Samuel Smiths Winter Welcome Ale

1pt (550ml) bottle. 6.0% a/v Pours a dark orange, like a deep red tea. Has a nice tan head, and an aroma of sweet malt, orange and mild spice. Taste is hoppy initially but then breaks into a very mellow malt smoothness. Nice beer, not what I expected of the winter ale.

Bottle. Clean amber pour. Malty aroma wth some hops. Somewhat thinner palate than I was expecting. Flavor was slightly bitter, weak, and seemed closer to an English standard session beer than a winter warmer. A bit disappointing considering the excellence of their other beers.

Pours a cooper or orangey browm with a thin tan head. Aroma is malty and fruity, Pear bananna. Taste is lacking. A little bitter, A little disappointing.

Sampled at sl holiday beer event. Pours a orange/amber with a off-white head. Aroma of sweet malt, caramel, and some spices. Flavor is medium bodied with caramel, toffee, and has a nice dry spicyness to it Very nice

Aroma is fairly hoppy, with a hint of fruitiness, perhaps a bit of pear? Pours a bright amber. Head is pretty minimal. Flavour is slightly bitter, with the same hops/fruitiness in the aroma. Finishes very mellow with a fairly light body. Overall fairly nice.

Medium brown color; bright amber when held to light. Smells sweet, honey, some spice. Taste is mildly sweet, nice round body, hint of spice on the finish. Ginger? Pepper? Not much hop presence. This one doesn’t do much for me.

Pours a clear, deep caramel-orange with a loose, frothy beige head that laces well. The nose toggles between pleasant and funky: sweet caramel and a blend of notes that make me think of nutmeg (and maybe some light cinnamon) sprinkled into sweaty tennis shoes. Light to medium-bodied with soft carbonation and a lightly spicy finish. The flavor is a definite improvement over the aroma: big, sweet, bready malt and light spices with a fairly clean finish. If you can manage to drink it before the head settles or without spending too much time with your nose in the glass, it’s not bad. But the aroma is a killer for me on this one. It was worth trying once, but the next time I want a Christmas brew, I’ll find something else.

From 550 ml bottle. This is the winter 2007 batch. Pours a rich copper color with a sudsy off-white head. The aroma was a bit weak with caramel, malts and some spice resembling nutmeg. The flavor is very malts forward with breads, caramel, and spices. The mouthfeel starts very thin and watery, but fills out to a malty stickiness by conclusion. The finish is short, sweet and slightly hoppy. Overall: The palate is a bit of a letdown otherwise a fine winter ale. Recommended with reservations.