Samuel Smiths Winter Welcome Ale

’06-’07 Bottle. Does have an herbal character to it. Not bad but I’m really not impressed.

Alcoholic, slightly herbal nose. Pours an amber color. Taste has hints of whisky, ginger, and some estery notes. A decent beer, couldn’t drink more than one in a sitting though.

Lovely rich boozy fumes, smoky and whiskeyish up close. Soapily bitter, fruity caramel malt. Clear red body, off-white suds. Smooth, slightly roasty, luxuriously malty. Maybe a touch of licorice. Assertively bitter hop finish. Darkly fruity and boozy. Well rounded, but not as full bodied and complex as expected. A little disappointing on top of a Guinness Foreign Export.

Brown bottle. Orange amber color with an off white head. Aroma of floral hops, grains and caramel. Slightly sweet with some fruit and spice notes. Dry finish lingers a bit. Not bad, but not worthy of the hype.

Now in brown 18.7 oz. bottle. Starts with spicy aroma and taste, but finishes bitter as expected. Pretty red-amber color.

Malty with caramel, spice, figs flaovrs. Has a mild hop presence, a little pine and floral hints but it’s that spiced malt that’s at the forefront. Has a crisp finish with some fruit notes. Can really taste those "seaweed finings."

Clear Bottle *surprise* 12oz, Nose is almost of odd macros, almost a "bud light" nose about it, however first sip is fantastic, hints of malt but quite the surprising finish, a nice sweet aftertaste very pleasant, a good brew ice cold.

Bottle. Pours a light amber with a thin white head. Light malt spice aroma. Flavor is malty, revealing a nice sweetness (figs?) with just a hint of bitterness. The body is too thin for me, but the rest of the beer makes up for it. A quaint brew - I rather like it.