By Matt Murphy
Beer Critic


This week, Maine forced me to scrap my Allagash Four article and write about Shipyard’s Light Ale instead. How did Maine dictate what beer I drank? Good question, I’m asking myself that too, but living in Maine constantly forces me to relinquish what I want because in certain instances the choice simply isn’t there. I’m used to getting those nationally advertised products on television a month or two later, for example, a new toothbrush that polishes my teeth, but I figured I’d be able to get a Maine-produced product on the day of its release. I was looking forward to this Maine limited-edition beer. Allagash is brewed in Portland and I explicitly expressed my interest in Allagash Four to my beer contact at Florians Market (the best beer store in L/A). So at times, Maine as a Vacationland rejects materialism, causing me to wait for new innovative products.

Honestly, I was blindsided and hurt that Allagash wouldn’t have their new beer everywhere in Maine, especially on 4/4/04, because that was the whole marketing theme of the beer. Maybe this shouldn’t be the biggest deal, but I suffered, as my afternoon set of the Cure quickly became a set of calming Enya. I thought I might have to review a non-Maine beer, but then I saw Shipyard’s Light Ale in the Supermarket. Some microbrewers have noticed the light beer trend and scoffed at the idea, such at Stone Brewery from San Diego, while others have started to brew light beer. Now, I’m not on a low carb diet so I can’t write about its exact science, but if McDonalds can offer its tasty product and be low-carb, I couldn’t help but wonder if beer companies could do the same thing.

The problem with light beer is that light usually means less flavor. If you add less barley and hops to a beer, the beer has fewer calories. All light beers will have less calories than regular beers. The promise of the same taste with fewer calories sounds great to me. I want to be able to swim a few laps, get out of the pool and drink a beer, without worrying about an extra inch of fat covering my abdominals. There’s a kernel of truth behind beer bellies, as long as people acknowledge the existence of others, such as the nacho belly. So this weekend at the bar, I took a Michelob Ultra vs. Aspen Extreme challenge. There’s really not a big difference between the two of them, although Aspen Extreme had a bit more body and conceit. So when I saw Shipyard’s Light Ale I thought I had found a product that might open up some new minds to the world of microbrews, especially to people interested in light beer.

Presentation: Shipyard really breaks new group with this label. The label shows a white monolithic lighthouse on a lilac label with pink trim. It looks good to me. This label displays some beautiful Maine scenery. If a lighthouse is good enough for Hopper, it’s good enough for me. The label reports the beer has 110 calories and 5 grams of carbohydrates. Since Shipyard doesn’t report the nutrition facts of its other beers, clearly the light aspect of the beer is a selling point. The beer clocks in at 3.9% alcohol, which seems a little bit on the weak side, but Bud Light has 4.2% alcohol, so there’s not that large a difference.

Taste: Shipyard’s Light Ale tastes wonderful. No, it’s not as full bodied as their Export Ale or their phenomenal Old Thumper. Still, Light Ale manages to squeeze some interesting hop flavor into their ale. It’s refreshing and there’s the slightest bitterness to the beer. It reminds me a little of Amstel Light, but of course, that’s a lager and this is ale. There’s very little aftertaste to this beer, although you can taste the floral hops.

Overall, I’d recommend this beer to people in search of flavorful ale without the calories. I’d really enjoy this beer while doing manual labor, where I might have to operate heavy equipment. The beer reminds me of a little of a light English pub ale. This is definitely one of the best light ales I’ve tasted.

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