Shipyard IPA

Today, I went for one of the lighter colored beers in my stock, the Shipyard IPA that I picked up a few days ago:

It poured with one hell of a head, as you can see.  The head fell more quickly around the edges and more slowly in the center, leaving a mesa of foam in the middle of my mug and moderate lacing on the sides of the glass.  It has a crisp, pine-like aroma, but there's also something else in the background that kind of reminds me of straw or rope, something along those lines.  This IPA has a pretty decent flavor.  Some IPAs are so hop-heavy that it can be difficult to taste the grain profile, but that's not the case here.  I'd guess it's relatively low in IBUs for its style.  You can taste both the mellow malt and grain flavors as well as the grassy, floral spiciness of the hops.  There's also a touch of sweet apple, but thankfully not the green apple/rotten apple off-flavor associated with acetaldehyde.

What I liked about this beer in particular is that it doesn't have that overbearingly bitter aftertaste that some IPAs leave you with.  The hop flavors are strong up front, but the back end is fairly crisp and clean, with only a mild lingering aftertaste.  Overall, I'd say this is a slightly above average IPA, but it's definitely a smoother drink to have with a meal than some of the more heavy-hitting IPAs (Green Flash's Le Freak or Palate Wreaker, for example).  I'd give this either a 6 or 7 out of 10.  It deserves more than a 6, but maybe not quite up to a 7.  Maybe I should switch to a 100-point scale...

Still on the hunt for new beers to try.  Cheers!