ShieldWall
Longship Brewery

 

Brought some cans home from San Diego to Connecticut. Had the Shield Wall four days after it was canned. I think the flight caused it to go a bit flat, but, even then, this beer was still awesome. Nonetheless, because of the 5 hour plane-ride, the taste might be bit different than if I had drank it at the brewery.

Has a great golden to slightly amber color. Smells a bit boozy with some citrus. Nice and bitter with strong hop profile. Not too citrusy, just enough- definitely not like the juice boxes that I'm used to here in New England! A nice, surprising malty presence afterward -slightly toasty which I'm a big fan of. I'd say the hops and malt are putting up a bit of a shield wall of their own! Had it been a tad less citrusy, but with the same amount of bitterness and maltiness, I feel it could almost pass for a English Bitter inspired IPA.

I hate the juicy NEIPAs that plague my state. Bringing this Longship brew back to CT was great. Wish I could find more beers like this in New England. Closest thing I can think of is the "Sea Hag" by New England Brewing. Totally recommend this beer! Next time I'll have to try it at the brewery and not from a can that just traveled in the cargo hold of a plane for 5 hours!

a nice sturdy ipa here, honey colored but not without some real grain character to it, another one of their beers that is very much to style but also distinct to this place, they seem to have a sort of house flavor, maybe the ale yeast, but its flattering and unifying across some of their brews. this is flirting with double ipa territory, a stronger malt flavor and richness to support a really robust hop profile of pine and bitter citrus pith, clean though in the end, not oily but still west coast in its brightness, very fresh and balanced, but with perhaps a bit less drinkability than some, which really i dont mind in this context. notes of honey and orange, lightly toasted grain, and plenty of body binding it all together, moderately high bitterness at the end, but it doesnt linger too long. overall a nice ipa, hearty and full, fresh and well made like just about all of the beers we had in here. basic but not conservative or safe if that makes sense. i liked the beer in here and the vibe too!