Samuel Smiths Winter Welcome Ale

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: English Strong Ale
Tadcaster, England

Pretty much sucks. Pours a weird orange honey color with a small tan fizzy head. Tastes like malt and some spicy bite. Very unbalanced and just offensive to the palate and taste buds. Weak.... I expect more from you Sam Smith. My girlfriend even said this beer is all nose and no taste.

Bottled 55cl. It pours a light amber beer with a slightly tanned head. The nose is of caramel, nuts mango and wood. Some lemon. Very sweet with hints of seawater. The taste is slightly salty. Lots of caramel. Leafy taste of peaches, eucalyptus, wood and floral hops. A decent amount of bitterness. Malty, toasty with lots of marmelade-like elements. Good lacing. Hints of peanuts. The finish is dry and toasty with hints of peanuts and peaches.

very enticing orange reddish hue with a lacing and lasting white head. With a facade comparable to a ripe west coast IPA, the aroma and flavor threw a curve at me. The nose has strong cheesy funkiness and the flavor has hints of red licorice. The two don’t go well and aren’t in sync with the appearance. While this has some great qualities, it lacks consistency as the various components are fairly conflicting.

Bottle...not a bad winter brew. A good hoppy flavor but lacking in the traditional spices. Good flavor worth a try on a cool evening.

Pours a slightly hazy golden-brown color with a substantial white head. Aroma is a little fruity, sweet, and malty. Flavor is slightly alcoholic, sweet, but bitter a little bit, too. Really enjoyed this one. Is that description correct that there is seaweed in this beer? 1 pt. 0.9 oz. bottle.

Decent aroma, mostly malty, some fruitiness. Appearance is a nice amber/red/gold. Flavor is typical of the english strong ale, malty, fruit, no hop signature. Middle of the road mouthfeel. Slight drynes on the finish. These damn Christmas ales are becoming so common, and so gimmicky, but this guy is actually good. I definitely recommend it for the season. Also, pretty reasonable price for a beer of this quality.

Bottle. Mildly acidic nose but mostly sweet dark fruits. Lots of fig with some notes of banana, peach, and strawberry jam. Thick amber body, slow rising carbonation to a thin swirly white head. Great flavor, little bit of smoke and spice surrounding dark fruit sweetnesses. Palate is as thick as it looks, smooth and heavy. Finishes with a slightly dry bitterness that really rounds it off nicely.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy amber with a decent head. The taste is mostly a sweet malt, some spices, and some hops. Really thin and smooth. Not great, but decent.