Samuel Smiths Winter Welcome Ale

Bottle in a blind tasting. Aroma of spruce, wood, oxidized apple. Pours a clear bright copper with a thin off-white head. Light body with medium carbonation. Taste of fruit , spruce, nuts.

Bottled in a Pint Glass. The flavor is not what I would expect from a winter ale. A little sweet and slightly bitter with a clean mouthfeel. Decent ale.

Bottle. Clear medium copper color with solid off-white head. No lace. Tart green apple on the nose...and this has to be a little oxidized. Light body, mild carb. Tart on the tongue, too. Some resiny c-hop on the finish. Too tart to really set this up as appropriate for winter drinking. Not horrible other than being unknowingly out of season.

i enjoy this beer very much. it is very light, drinkable, somewhat interesting, and CHEAP. sure it is not the most artfully crafted ale i have ever had, but it can easily find it’s way into my fridge, where it doesn’t spend much time. the "winter" in the name might lead one to think dark, thick, or heavy, but this is more like a party beer. a beer geek’s guilty pleasure or something to drink and enjoy with friends when you are not trying to quantify it’s palate on rate beer....

Not bad. Pours out a nice brown color with a very small white head. Aroma was very malty. Had little hoppiness to it which suprised me a bit. Flavor was not to sweet nor to malty. overall was a great beer, but with a little more hop, this would be a much better brew.

550ml bottle - pours a clear amber/copper colour, with light carbonation visible in the glass. Small white head. Aroma is of apples and sweet malt. Not a big aroma, fairly faint, but quite fruity. Flavour, again, tastes like apples off the top. That is followed by some sweet (caramel?) malt, and then some hop bitterness in the finish. Perhaps some spice in there somewhere, but it’s light. A bit boozy. The body is pretty thin, especially for a winter warmer. This was more like your basic English Ale. Decent stuff, but not outstanding in any way. I was expecting something with a bit more or an individual character I suppose, and a lot more body. This sort of reminded me of Old Speckled Hen or something...good, but average.

first impression is the sweetness - a little mild citrus with a caramel type aspect to it. a lite rasberry? flavor too. I guess ESTERY is the word to use here....anyway, there are plenty of malt flavors and yeast. carbonation is nice too. If I didn’t know the name, I would have thought that this would be a good summer beer actually with all the fruitness, but they made it for the winter.. Thats cool. I still like it.

Copper colored with a small but firm off-white head. Aroma is roasted malt and a bit of floral hops. Flavor is an herbal, medicinal bitterness with earthy notes and a little honey sweetness. As it warms flavors of malt and alcohol become more pronounced. Rounded out with a smooth, malty finish. A decent enough beer but I was expecting something a bit more full-bodied in a winter warmer.