Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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UPDATED: JAN 17, 2013 Nice holiday brew. Nutmeg, cinnamon, slight esters. Caramel malt and hint of chocolate malt. Hops are subtle citrus and pine. Good carbonation. Pleasant balanced mouth feel.

Bottle from sampler pack. Dark amber red pour and dark malt nose. Little head at all. Mild sweet malt body and pretty smooth overall. A bit of sour chocolate malt aftertaste. Mild undertones of caramel and ginger/nutmeg spices as well. ---Rated via my mouth

A: Dark brown body with ruby red hues. Soapy off-white to khaki head that quickly dissipates to a ring. Minimal lacing. Beautiful color on it. S: Smells like a pretty standard winter warmer. Very malty. Chocolate with caramel and toffee in the background with spicy notes. Cinnamon is most prominent. Just a hint of orange rind. T: Very nice! Very well-balanced. I’m greeted with spices and orange peel followed by rich coffee and dark chocolate. Excellent tasting beer. I’m impressed with the sweet-spicy balance they achieve. M: Full-bodied and a little sticky on the finish. It’s a pretty big beer (not alcohol-wise necessarily--I think it’s about 6%--but the body is just noticeably thick, in my opinion a good thing). O: I really enjoy this beer--one of the best winter warmers I’ve had. I also really like the idea behind incorporating such a festive Dickens character :).

Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale has a very thick, creamy, off-white head, lots of lacing left on the glass, and a clear, reddish-brown appearance, with essentially no streaming bubbles. The aroma is of subdued spices (nutmeg and cinnamon) and a bit of citrus. Taste is a blend of brown bread, underlying spices, and a mild hop bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium and slick, and Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale finishes wet, mellow, and highly drinkable. I liked the way they didn’t overdo it with the spices. RJT

I’m known on the forums for my love of Sam Adams brews, but this one doesn’t really connect with me for whatever reason. I love the beautiful artwork on the cover and I like the connection with "A Christmas Carol", which the name is an allusion to. Heck, even the girl on it is pretty, and evocative of the season. The beer itself, though, is average at best. Watery with a lot of cinnomen and spice, and a hint of caramel and chocolate malts. Aroma is unimpressive. It’s not undrinkable, just not what I’d call good. Couldn’t they just put cream stout in these bottles and relable it "Old Fezziwig Cream Stout"? I really miss that beer being included in the winter mix packs (Though I am aware it lives on as a 6er). Also miss the Cranberry lambic, which not only isn’t in the mix pack, but this year doesn’t seem to have been brewed as a 6er either (At least its not on the shelves where I shop, and they seem to carry everything Sam Adams except the real pricey stuff). Still, Fezziwig isn’t horrible. It’s alright, just a bit overrated in the beer community IMO. Unlike last year’s coffee stout, this is by no means a deal breaker on getting the mix pack (coffee stout had caffeine, which I studiously avoid except for the minimal amounts found in chocolate, or on very rare occasions)- its drinkable enough and has a nice label to look at. But I am cluessless as to why it is so popular.

Bottle from a build-your-own-six-pack I bought at Binny’s. I’ve had this one before, but it’s been nearly 20 years and now it’s part of those Sam holiday packs that has a bunch of others I don’t want. Anyways, about this beer here: pours a nut brown color, thin head almost no retention. Nose is weak, malty and hint of pie spice. Mouth is medium bodied (although finishes watery), caramel, pie spice (nutmeg mainly), toasty notes. There’s a beer from these guys in Cleveland that is brewed around the Holydays every year that I would call a vast improvement on Scrooge’s old boss’s namesake... because this particular offering is just average.

Bottle. Nutty toasty malt aroma with some very light spice notes. Chestnut with a moderate beige head. Nutty toasted bread, lightly bitter clove-like flavor with a roasty finish. Medium body and carbonation. Pretty much a lightly spiced brown ale.

bottle. brown with small head. lots of spice in this one -- but it comes off as more of a mess than anything else. underwhelming.

A clear brown beer with a small tan head. The aroma is malt, toffee, and sugar. The flavor is sweet malt and spices with a ginger and lightly bitter finish.

Typical brown ale with a crisp white head. The spices are very well balanced and can hold its own when eating winter time treats. This is a very solid beer, the only thing keeping it from being amazing is it lacks complexity. Thanks Jim! ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone