Sam Adams Winter Classics

Sam Adams again just tweeted at me when I asked for the breakdown:

@SamuelAdamsBeer I hear Bos. Lager is 1 of the 4s in your 4-4-2-2 format. Why not Winter Lager since its seasonal? Bos. Lager is year round!

@JoeVecchione That's incorrect - the breakdown is: 2 Boston Lager, 2 Old Fezziwig, 4 Winter Lager, 4 White Christmas.



I guess thats a little better. Still disappointed.

 

Thank you for going to the source and clearing up some of the confusion.

Agreed though, that breakdown is better but still far from great.

 

Scotch, Holiday Porter, Fezzi, and Winter - that pack would be the balls.

 

Curious, does everyone know that the Winter Lager has Wheat in it? I've know for a while, but was surprised when I found out. It's mentioned on the label.

Here's the malt from their site:

MALT VARIETIES
Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Caramel 60, malted wheat, Weyermann Carafa Malt, and Munich 10

 

4 White Christmas? The beer I give away.

I liked my version better. Won't be buying this pack even if I love Old Fezz. Guess I gotta let Old Fezz go.

Guess this is good for Sierra Nevada as their Snow Pack is amazing. So I will buy more of that instead. At least the Lager Variety pack from SA was good.

 

Apologies on switching the quantities on the Winter Lager and Boston Lager. I got really disappointed and left the supermarket pretty quickly afterwards. Holiday Porter and Old Fezziwig or it didnt happen. This will be the first time in 6 winters I won't buy the winter mixer.

 

I wrote Sam Adams via their website to ask that they sell us Old Fezz in 6 packs or Bombers. This was the response.

Well unless they make another pack like the Lager Variety pack I wont be buying any more packs from them either. You're welcome Sierra Nevada.

 

2 Old Fezziwig and 4 White Christmas is a killer for me.

Old Fezziwig is arguably my favorite Sam Adams beer, and White Christmas is arguably my least favorite.

 

I don't mind the new format but the flip side is that there is less chance for "error"; if a beer you don't really care for ends up being one of the 4 you're basically screwed, especially if you planned on buying a case. I bought only one 12-pack of the Fall seasonal because Saisons are typically just not my thing (and that one ended up not being my thing either) where in the past I would have purchased a case, and now with this pack it's a tough sell because I have little interest in 4 White Christmas beers; if they would have done 4 Old Fezziwigs instead, I would have been easily sold on it.

Not sure what direction SA is going in but it seems to be an odd one. The Adventures in Lagers pack was an awesome idea but you couldn't find it easily in my area (one of the biggest markets in the country) and even with trying hard to get a hold of it, I ended up having to pass. Now this...

 

Count me as another who won't be buying the winter pack this year. Passed on the fall pack, too. Those used to be two of my most anticipated beer purchases each season. Guess I'll try to find some singles of Old Fezzi. Why they took out Holiday Porter freaking baffles me. And quit trying to force subpar wits and IPAs down my throat in the winter. Give me a damn cold weather beer again.

 

Count me in as one of the folks that likes Winter Lager. I sure hope Holiday Porter and Fezziwig are in there. White Christmas is miserable. If there's even one bottle in there, I'm not buying it.

 

Winter Abby ale just recently put out.

 

Don't scroll up dude.......

 

Sam just keeps hoping to hit in on the Blue Moon crowd. They just can't make a reasonable wit, or market one correctly.

 

Drag....

 

So, being a guy who likes to go right to the source, I tweeted at Sam Adams the other day and got the breakdown (4 Winter Lager, 4 White Christmas, 2 Old Fezziwig, and 2 Boston Lager. As I live down the street from the brewery, I attended a tour and tasting today and asked if they would be releasing Chocolate Bock in some form this winter. I was told by the guide that it would be included in the Winter pack this year. That would confirm the posting quoted above that shows the Winter Pack with those four beers plus Chocolate Bock.

When i looked at the PDF a few days ago, I found it hard to believe that every release documented was correct except the Sam Adams Winter Pack. I mean, its the largest craft brewery in America. This article actually shows a photo of the packaging. However, on the other hand, there have been several posters who have only seen the 4 aforementioned beers sans Chocolate Bock.

I know this doesn't really matter as it will be in stores in about 4 minutes, but there seems to be a bit of a disconnect between Sam's PR and brewing operation. I'm hoping Chocolate Bock is included because that is ONE less White Christmas in my pack and its a pretty good dessert beer in the dead of a New England winter. I would assume a breakdown of 3- Winter Lager, 3- White Christmas, 2 - Old Fezziwig, 2- Chocolate Bock, 2- Boston Lager. If that's true, I suppose that it may be worth a purchase.

Only time will tell...

 

The 24 packs I saw at my local Costco had the Chocolate Bock included. I don't remember the breakdown except for the fact that there was way too much White Christmas for me to be interested in buying one.

 

Going back into our warehouse at the brewery tonight, there will be two different variety packs, one with Chocolate Bock (I suspect it will be released more widespread closer to Christmas) and one without (which is already being packaged en masse). Hopefully that clears things up. I was a bit confused myself with the variety packs lacking Chocolate Bock, as I have been working in the lab when we've packaged it already.

 

While I didn't see this thread, I did see the Winter Pack at my grocer today. Only 2 Old Fezziwig??? No Chocolate Bock??? I was really underwhelmed and to be honest, quite disappointed to see it. Sam Adams lost me for the holidays.