Winter Welcome Ale
Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)

 

 

 

 

Excellently flavorful & well balanced winter warmer with that distinctive minerally Sam Smith's aftertaste. Dryish & malty, Happy X-Mas & Merry New Year!!!

 

Poured transparent honey color with a dense off white head that left a few rings of lacing. Maybe if I had taken smaller gulps it would be many rings.
The taste leads with bread and toffee and segues into caramel and flowers on toast. It doesn’t seem to have the clove that so many winter warmer’s have featured, which seems not a bad thing as it would have overwhelmed the subtle flavors in this one.
The feel is light and very easy quaffing, certainly something I could drink a few of without any problems at all.

Pours a crystal clear copper color with a foamy off white head that lingers and provides a nice little cap on the body of the beer. Beautiful beer.

The nose is really focused on the milky caramel aroma, and there’s also a fruity hop aroma that is more prominent on the taste, making for a balanced winter warmer.

The mouthfeel is medium, fitting the beer perfectly. This is a “comfort food” beer that I’d gladly try again.

This winter ale is well balanced with light, sweetness and bitterness at 6% ABV. It is well made for people who like balanced winter ales & lagers. Will look for again next year.

 

 

 

 

12 oz. bottle
6.0% ABV
Best by: 31JAN27
$12.99 4-pk @ Publix


AROMA: Initially there is a mild sweetness with mild scents of caramel, biscuit, and malt. But then, at the end, a very small amount of musty sourness (e.g. old gym socks) wafts in. Mind you, it's not overwhelming, but I do find it a bit off-putting. I bought a 4-pack so when I have my next one, I'll see if the mustiness is still there, or if I maybe just got an "off" bottle.

APPEARANCE: Pours a clear medium-amber with a 1-finger, tight-froth, light-tan, head that dissipates very quickly with minimal lacing. It looks fine in my clear glass but the head really should last much longer.

TASTE: Mildly sweet with mild flavors of malt and caramel. The finish has a mild amount of bitterness, which I find to be appropriate. As the beer warms, the sweetness level increases a bit and the caramel flavor comes through a touch more.

MOUTHFEEL: Medium-bodied with a somewhat smooth texture. Carbonation seems average. The finish is medium dry.

OVERALL: Well, this is another beer that I probably won't purchase again. While it has a nice enough flavor, there is nothing that I find unique or interesting. On top of that, I found the aroma to be a little wonky. I'm not sure why I've had such a string of buying "ho-hum" beers lately. Either I'm just bad at picking new beers to try, or I've become jaded and am now a beer snob. At any rate, I did enjoy trying this beer, even if it didn't win me over.

like many, i’ll grab the four pack or the bomber bottle version every year… And like with other traditional iterations of the seasonal styles (like Sierra Nevada Celebration or the now much sorely missed aAnchor Christmas Ale), there are the usual variations of output each year… Thankfully!

I just picked up this four pack at the Acme in Media for 11.99…poured into an old Samuel Smith’s classic pint …it has a light maybe bright amber appearance… The nose is a classic biscuit malt bready no-salt saltine cracker with subtle spicing (let it in chill a bit)… had to check the nose again because there was something familiar… taste verifies that… this is very similar to what I would imagine the freshest Samuel Adams Boston Lager might taste like right off the assembly line… But much richer and of course a little stronger! But the brilliant balance SA is remarkably reflected in this specific version of the Winter Warmer… of course there are differences…this SSmith’s is richer and deeper, but it reminds me how much I still respect one of the early American classics that came out of Boston… also the mouth fill has a richness and a sort of light chewing us that allows the finish to linger!

def recommended

550mL bottle (packaged 1/31/2025 I believe—date printing is a bit smudged) into an English pint glass. Pours a rich caramel color with a 1-finger white head.

Aroma is sweet, bready, caramelly, toasty with a hint of spice.

Taste is likewise bready and toasty with a subtle spiciness—a graham cracker in a glass. Nice mineral quality to the water, Old World hops evident.

Mouthfeel is crisp and balanced with a dry, gently bitter finish.

Overall a solid, well made, exquisitely balanced winter warmer. It’s reassuring to know that some breweries just keep cranking out the same classic beers year after year.

 

 

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