Beers Included: Cold Brew Coffee Stout, Winter White Ale, Winter Lager, Old Fezzewig
Purchase Date: 6 December 2025
Initial Impressions
I broke my rules and bought this pack in early November when I was up in New Hampshire for a weekend. It was cold enough that it felt like winter. Not taking tasting notes at that time, I had to go back and buy this one again.
For some reason I was intrigued by the Cold Brew Coffee Stout. I love dark beers, but generally prefer what I call "stout-flavored-stout". I guess I was excited to see any kind of stout in this sampler. Winter Lager has always been a stalwart; even if the recipe has been changed like other Sam Seasonals.
Interestingly, the marketing company I work for doing brand ambassador work posted Sam Adams tastings with instructions to tell drinkers that Winter White was replacing Winter Lager as Sam's winter seasonal.
 |
| Beer, cigar, fresh air and lake views |
Old Fezzewig is a beer I look for every year.
Beer reviews
Cold Brew Coffee Stout
Best by: June 2026
Aroma: Malty, with some roast.
Appearance: Dark brown, opaque, thick foamy tan head with good retention and lacing.
Flavor: Lots of roasted barley, with a little bready malty undertone. No hop flavor and bitterness is sufficient. Fermentation is mildly floral. The coffee flavor is present and smooth, it complements the base beer nicely
Mouthfeel: Medium full body, creamy, but roasted malt makes finish nice and dry.
Overall: The base beer reminds me of an Irish Extra Stout. The coffee feels like something you’d get at a diner or donut shop, and is warmly comforting. Lots of coffee beers use dark roasts which can dominate the flavor, or use exotic beans which can add a vegetative note. I don’t know that I would buy a six or 12-pack of just this, but having a few in a sampler is just right.
Winter White Ale
Best by: May 2026
Aroma: Citrus, with some cinnamon and nutmeg
Appearance: Deep gold, quite hazy. Foamy white head.
Flavor: Citrus up front, but more winter spices present in flavor than aroma suggested.
Mouthfeel: Medium full body, creamy but high carbonation crisps finish.
Overall: Sam has made similar White Ales for the winter. This one feels like the most citrusy with the winter spices more restrained. Like Cold Snap but with nutmeg instead of cardamom.
Winter Lager
Best by: June 2026
Aroma: More cinnamon and less nutmeg than Winter White. Hint of citrus. Not as much malt as the color would suggest.
Appearance: Ruby, brilliantly clear. Foamy white head that fades rather quickly.
Flavor: Quite toasty with a hint of roast. Like a brown ale fermented as a lager. Cinnamon most prominent spice with cloves supporting and some citrus.
Mouthfeel: Medium body and carbonation. Spice lingers in finish.
Overall: Like Summer Ale, the recipe for Winter Lager has been overhauled and tweaked in recent years. The base beer was a bock, but this is far lighter in body and malt flavor. The spices are prominent without completely dominating. Cinnamon and clove can dominate the flavor in any beer with too heavy of a hand.
Old Fezzewig
Best by: June 2026
Aroma: Hint of caramel with background note of cinnamon.
Appearance: Brown, brilliantly clear. Foamy off white head with fair retention.
Flavor: Toffee and chocolate from the malt. Not much hop flavor but bitterness highest in the sampler and cuts through the malt. More clove and nutmeg with some cinnamon in the finish.
Mouthfeel: Full-bodied and rich. Carbonation medium low. Just enough hop bitterness and roast to provide a clean finish.
Overall: The base beer reminds me of a classic craft winter ale, like a lighter Geary’s HSA. By far the richest and most substantial in the sample pack. Exactly what I want in a winter beer.
Overall Impressions of 12-pack
Very, very solid overall. Old Fezzewig is on my shortlist of winter beers along with Samuel Smiths Winter Welcome and Celebration, and just ahead of Delerium Noel or St. Bernardus Christmas Ale. It was still the class of this 12-pack.
I enjoyed Winter White Ale more than Sam's other Christmas-inspired White Ales. Interestingly if this is Sam Adams' new winter seasonal, that would mean three out of four of Sam's seasonals would be wheat beers. Someone more insightful than me can elaborate on what that might mean for the brand.
Winter Lager has definitely been turned down a notch or two in terms of flavor intensity. I still enjoyed it. The Cold Brew Coffee Stout was a nice change of pace with it's roasty flavors and absence of holiday spices.
No comments:
Post a Comment