Mystic Seaport Pale Ale
Shipyard Brewing Company

Starts okay, but it gets a bit spiky after the initial sip. Drinkable but there are better options.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light gold color, with a medium-sized white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

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

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of citrus, honey and other fruits followed by a bready but thin malt character. The hops presence is mild but complementary and provides a decent balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: A little crisp and a little smooth, medium body, medium-to-high carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, mild kick, decent representation of style, it’s not a bad beer but there are certainly several others in the style that I would choose first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely no head, no liveliness, no lacing, no foam. Brew is an oily-looking golden amber, nearly transparent.

Soft floral aroma, heavy on caramel and butterscotch. Slightly yeasty. Not particularly inviting.

Taste follows the nose. Diacetyl and caramel malt bomb. Very sweet, in a cloying and almost medicinal way. Tastes nothing like an APA. Difficult to finish the beer; no balance or hops at all.

Oily and slick mouthfeel; there's a malty, back of the throat quality to the flavor that makes this a slower drink than the overall body does. No sting or liveliness.

I wonder what the aim was; a Belgian pale, or an English ale? It's certainly not an American Pale Ale; everything seems wrong for that. I also wonder as to the freshness of the keg and the quality of the tap lines. Everything about this experience was sub-par, and not what I expected, but I'm not 100% convinced that it all falls on the beer. Regardless, I don't plan to seek it out in the bottle any time soon to verify or invalidate my first impression.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured on-tap and served in a tumbler pint, the beer is a slightly hazed, steadily carbonated, orange-copper coloring with a sparse, filmy coat on the surface. Aromas of tropical fruit and biscuits, both mild and smooth. Flavors of butter and biscuit, both sweet and rich, with a toffee twist at the end. The palate is cleaned by a slightly spiced, hoppy end character. The fruit sweetness is present again in the aftertaste, with berries and pineapple amongst the bunch. Slick, sweet, and slightly filmy finish. Very decent brew.

A: Pours a clear yellow-gold with three fingers of white head that fades into a thin cap with good lacing.

S: Bubblegum, candy sugar, and diacetyl butter aromas dominate on the nose. No real hop aromas. It doesn't smell bad, but it doesn't smell like APA I've ever had.

T: Similar to the aroma, bubblegum and candy sugar dominate with strong diacetyl flavors as well. The finish is sweet and bready.

M: Medium-light body with lowish carbonation, this beer is a little watery.

O: Perhaps this was an old bottle--I could not find any sort of dating system. While it's not terrible, it is far from good and has too much diacetyl for my liking. I'd really like some hop presence.

 

 

 

Pours a clear toasted straw color with a wispy white head that settles into a light ring. Appearance is a notch or two above a macro lager.

The aroma is of light cereal grains, with a hint of metal, caramel and butter. Perhaps a note of brown sugar. No hop presence.

The taste is bready with some honey and caramel sweetness. There is a bit of a metallic note and some light grassy hop bitterness. Some fruitiness.

The feel is light to moderate with fizzy carbonation. Drinks easy and crisp. Sweet on the palate but does finish with a light hoppy bitterness.

A disappointing APA but not sure if that was what Shipyard was going with. This maybe more of an English Pale Ale. I graded as an APA; I would bump up the score a bit if it is a EPA.

Served on tap at the S&P Oyster Company restaurant in downtown Mystic CT. In a shaker pint glass.

Pours clear very ligh amber, golden tones, with touches of white foam. Smell is lightly bready, some honey sweet notes. Pretty tame.

Taste is that of a clean, drinkable pale ale. Some malty breadness, a light hop throughout, clean finish. Almost a blonde ale.

Not earth shattering, but a nice beer to drink on the deck of S&P on a sunny afternoon.

Pours a clear gold with a 2 finger white head that dissipates quickly to a ring. Minimum lacing.

Smell was pretty weak. Aromas of doughy malts, sweet honey and citrus hops are detectable, but just barely.

The taste follows suit, being on the weaker side. Doughy malts dominate with some sweetness.

Watery, thin mouthfeel with average carbonation.

A basic pale ale. Nothing exciting about this one, but it does stay true to the style.

Picked up a six pack of this today after a recommendation from a family member. Poured from a screw top bottle with no freshness date.. the packaging started this off on the wrong foot but lets see how the beer is.

pours a pale amber color with moderate head retention, lots of bubbles racing to the surface. Smell is not highly pronounced but has the components to be expected from the style, mainly biscuity/bready malt and some floral hops.

Mouthfeel is light bodied with high carbonation. The taste is good but a little subdued much like the aroma. The high carbonation lends a crispness up front, which gives way to bready pale malt. Hops do come through in the finish, floral notes with a mild bitterness. Finish is clean and slightly drying.

