Shipyard Prelude Ale

Bottle. Ruby amber beer with a light tan head. Spicy, malty aroma. Spicy, malty, slight grass flavor with backing citrus and some darker malts. A bit too much hops (or not enough). Starts to get into buttery tones. LIngering grass, citrus, spice and a bit of butter.

Draught. Nose is sweet, light malts. Beautiful clear amber colored beer. Flavor is a little lacking, just muddled sweetness. Palate is a bit thin, leaving something to be desired.

cask Sweet malts, some caramel, some cotton candy, alittle nutty with some citrus in the aroma. Pours a cloudy brown. Rich malty flavor, hints of citrus hops, a slight nuttiness, with hints of molasses in the flavor. Acutally not bad.

Bottle; BB 10/08. Nicely spicey brown ale aroma. Underlying notes of darker fruits. Near mahogany color with a beige head that laces as it shrinks. Medium bodied with mild carbonation. The flavor is dark malt, nutmeg, citrus and plum or raisin. Bitter can be noticed. It finishes out rather dry, and the bitter is dark floral rather than pine or citrus. It is something of a brown ale without the common over-roasted flavor. It may be a bit nutty, but not coarsely gritty about it. Treats the mouth pleasantly. Some of the low ratings may be because the flavors drop fast. Got to sip this one rapidly to keep the flavors around. Otherwise it slips into that dry, bitter finish very quickly. Something of a harsh version of Bridgeport Ebenezer.

Bottle. Best before 10/08. Beautiful, soft garnet color with a slight white lacing. Spiced malt aroma. Dark fruits and some orange, cinnamon and nutmeg. Strangely astringent. Bitter and astringent are the only flavors in this beer for me. Wow, it started out so nice...

2006 - Long lasting foam, smells of malt, molasses, taste is sweet, does have some oxidated flavor, like a PX sherry, with the same toffee notes. Good for winter. 2007 is not quite as sweet and little note of oxidation. Still a little bitter for my taste. Pours clear brown, foam not quite as lasting.

Pours a deep ruby reb with a medium off white foamy/lacing head. Aroma of dark fruits, nuts, very malty, hints of citrus, caramel, some light spicing. Flavor of sweet malts, nutty, mixed dark fruits, some citrus, some caramel and hints of holiday spices. A little thin for the style, I like more body.

I did not really care for this beer, other than a sour taste, there was very little to note other than I did not spit it out. May have to try this again in case I just got a bad batch.