Sometimes a lot of flavor hides behind pale brau, buddy. I’ve had many a Shipyard, but most of them were back in the sylvan days of my East Coast youth. I hadn’t had one in, say, a year. I’ll nary* go so long without one again. This beer is a damn fine balance of crisp-n-refreshing and good ‘ol beer flavor.

The aroma is mostly hops with a bit of malt. The taste has a sweet maltiness up front but it’s not overpowering. The light, bready flavor is balanced by a crisp hop character well circulated by the carbonation and lightness of the mouthfeel. The lower-mid-range 5.1% ABV neither shrinks nor stands out (like, say, the Austrian Air Force), adding just a bit of backbone to the clean, hop finish. A great beer as a refresher on a hot New England day, or a fine brew to sip with a bowl of chowdah and rogs. That was what most impressed me about the Shipyard Export Ale: flavorful but light; crisp but distinct. Prost!

*nary? That is NOT cool, man. Not cool.