Continuing my exploration of the local seasonal ales, I picked up a pack of the Shipyard Brewing Co.’s Prelude Special Ale, a winter warmer, at the beer store the other day. I’ve had somewhat mixed results with Shipyard’s regular brews in the past, but their Pumpkinhead was very good, for a spiced beer, and so I was hopeful about this spiced winter as well. Poured from a bottle into my pint glass, I find a dark amber beer with a thin tannish head. The second one I poured had a bit thicker head on it, so perhaps the first one went down the side of the glass too much.
The scent here included some sweet malts and winter spices, coriander or allspice maybe. The taste followed the smell, with malts, especially caramel and chocolate notes, and spiciness. There was a fair bit of carbonation in this one, with noticeable streams up the sides of the glass, and the mouth feel was good and fairly light. I would have preferred a bit more hopping to offset the sweetness of the malts, but this is a very drinkable winter beer. I think it would go especially well with desserts or perhaps your turkey leftovers next week. Not quite as good as the Loose Cannon (I’ve become a sucker for hops), but very tasty indeed.
My Rating:
