Shipyard Longfellow Winter Ale

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottle from bro-in-law. Weak brown pour, nice head and lacing. Chocolatey, sweet malty goodness, nuts, slight breadiness, light earthy hops, light sweet ending. Nice Winter Warmer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bought this in a Captian's Collection variety pack. It's about average for a winter ale. Even though I have this rated slightly higher, I may prefer the flavor of their Brown Ale better. This one has more of a full flavor, both malts and hops, compared to the brown. It is also slightly spiced. I think I am just over Winter Ales though for this season. I may buy one more 12-pack of Samuel Adams Winter Lager as it's on sale for the superbowl...and I think I prefer that one too over this. But, this is a decent overall brew. Finding Shipyard kind of hit or miss though.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

A reddish-brown colored ale. A frothy whitish head upon pour. Settles into nice lacing. Complexity of sweet fruity esters with a balance of hops. The bitterin/floral essence of hops and roasted malt dominate the palate. Nice full body with smoothness that makes this a very drinkable brew. And it was a great price for the quality!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle: Poured a deep clear brown color ale with a good size foamy head with some good retention and some minimal lacing. Aroma consists of strong caramel malt with some notes of toffee also discernable. Taste is also a nice mix between some roasted malt with distinctive notes of caramel malt with some toffee notes also discernable. Full body with good carbonation and no discernable alcohol. I know winter ale is not a style per say but this is what I consider a winter ale but still very enjoyable during hot summer days.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

courtesy of Per Samuelsson - pours a dark ruby-brown colour under a voluptuous beige head; biscuity maltiness and some notes of banana; creamy mouthfeel and a high carbonation; medium-bodied and a robust bitterness; dry cookie-like, earthy finish - very good

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Oh, the first american bomber (22oz) bottle who made it to our dear Systembolaget. I just wish it would come from Stone or Avery or someting.. But here it is. It pours out in a very dark brown colour with ruby hints, topped with a firm tan-coloured head. A layer of butterscotch in the aroma over dark chocolate and subtle spicy hops. Once again the flavour is a tad to buttery for my tastes (as other brews from Shipyard) but the flavours behind the curtain is pretty delicate of black chocolate, nuts and dryish spicy hops. Bitter finish of dark chocolate, nut-shells and grass with a sweet buttery undertone. The best beer from Shipyard so far.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This beer was part of a Shipyard Captains Collection and a nice surprise. Rich robust aroma heavily roasted. Pours with a medium head and a light tan color. The first sip I thought this was closer to a stout but as I got about half way though I could pick up different earth-fruit flavors. Nice lasting flavor will enjoy more in the future.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 8

Very dark. Looks pretty much black. The head was light, but not white, and fizzy. Soon faded to nothing but the circle of bubbles caused by the scoring at the bottom of my Petrus Triple snifter. The nose is heavy on the apple peels. Caramel, apples and assorted fruits are dominate in the flavor, but there's a lurking char flavor that stirs things up a bit. A really interesting beer and I can't really say I've had anything like it.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Of the many beers that I brought back from Maine, I was most interested in doing a vertical tasting comparison of the three Shipyard winter/holiday beers (Shipyard Winter, Shipyard Prelude, and Longfellow Winter).

Overall, the Longfellow gets the prize for being the most agressive of the three -- in flavor at least. Said to be something of a Strong Ale or Barleywine, I would actually put this more in line with a Stout than anything else. Bitter backend, roasty frontend, and enough alcohol to makes things nice and mellow. In fact, this is much more interesting than the Shipyard stout, and the Longfellow would make a good replacement for the Shipyard Stout, if it were a little darker.

Not my favorite of the three Shipyard winter/holiday ales, since it could use more...., well, more of everything (hops / spice / alcohol / malt, etc), but a dandy beer, regardless of the season.
//TB

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

This was good. I like my winter brews. Good spice and warmth feeling to it. Orange, grapefruit, ginger and cinnamon flavors give it depth with a little alcohol burn.