Shipyard Prelude Ale

Brewed by Shipyard Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Portland, Maine USA

Pours very very dark brown with a medium sized tan head. Smells hoppy with a bit of malt. Very wintery tasting. Roasty with hops, hints of coffee. Thick, sticky mouthfeel. Right on the mark for a winter ale, a little heavy for this time of year (late April).

The Prelude Special Ale pours a reddish-amber color with a nice frothy head. Good lacing left behind by the mostly lasting head. Light carbonation in the body. Aroma’s are of light malts, there is something sweet we can’t put our sniffers on, and a faint hint of alcohol. Intial taste is a fleeting sweet that quickly steps aside, being ushered out by a light bitter finish. Light carbonation on the mouth with a watery feel. A slight charcoal taste is left behind.

Thanks to matta for this one. Pours a the color of black cherry Kool-Aid. The head was full of fizz and left as quickly as it came. Big malt aroma that presents cherry, burnt sugar, and woodiness. The flavor is maple, vanilla, toast, tin, and hop bitterness. The palate is very thin and fizzy. I would probably pass on another.

Bottle - Poured a deep dark reddish iin color with a whitish head that faded to a very thin rim around the glass. Aroma is very malty and sweet with caramel and brown sugar. Flavor is also quite malty with a dark sugary taste and a very nice hop bitter finish. Hop finish is quite nice and bitter. This is an truly excellent beer and I hope to experience this again...

12oz bottle via trade with porterhouse! - Thanks Kevin! - Pours dark amber with a very small offwhite head. Aromas of spice, vanilla, caramel, and toffee. Flavor is toffee, caramel, vanilla, and a bit of nutmeg and some roasted nuts. Palate is smooth and creamy but a touch on the thin side. Not too much carbonation.

Almost clear, dark amber with off white, bubbly flanel cover. Spicy caramel- butterscotch aroma with some hops bitterness and notes of pine, ginger, juniper, and maybe even cinnamon. Plenty of bitterness from hops comes in at first sip in conjunction with diacetyly caramel malt. I found this a bit unpleasant, but it subsided a bit to let through watermelon, pine, raising, and a nutty sourness. Medium body, medium carbonation, a touch astringent.

bottle courtesy of Degarth.
poured a mahogany amber in color with virtually no head or lace. aroma and flavors were of a toasty caramel malt with some hopslingering in the background. some spice on the finish but kind of thin bodied.

Second in a row Shipyard Winter beer of the night... Translucent dark copper body with a finger of offwhite head. Diacetyl dominates the aroma with just hints of hops, alcohol, and malt. Roasty or toasty flavor. Not quite as roasty as a porter, but not that far off. Diacetyl is also a big player in the flavor, but does not overwealm the roastiness, but rather enhances. Hints of alcohol are also present. On the heavier side of medium-bodied. A very solid, very tasty brew. I’d definitely get this one again.