have a spice bite to them and the English pale malt with a light sweet caramel character.
M- Medium body with medium/low carbonation.
D- English IPA's aren't my favorite style but this is one of the best examples of this style, if I'm being totally objective.
Apr 29, 2008
Brewer's Choice Special Ale 2008: Royal IPA from Shipyard Brewing Company
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 35 ratings