Shipfaced by Silver Harbor Brewing Review: ABV, IBU, and Tasting Notes

Shipfaced is the beer that put Silver Harbor Brewing Company on the map with a national trophy case, and it is also the beer I reach for when I want to prove a point: small-town Michigan breweries can build something that stands up next to any English barleywine on the planet. This is a 12.6 percent ABV bottle-conditioned barleywine brewed with grains of paradise, and it rewards patience in a way most modern beers do not even try to.

At a Glance

Silver Harbor Brewing: the St. Joseph brewery behind Shipfaced

Silver Harbor Brewing Company opened in downtown St. Joseph, Michigan, a lake town on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan that has quietly become one of the state’s better beer stops. The brewery sits at 721 Pleasant Street, a few blocks from the marina, and Shipfaced was brewed as the brewery’s one-year anniversary beer, a way of marking the milestone with something bigger and bolder than the session pales and lagers most new breweries lean on early. Brewmaster Christian Cook built it as an English barleywine rather than the more common American interpretation, which meant leaning on malt sweetness and spice rather than a wall of hops.

The name is a pun that also nods to the brewery’s harbor-town setting, and the label carries that through with a life-ring illustration lifted straight from the brewery’s own nautical branding. It is the kind of beer that a small brewery only makes when it already trusts its process, since a barleywine this size takes months of tank and bottle time before it is ready to sell, tying up capacity that could otherwise turn over faster beer. Since that first batch, Shipfaced has kept collecting hardware: gold at the 2017 US Open Beer Championship, gold at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival, and a third gold at the 2018 World Beer Cup, a run Silver Harbor has called a Triple Crown. A bourbon barrel-aged version has also been released as a variant for cellar-minded drinkers who want even more oak and vanilla stacked on top of the base recipe.

ABV, IBU, and what is actually in Shipfaced

At 12.6 percent ABV and 60 IBU, Shipfaced sits at the upper end of what most drinkers ever order, closer to a fortified wine than a session beer. That is standard territory for the English barleywine style, and it is worth reading up on if the category is new to you; I go into more depth on how these bigger old ale and barleywine styles are built in my Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale review and my breakdown of how beer gravity and ABV actually get calculated.

The signature ingredient here is grains of paradise, a West African spice related to ginger and cardamom that shows up in a handful of Belgian and English-style beers looking for a peppery, citrusy lift without adding actual hop character. Combined with a hefty pale and caramel malt bill, it gives Shipfaced a spiced, almost mulled-wine complexity that a straight English barleywine recipe would not have on its own. The beer is then bottle-conditioned for four months before release, a slow secondary fermentation in the bottle that rounds out the alcohol heat and lets the malt sugars mellow into something closer to raisin and toffee than raw sweetness. If you want to understand why that aging step matters so much for a beer this size, my guide to how long beer actually lasts covers how high-ABV, bottle-conditioned beers age completely differently from a six-pack of lager.

Tasting notes: what Shipfaced actually looks, smells, and tastes like

This pours a deep mahogany brown with ruby highlights when you hold it to the light, topped by a thin, fast-fading tan head that leaves just a ring around the glass. That is exactly what I would expect from a bottle-conditioned barleywine this strong: the alcohol and the dense malt body both work against a lasting head, so do not expect the fluffy pour of a lighter ale.

The nose is rich and malty, dark raisin and dried fig with a light booze warmth sitting right behind it, and a faint spiced edge from the grains of paradise that reads more like white pepper than anything hop-driven. On the palate it is full-bodied and smooth, sweet caramel and toffee up front, moving into a dark dried-fruit middle with that same light peppery spice threading through, and a slow, warming finish that carries the alcohol without ever turning hot or solventy. It is a sipping beer in the truest sense: at 12.6 percent, a full pour is a session on its own, and I would not recommend treating this like a pint you rush through.

Food pairing: what to serve with Shipfaced

Silver Harbor’s own tasting notes point toward rich, big-flavored food, and I agree with that pairing logic completely. A well-marbled steak or a braised short rib gives the malt sweetness something savory to push against, and a sharp aged cheddar or a blue cheese plate works the same way. On the dessert side, this beer practically begs for something with dried fruit or caramel in it: a slice of cheesecake, a bread pudding, or even a simple bowl of vanilla ice cream all play nicely off the raisin and toffee notes. For more structured pairing ideas across different beer styles, my beer and food pairing guide has a full breakdown by flavor profile.

How Shipfaced compares to other barleywines and strong ales

If you have had Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot Barleywine, Shipfaced sits in a similar strength bracket but leans further into spice and dried fruit rather than Bigfoot’s more resinous, hop-forward American take on the style. Against a true English example like Robinson’s Old Tom, Shipfaced is bigger and boozier, closer to what you get when a brewery pushes a traditional English barleywine recipe as far as it can go. It is also worth comparing to old ales in the same general weight class, like Moor Beer’s Old Freddy Walker, which shares that same slow-sipping, dessert-adjacent character even though the styles are technically different. If you are still getting your head around where barleywines sit relative to imperial stouts and other big beers, my explainer on what makes an imperial stout is a useful side-by-side, and my rundown of the strongest beers you can actually buy puts Shipfaced’s 12.6 percent in context against the rest of the high-ABV field.

Where to buy Shipfaced and what to try instead

Shipfaced is a small-batch release that is mostly sold at the Silver Harbor taproom in St. Joseph and through limited Michigan distribution, and it is not currently listed on Saucey for delivery. If you cannot get to southwest Michigan or find a bottle at a specialty shop, these five widely available beers hit a similar big-malt, high-ABV lane and are genuinely worth trying while you track down a bottle of the real thing.

My final take on Shipfaced

Shipfaced is proof that a small Great Lakes brewery can build a genuinely world-class beer without chasing hype. It is not an easy-drinking beer and it was never meant to be one; it is a slow, malt-driven barleywine built for sharing one bottle across a table rather than working through a six-pack. Three gold medals across three major competitions back up what the glass already tells you. If you find a bottle, treat it the way Silver Harbor built it to be treated: pour it slow, let it warm slightly in the glass, and pair it with something rich enough to match it.

FAQs

What is the ABV of Shipfaced by Silver Harbor Brewing?

Shipfaced is 12.6 percent ABV, a full-strength English barleywine rather than a session beer.

What style of beer is Shipfaced?

Shipfaced is an English barleywine brewed with grains of paradise and bottle-conditioned for four months before release.

How many IBUs does Shipfaced have?

Shipfaced comes in at 60 IBU, moderate for its strength since the recipe leans on malt and spice rather than hop bitterness.

Where can I buy Shipfaced?

Shipfaced is mostly sold at the Silver Harbor Brewing taproom in St. Joseph, Michigan, with limited bottle distribution around the state. It is not currently available on Saucey; the five alternatives above cover similar big-malt, high-ABV styles if you cannot find a bottle.

Has Shipfaced won any awards?

Yes. Shipfaced has won gold at the 2017 US Open Beer Championship, gold at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival, and gold at the 2018 World Beer Cup, along with additional medals in later years.

What does Shipfaced taste like?

Expect dark raisin, toffee, and caramel malt sweetness with a light peppery spice from the grains of paradise, finishing warm from the 12.6 percent ABV without turning harsh or solventy.