Shipyard Prelude Ale

Bottle. Nice amber color, small offwhite head. Vanilla aroma, candy, caramel, quite a lot of toffee, some spices. Malty flavor, a bit artificial, nutty notes, some hops.

Bottle. Pours clear dark copper with a thin straw-colored head. Spice, nut and caramel nose. Medium body and carbonation. Lightly sweet taste, with more toffee, maybe some butterscotch, orange spice and a bit of fruit. Dry, woody, pine finish. Credible I guess, but I’m finding it kinda hard to get exited about this one.

Pours a clear brown with a creme head that falls quickly to leave a thin film on the top of me brew. Nie sweet and woody kind of nose. Flavor is tangy at first. Smooths out nicely as time goes on. Nice mellow sweet tones with a malty edge that is noticed, but not the dominant feature here. Mouthfeel is a bit thicker and slick on the liquid and the carbonation is nice, but low. Overall I found this a really easy to drink winter warmer. If you are looking for a nice example of the style, I highly suggest this one. I kind of forgot about reviewing it for a while as I just enjoyed sip after sip.

Draft at The Celt in downtown Orlando. Pours a translucent, dark reddish brown color. A small, fizzy off-white head dissipates quickly to a wispy film. Minimal lacing. The aroma was of dark caramel malts, a touch of chocolate and coffee, candied walnuts, and some dark spices. The flavor was mellow and fairly enjoyable, with sweet malts dominating and hints of creamy coffee providing depth. There’s a touch of toffee in there, as well as mild dark fruits and spices. Medium bodied and smooth, with a short finish. Overall, one of Shipyard’s better offerings, but certainly nothing to get excited about.

Bottle. Pours dark amber-brown with a moderate beige head. Aroma is sweet butterscotch malt, bread, a bit of nuttiness, and some spices. Flavor is mainly sweet butterscotch malt with some nuttiness, tempered a bit by a little woody spiciness and a bit of alcohol sharpness. Despite the butterscotch sweetness, oddly dry mouthfeel, with a mildly astringent finish. Not quite sure what to make of this, but interesting enough.

very English tasting, very malty and doughy, hints of nuttiness and burnt caramel. Not a bad beer but nothing to go out of your way to acquire.

12 oz, bb Nov. 08. Clear, chestnut color with a four finger head. Nice soapy frosting of lace. Butterscotch, toasted nut, slight cocoa and a hint of alcohol in the aroma. Front flavors of toffee and butterscotch are balanced by bitter, woody herbs. Finish is hard apple cider balanced by bitter and peppery resin flavors, and a touch of chest-warming alcohol. Medium body is smooth, dry, and slightly astringent.

Pint on tap at The White Wolf Café in Orlando. My brother in law and I ducked into this nice little café while the wives were antique shopping. We liked this beer enough to have a couple. They had other Shipyard offerings on tap which we also tried (Pumpkinhead, and Export), but the Prelude was easily the best. This was a very dark amber beer with a small beige head, Nice aroma of sweet, bready malt. Flavor was caramel and malt with a good hop flavor and light bitterness. Some alcoholic warmth came through. Very nice and enjoyable English Strong Ale.