Samuel Smiths Winter Welcome Ale

A light amber colou with a small head. Sticky hop aroma with some caramel malts and peppery spice. Carmel and spices in flavour with a slight bit of brown sugar sweetness. A nice example of an English Strong Ale.

A decent winter ale. Pours a nice amber colour with a decent head. Has a good malty sweetness with a hint of chocolate. There is little carbonation and very little hopfeel.

Did not meet expectations, but was a decent beer. Poured a dark brown-black with red edges (ie. not pitch black). The head was nice, faded rather quickly, but laced well. The aroma was mocha-like with the chocolate more pronounced than the coffee. Flavor was somewhat the same, with a better chocolate-coffee balancee. Mouthfeel was typical carbonation but very thin and somewhat acidic feeling (left the tongue squeekey clean feeling). I thought the flavor was weaker than it should have been and the thinness didn’t help the cause.

04-Jun-06 (12 oz bottle: $2.29 at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido, CA; 550 ml bottle: $3.99 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) 2005-2006 release. I buy this every year because of the different label, but also because it’s one of my favorite winter warmers. This year, I bought the large bottle at BevMo, but then got the small one at Holiday because I knew I could trust the handling better, so I’m rating the small bottle. The nose is very fruity, moderately sweet, and lightly caramely and hoppy. It’s a pleasant nose, but not as aromatic as I was expecting. Fruit and sweet caramel in the flavor as well, some light-brown sugar and a bit of butteriness, but the hops is more pronounced, in fact imparting a lasting bitterness on the palate after I swallow each mouthful of beer. Medium bodied with average carbonation. Golden amber color, only slightly hazy, capped by a small, off-white head that gradually settles to a wide ring around the edge and a sprinkling of powder elsewhere. Some modest, patchy lacing remains on the glass. In retrospect, I think I used to like this beer more years ago, but as my palate has become more sophisticated, this beer just isn’t exciting me like it once did. It’s still a decent beer, but at this point, future purchases will likely only be to get the new label.

04-Jun-06 (500 ml bottle) 2003-2004 release Though not with any intended experimentation with aging this beer, I’ve had this 2003-2004 bottle in the back of my refrigerator for two years, so let’s see how it compares to a 2005-2006 bottle that I also have open right now. Since the recipe doesn’t change, this should be fun. The cap pops with the usual "pfft", so carbonation seems solid. It pours the same golden amber color, and the off-white head rises to maybe half an inch. The flavor is still very fruity, moderately sweet, and lightly caramely, but it’s decidedly less bitter. Without the modest bite in the finish, it most certainly seems easier on the palate. But the malts have taken on a slightly bready character, so that pretty much kills the future liklihood that I’ll ever (intentionally) age this beer. I expected the possibility of a little earthiness, but I’m not picking up anything like that. Medium-bodied, just like the current release, but that’s what you’d expect. A small brown ring lines the bottom of the bottle, offering additional proof that this beer has been sitting awhile. So in summary, after two years in the bottle, it’s still enjoyable, but not as interesting. (6, 3, 6, 3, 13 = 3.1)

2005-2006. Sort of a tawny rust color, cream colored thin head. Smells a little malty but that’s all I catch, a little musty dryness. It is still a little too cold from the fridge though. I expect some caramel, toffee scents to be coming through here. Seems quite light for a winter ale. Nice flavor here. A little sweet, no real hops flavor here. Dry finish. Very drinkable. Some different aftertaste that I really cant place, almost plastic tasting. I dont know. The more I taste, the less I like it. Too bad its a 500 ml. Smaller would suffice for me

Amber with a golden head. Aroma is of caramel and malt. Flavor is spicy malt with a little caramel and a hoppy finish.

Clear bottle, 550 ml, 2003-2004; eye: amber, slightly veiled, off-white head that disappears rapidly, no effervescence; nose: caramelized malt, alcohol, citrusy, spices; mouth: starts all in malt, and then a pause, caramel appears, and another pause, bitterness now comes in to play and disapperas also to end with a finale where bitterness and caramel trade for the top spot, some spices are present but in fait quantity and taste, it all ends with a hint of pungency that scratches the back of the throat, slightly sweet, mildly bitter, medium body, nice carbonation, "common" texture FRANÇAIS Bouteille transparente, 550 ml, 2003-2004; oeil : ambré, légèrement voilée, mousse blanc cassé qui disparaît assez rapidement, pas d’effervescence; nez : malt caramélisé, alcool, citrique, épices; bouche : débute tout en malt, puis une pause, le caramel apparaît, puis une pause, l’amertume se met de la partie disparaît à son tour pour laisser place à une finale où l’amertume et le caramel s’échange le haut du pavé, un peu d’épices apparaît mais en très faible quantité et en goût, et le tout finit avec une pointe d’âcreté qui grafigne le fond de la gorge, légèrement sucré, moyennement amère, corps moyen, bonne carbonatation, texture commune

Bottle. Poor malt flavours boiled slightly cardboardy. Sweet fizzy body with a little toffee. Barely drinkable.