Sam Adams Winter Classics

I agree. Even the prospect of two White Christmas is enough to last the whole year long.

 

I saw the Costco version of this pack and it has the Chocolate Bock. The format was 4,4,4,4,8 (the 8 being Winter Lager).

 

I think they lost a lot of the BA crowd's money on this pack for sure. What a dud.

 

Costco, eh?? Does that mean there are four Old Fezziwig??? I am sure I could find something to do with White Christmas, if this is the case!

 

AS much as I like Old Fez I will spend my variety pack money on Sierra Nevada Snow Packs and Celebration instead.

 

Bought the 24 pack case from Sam's. The breakdown was the same as Costco (8-4-4-4-4). Not the greatest breakdown, but at least they included Chocolate Bock in the 24pack (Yes, I enjoy Chocolate Bock).

 

Chocolate Bock is awesome, never apologize for liking it.

Brought the regular 12 pack version to the tailgate on Saturday, we demolished it. We enjoyed White Christmas even, seemed tastier than last year's.

Probably will pick up the 24 pack this week.

 

This is a huge mistake from them! This will be the first year ever that I don't purchase at all. Holiday Porter, Old Fezzi, Coffee Stout, Chocolate Bock, Lager, and Winter. That would be an excellent mixed 12. The Winter Lager is a joke now, kick up the ABV please.

 

It's 4 winter, 4 white Christmas, 2 fezzi, 2 lager

 

I have a case in my fridge that I bought from a local distributer. WL, BL, Old Fezz, White Christmas, and Chocolate Bock (8-4-4-4-4 respectively). This was my first time having the Chocolate Bock and I loved it, way better than last year's Cherry Chocolate Bock.

 

as a Sam Adams supporter, even I have decided to NOT buy this pack at all this year. I'm tired of this. Only 2 Fezzi in the pack. I'm tired of buying the others that I don't really want.

 

Had a bomb of a pack a couple years ago that got me hooked forever...
Boston, Winter, Chocolate Bock, Fezziwig, Holiday Porter, Black & Brew. Needless to say, I have been disappointed with this year and last year's. Could easily do without Boston...

 

That was a damn good pack, I remember it well. Wouldn't mind seeing Black & Brew in stand-alone sixers; it's probably the best stout they ever made (and I was very skeptical about it).

Given that they will always have at least 2 BL in the pack, I think my ideal winter mix would be:

2 X BL
2 X Black & Brew
2 X Cream Stout
2 X Holiday Porter
2 X Old Fezziwig
2 X Double Bock


If they can't sell that then they need to fire their marketing department. A barleywine-strength bock and a coffee stout for the advocates; a go-to lager for the masses with crossover appeal to advocates; and 3 beers they've been brewing for like 15+ years for the old timers, 2 of which have been in nearly every Christmas pack for a decade. I've noticed coffee stouts having more crossover appeal to non-advocates as a gateway beer, for what it's worth.

 

Let's be honest as bad as it was it's really not winter time without Cranberry Lambic.

That beer was a badge of honor for those who drank it.

 

a little off topic but i remember my senior year in college (back in 09), fir spring break, i had a 24 pack of the spring pack i guess. it had black lager, scotch ale, brown ale, and a couple otehrs but the scotch ale was really what got me hooked on some craft beer. i wish so bad they would come back out with it, just so i can try it to reminisce of the incredible times i had in college.

anyone ever think about how much time we wasted in college and if we knew then what we do now about beer, how many limited releases we could make? it would be ridiculous! guess in about 25 more years, i can go back to those times (when i am retired)!

 

White Christmas. Gag. An overly spiced Blue Moon.

 

I could not agree more. And that was well before I even started drinking coffee. I think they could make a killing, not that they need it, though, off of sixers of it.

That's a hell of a mix too! As much as most of us would like to see BL taken out in favor of something more seasonal, realistically that will never happen. And it is certainly a very good gateway, for the non-advocates, to bring in the more casual micro drinkers. Guess we couldn't hope for the Double AND the Chocolate... The Chocolate is oh so good... Just perfect for the weather.

 

I wonder of they are chasing ever fewer buyers like me. I will buy at least 3 of these just to get the Old Fezziwig. Their other sales might be constant and this helps get a seasonal push. Still, purchases like mine have to be a small, yet presumably predictable amount. What is the profit margin on these mixed cases? I must admit, as much as I love beer, I love business more and I would love to see the spreadsheets with their market analysis on this topic.

 

There's two different variety packs, one with ChocoBock and the other without. One's got four different beers while the other has the ChocoBock thrown in. They're doing some experimenting with the mixed packs this year, but I don't disagree with some of the commentary I've seen on here. I'd rather see a pack with 2-2-2-2-4 with either the ChocoBock or Old Fezz being the four. I think that would by far be the best boost in sales for this pack.

I have to agree with you. The brewers tweaked the recipe this year to be a little less intensely spiced, so the cereal and citrus notes shine through a little better. I think it's far more balanced this time around.

From what I've seen this year, there's been a lot of experimentation with the different variety packs to see what works and what doesn't. At least they've listened to input about some of the typical 2-2-2-2-2-2 packs and started releasing packs with different formulations.

While I'm voicing my own opinions on some of these subjects, as a Boston Beer employee I in no way represent my employer's stances and opinions on these topics.

 

All I can say re this weak SA Winter mixpack is thank Goodness for Sierra Nevada Snowpack availability at the same time that this same old stuff from Sam Adams is on the shelves. I like Old Fez but not enough to buy this