Drinkability? quite high, I had one with dinner but polishing off the sixer in a sitting would be no problem. Overall this was a decent pale ale but nothing special, as most others have noted this is most at home washing down some pizza or quenching your thirst on a hot summer day.

What else to drink with some Mystic Pizza? Regretfully consumed at the pizzeria last night.

The beer pours a light gold color with fair head retention and minimal lacing. Don't get much on the nose, just some light honey, celery salt and pepper. Flavors are very light in this watery pale ale, mostly consisting of light honey, light dough and a touch of bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is very light with a watery finish. I assume the alcohol is fairly low, but even so I wouldn't call this beer drinkable. There is very little flavor and so it's a chore just chugging it down.

Perfect for thoughtless liquid consumption on a warm day, or to cut the grease in a mediocre pizza... not good for much else though...

Clear liquor with a gold/straw color. Good head that leaves a decent lace.

Floral hop, attractive mild spice.

The flavor is dry, but slightly sour. Kinda a traditional ale--notable hope with a solid malt base. Neutral overall taste. Moderate body with an above average carbonation.

On-tap at Mystic Pizza in Connecticut...
Appearance: Pours a tawny, ruddy, dark-copper color with a decent-sized head that quickly receded and deposited a thin film of lacing...
Smell: Crisp, slightly hoppy aroma with hints of mild malts, caramel, and a touch of vanilla...
Taste: Biscuit-laden, with strong nuances of bread, butter, and crackers...
Good mouthfeel with an easy level of drinkability that went very well with the delicious pizza...
Worth a try if you're in the area...

Sampled through sinstaineddemon and Secret Bunny '08 BIF.

Strong head formation with this one, no really need to encourage it. Slightly hazy gold to golden amber colored beer.

Smells malty and herbal, more like an English style Pale Ale. Sweet and malty with a fairly strong biscuit scent. Hops are definitely English, herbal pipe tobacco and tanned leather scents.

The taste starts out very sweet and malty, sweeter than I expected, toffee and herbal English hops. Fair amount of wood and vanilla in this one plus fruity English yeast flavors, this ale is actually a British Pale Ale taste wise. Good mellow ale, just a little sweet.

Mouthfeel is good.

Not a bad BPA, just a little on the sweeter side. Still not a favorite of mine.

This beer pours a beautiful crystal clear amber color with a nice white head. There is tons of visible carbonation rising off the bottom of the glass. The aroma is malty but not sweet with some hop aroma in the background. The flavor is malty as well with a bunch of caramel and some hop flavor. This is a very balanced beer. The mouthfeel is light medium. Drinkability is average.

Had this at Mystic Seaport recently and was pretty impressed. The color was a golden amber with a foamy, white head. Good lacing along the plastic cup I was drinking it from. The smell is sweety & malty, with subtle hints of hops. Taste follows this closely, and it is a smooth beer. Drinkability is high. Would be great on a summer day and will definitely be picking these up next time I'm at a local beer distributor.

I had this beer on draft on the first really warm day of the season. The color is a strong golden color. The lacing was white and wispy, leaving minimal lacing. The beer smelled of hops and wood with a slight sweet undertone. The first sip was malty for a moment before changing over to a hoppy bite. The mouthfeel was smooth. It left a slightly bitter aftertaste that was not unpleasant. It lingered pleasantly. This beer is very drinkable; half was gone before I'd realized it! A great way to kick off the warm season!

A - this ale pours a golden yellow, with a thin white head that laces quickly, there is steady, but sparse carbonation visible

S - has that pale ale wonderfully hoppy aroma, there is a distinct and slightly piney hop profile, there is also a delightful citrus aroma as well, kind of an orange/grapefruit combination, smells nice

T - a bit more bitter than i expected, still tasty, a strong hop profile and evident citrine component, its tasty, but rather mediocre

M&D - as i stated this pale ale is too bitter to be highly drinkable, to me that is, but not hop bitter like i enjoy, more of a citrus bitter that i dont particularly enjoy, however many may enjoy it

Pour produced a nice light orange color. A nice one inch white head quickly shrank but did stay almost a third of an inch. Loads of carbonation bubbles dancing through the body. Nice amount of lacing.

A nice malt aroma was the first, but sadly the only scent in this beer. I would have liked a slight citrus or hops tang to balance it out, but could detect none despite a few nosefulls.

A somewhat unidetifiable very bittersweet flavor. A light aftertaste is a blend of light apricot sweetness with tangerine citrus. A malt hit on second sip.

Tons of carbonation made this feel alive in my mouth. A nice consistancy with no notes of water.

I would enjoy this as a nice relaxing everyday average American beer. A great beer for wings and football, but not the best. I'd recommend it as a best among macros winner at a local bar but not much else.