Shipyard Export Ale

First Brewed: 1992
Brewery Location: Portland, Maine, United States
ABV: 5.1%

History & Availability: Shipyard's flagship ale, Export is one of the easier-to-find of the brewery's beers. We get Shipyard products over here in New Hampshire fairly frequently, so if you're in New England you can probably find this beer, but if not chances are you won't be able to find unless you special order.

Appearance: Medium honey color with a small, almost-white head. Totally clear and lots of carbonation.

Smell: While this beer doesn't have a particularly strong smell, I do detect hints of a sweet fruit like cherry or pear in addition to the standard sweet malt smell. Nothing really special, I don't expect these smells to be overwhelming in the taste department.

Taste: I'm getting a taste of a more sour fruit here unlike with the smell, something like a grapefruit or sour apple. The hops are really overwhelming the malt here, so it's a noticeably more bitter beer than most of the recent ones I've reviewed.

Mouthfeel: Drier finish than most. The carbonation fortunately stays on the lower end while sipping. It's on the lighter end of medium-bodied, so excessive carbonation would really be a downfall here, but again we fortunately avoid that problem.

Drinkability: Not bad. It is on the lighter end of the body spectrum as I mentioned, so you can continue to drink without feeling too full. The issue is that the taste is nothing to write home about, so you'll probably be done by the end of your second bottle not because you can't have any more, but just because you're kind of done with it.

Overall verdict: C+, not bad but again, nothing special.