Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: Weizen Bock
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Pours a dark amber with a very light, fluffy tan, but almost white head. Has a hoppy and a spicy aroma and a taste that starts out mildly bitter, then seemingly has a metal aftertaste, but only on a few odd sips. Doesn’t stic around on the palette very long, but does leave somewhat of a bit of a caramel aftertaste.

Bottle. Reddish copper color with an off-white head. Aroma: sweet malt, caramel, cookies, spices and light alcohol. Flavor: Sweet malt, spices, caramel, oranges, some alcohol and a very light bitterness.

Single bottle bought at John’s Grocery (Iowa City, IA). Poured into a conical pint. Pours a dark coppery red color with a decent creamy offwhite head. Aromas of sweet malty head that smells a little bakery-esque. Taste is a pleasantly subdued malty sweetness that reminds me vaguely of wheat thins, but considerably less sweet than them. Grainy, malty, good. You can tell it’s a Sam Adams brew just by the taste (Same Water? Malts? I dunno...I’ve noticed you can tell it with a lot of places though). Finishes clean and smooth, with no "hard hitting" aftertaste, instead choosing to go out nice and mellow, fitting for a winter brew that suits sitting back and keeping warm under a blanket. I went into this review thinking it would suck, but it really surprised me for the better. Will drink again.

355 ml bottle. Pours a clear reddish copper with an adequate off-white head. Slightly sweet malty nose. Medium body. Semi-sweet up front followed by a nice round malt profile with a touch of spice. Finishes with a slight tartness.

On draught. Copper-amber color, with a thick head, leaving lots of lacing. Bready aroma. This beer has a thick, creamy mouth feel. The flavor is malty, with minimal wheat flavor. Hop background is slightly bitter but hardly noticeable.

Sam Adams Winter Lager is a nice ruddy red with a decent light tan head. Smells very viney and sweet...I smell some grape but could be way wrong. It smells nice and malty. The flavor is a little sour with some nice grape bitterness...sort of like white grape. I think the sourness is due to the wheat presence. There’s a sweetness in the beginning of the taste that gets chased by a sour bitterness at the finish. Well balanced, drinkable winter beer.

THOUGHTS: I wish it was a little cloudy. Nice beer, but I don’t get the winter part of it. Seems a little more early Spring. Nice beer, I just don’t really think of it as a great winter ale. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a sparkling, medium amber with a small, off-white head that mostly diminished and left virtually no head. The aroma was moderate to heavy caramel malt, cherry, wheat and slight alcohol. The initial flavor was moderately sweet, while the finish was moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic and sour with an average duration. The flavor was very malty with a little wheat and lemon in the finish. The medium body was somewhat syrupy with lightly fizzy carbonation and an astringent, slighlty chalky and slightly metallic finish.

Tastes suspiciously like their Oktobertfest beer. The aroma has banana and sweet malt notes. Flavor has more banana, cotton candy, and hint of caramel. Very sweet beer. Cheers!