Winter Welcome Ale
Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)

4.22/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by Back_in_the_Saddle from Vermont

In America, we tend to like our hoppy IPA's, funky saisons and roasty stouts, but this time of year, sometimes to give a shout out to a style that is often overlooked.
This was poured into a mug.
The appearance was an orange gold to amber color with a moderately white head that faded quickly. Light lacing chipped into the beer nicely.
The smell was slightly nutty with some spiced fruity tones to grace a sweet caramel maltiness with some light biscuity/breadiness rolling all around.
The was mainly sweet with an ample amount of the nuts to slide in for the balance. There's a nice semi-sweet to nutty aftertaste leading into the finish.
The mouthfeel was about a light to medium in body with a nice sessionability about it. Carbonation seemed good and semi-smooth.
Overall, this is a classic for its style and nice to me and also goes well with some seasonal spiced cake.

Nov 19, 2015

4.77/5  rDev +29.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
by Christianriveraaa

Look: Poured from a 1pt 2.7 fl oz bottle into a glass - The pour was brownish almost light brown with carbonation rising to the surface of the glass. The pour left a bit of foam risen to the surface, slowly dissolving leaving a bit of lacing left behind.
Smell: Getting notes of toffee, caramel, a bit of honey, a bit of apricots as well. This beer is very complex with the smell!
Taste: Getting heavy tastes of toffee, honey and a bit of caramel, with a dry finish leaving your mouth to feel you just ate a slice of bread. Very rich in the flavors. Nice!!!
Feel: light bodied drink, very easy to drink. Easy to down this.
Overall: This was a really good buy! This is my second time rating this - although the first time I thought the beer tasted better, I've tried many different beers since that point and I have to say this is a very good beer still. Buy this if you can!

Feb 19, 2022

3.72/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
by KT3418 from Colorado

I bet this slapped in the early 1900s .... lol no but for real it does very much have Christmas/Old Ale vibes but it's just....lacking for me? I wouldn't call it full bodied more like medium, not bad but I don't think I need to try this next year...maybe the year after that? 6 percent is kinda low nowadays for the style so maybe that has something to do with my preferences.


As this warms the body is better and the flavor is a wee bit better but still a little something to be desired but for an OG I think I can actually get into this again if I see it.

Jan 05, 2022

4/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by spectru from Florida

1/1/22 - Crisp copper with a nice tan head ; mild pleasant flavor; mildly crisp good mouthfeel. A good beer.

550ml bottle fits nicely in my new Stone Mountain brewery glass.

Jan 01, 2022

4.1/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by Beersnake1 from California

Poured at fridge temp into a baby thistle glass. Pours transparent orange with little head. Good carbonation.

Nose is salted caramel, malts, bread, wheat, a bit of vanilla, and some winter spices.

Taste is nice and smooth. Toffee, malts, honey, banana, oak, candy, and bread.

Mouthfeel is fairly light. Overall, this is a nice malty beer. Not overly heavy, but an easy sipper.

Dec 19, 2021

3.79/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by lastmango from Pennsylvania

Poured a clear amber-orange with a thin, tan head that quickly dissipated to none. No lacing. Extremely light sweet malt and dark fruit nose. A very earthy flavor that somewhat overwhelms the malt, honey and biscuit flavors. Moderate body and carbonation. Overall, a nice warmer but not up to par with some others. But, I would buy again.

Dec 18, 2021

3.78/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by jonphisher from New Jersey

Crystal clear amber with an orange hue to it. Nice head retention, creamy and off white.

Earthy, little floral, malty, tea like, honey and biscuit aromas.

Taste leans heavily into the earthy, honey and biscuit notes from the nose. The tea like note is there just not as prominent as I thought it would be based on the nose.

Medium body with a full feel to it. Soft creamy like carbonation, has a slight twang to it, same I get from Taddy. No bitterness or sweetness. A warming feel to this beer.

Nov 14, 2021

3.71/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by Jack_14 from Italy

55 cl bottle 2020-2021 Edition, bought at the trusted beershop (6€)
"To be consumed by: July 2021". Drank at the end of October 2021.
Immediately after uncorking, aromas of bread crust and pastry. Also scent of honey.
When poured, it releases its sweet scents even more.
Deep amber color, tending to the orange color of apricot.
Abundant foam, of discreet consistency that never disappears completely, furthermore seeing it go down as the beer slowly rises is a spectacle.
Medium-bodied in the mouth, light carbonation.
The gustatory bouquet is very broad and constantly evolving as the beer rests in the glass and changes temperature.
Surely the main notes are those "bakery" (bread crust and crumb) and glucose syrup, which however is not cloying but very balanced: the malts are the masters and the hints of bread, honey and caramel are very well integrated between them without there being a clear prevarication of one taste over the other.
The finish is dry, slightly spicy.
Despite having consumed it some time after the recommended expiry date, it kept very well in the home cellar (fixed temperature 16 °).
All the gustatory sensations are given by the game of malts used, without the actual spices having been added, moreover the dried hops of the "noble" Fuggle and Goldings families have been used.
Beer that with every sip seems to release an aroma that had previously remained hidden.

