Pretty Things Lovely Saint Winefride

There aren’t very many breweries who can (or would) release a beer where the label depicts a woman with a beer in one hand and her own severed head in the other, but Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project is apparently one. In fairness, Lovely Saint Winefride is named after the story of a Welsh abbess whose suitor cut off her head when she decided to become a nun, but her uncle performed a miracle and reattached it. The artwork certainly makes the bottle eye-catching. Pretty Things Lovely Saint Winefride is a brown lager made with the decoction mash technique that the brewery uses to harness massive malt flavors in many of their beers. While “brown lager” isn’t a traditional style, the always creative Dann Paquette wanted to brew a lager with big malt flavors, and this beer was the result. Lovely Saint Winefride is a late winter/early spring seasonal release, although I don’t remember seeing it the past couple years. This has been true of a few Pretty Things beers. I think they cycle some of their seasonal beers in and out to make room for collaboration and one-off brews. I like the idea, even though you might miss a favorite seasonal once in a while, it allows for more flexibility and innovation. Pretty Things Lovely Saint Winefride is available on draft and in 22 oz. bombers for a limited time.

Pretty Things Lovely Saint Winefride pours a cola brown with a substantial off-white head. The scent is all malts, semi-sweet and roasty. The taste is very malt forward, notes of milk chocolate, mild coffee, roasted nuts and whole grain toast. Despite the big malt flavor the beer isn’t overly sweet, there are some earthy noble hops that help balance the flavor. The beer is medium bodied and drinks very easy, although it packs a little punch at 7.0% ABV. While Lovely Saint Winefride packs big flavor, the finish is crisp and clean, you can really tell that you are drinking a lager. This beer is really good, unique and complex, definitely worth picking up while it lasts. Hoppy Boston score: 4.5/5.

Previous Pretty Things Reviews:

Pretty Things Bocky Bier, Pretty Things/Naparbier There’s No Place Like There, Pretty Things Grampus, Pretty Things Barbapapa, Pretty Things Meadowlark, Pretty Things/Yeastie Boys Our Turn, Your Turn.