Oct 29, 2021

3.94/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by Chickenhawk9932 from Pennsylvania

Pours a nice rich amber with an off white head.

Roasted nuts, malty bread, and spicy herb hop in the nose.

Roasted nut and toasted bread with hints of caramel balanced by a spicy bitter herb hop. Finishes dry.

Aug 16, 2021

3.93/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by Captain69 from Illinois

just tried their 2019-2020 winter welcome - another great holiday cheer malty and sweet

Apr 20, 2021

4.06/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by HoppingMadMonk from New Jersey

Just under average carbonation with about a medium body.
Aroma is malt,dark honey,malty yeasty doughy sticky rolls . Dried dark fruit, mild toffee chocolate and an even more mild tart funk.
Taste is weaker than aroma and has a slight vinegar dry bitterness that the aroma didn't suggest. Malt, doughy bread,dried fruit are all there as in the aroma.
Overall its a very good beer that needs to warm up for the taste to develop properly.

Mar 03, 2021

4.15/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
by imnodoctorbut from Texas

2020-2021 ed. bottle.

pours a rich and clear apricot gold body with billowing slightly-burnt cream frothy foam head that hangs around 2 fingers with moderate retention that leaves swathes of patchy lacing as it settles to a patchy cap.

very fruity (dried bright fruit) and bready malt aroma with caramel, backed by that classic earthy combo of fuggle/golding hops

taste pretty much follows the nose. lots of dried bright fruit tart/tang/sweetness. little bit of funk towards the end like vinegar. bready and caramel malt sweet. slight spice in the wings. dried apricot is the leading fruit profile that I'm picking up

clean and mineral-watery mouthfeel. moderately high carbonation, medium-light body. goes smooth with occasional carbo prickles. mild effervescence. less chewy and a lighter than most Winter Ale's I've had in the past. slightly vinegary bitter finish.

overall:
what an interesting little winter ale. this thing definitely stands out compared to other's I've had in the style, keeping the fruit cake notes but then shooting off somewhere else completely and setting the piney notes aside in favor of something...else. it's almost vinegary at times, funky and minerally. very different. I'd sip on this thru a sixer and not blink twice. good stuff.

Feb 19, 2021

3.77/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
by mjsullivan86 from Pennsylvania

2020-2021 "Welcome Back Ale" bottle poured into a tulip glass. Pours a golden straw color. Head fades somewhat quickly, but leaves a fine lacing.

My initial smell was largely bread yeast. Almost smelled like a loaf of beer bread. This was less prominent with subsequent smells Slightly sweet.

Taste similar to smell, mostly malt sweetness. I get some subtle dried fruit as well. Slight bitterness that lingers on the sides of the tongue. Well balanced without any overpowering flavors. Thinner mouthfeel than expected based on description; more middle of the road.

Overall, pretty good. I wouldn't put it in the category of winter warmers had I not read that as the listed style. Sessionable.

Jan 28, 2021

3.92/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by HipCzech from Texas

Serving: 550 ml bottle poured into a Spiegelau beer tulip. 2019/2020 bottling, 30th winter warmer anniversary.

Appearance: Deep, clear amber brown with a creamy head of off white foam. Nice coating of fine lace.

Smell: Figs, dates and caramel evoke fruitcake, along with toasted malt and earthy hops.

Taste: Rich caramel body with hints of toasted grains, dried fruit and baking spice. Finishes crisply with minerals and earthy, bitter hops.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, crisp and fine carbonation.

Overall: Rich and satisfying ale for cool winter nights.

Jan 18, 2021

2.75/5  rDev -25.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3
by jjamadorphd from Florida

A beautiful specimen when it comes to look and color, absolutely gorgeous, actually. Though it has a decent smell and medium-bodied mouthfeel, the rest of it was a huge disappoint for me. It tasted way to metallic, just distracted from the overall experience and something I won't be looking forward to ever again.

Jan 17, 2021

3.65/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
by BubbleBobble from New York

Pours a clear dark amber from the bottle, 1.5" head that settles to a solid ring, good lacing. Nose is toffee and caramel, roasted malts, red apples, a bit of earthy hops - very reminiscent of a Märzen, with the sweet apple aromas and low hop profile the main differences. Taste starts sweet - fresh apple cider with a slight tartness; malts come, as well as a light toffee note, but not as much as suggested by the nose. There an apple juiciness underlying it as well, which comes on a little strong. That said, the finish manages to stay dry enough to prevent it from getting too cloying. Mouthfeel is on the thin side, but enough body to linger.

Jan 02, 2021