Samuel Adams Winter Lager - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

John1985

Tennessee

4.28/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Brownish appearance with creamy froth. Malty/spicy aroma, medium body, excellent malty/spicy flavor with hops in a supporting role. Texture was thick and chewy like a winter lager should be but very drinkable. One of my best experiences with spiced beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2002 04:26:04 | More by John1985

Pegasus

Texas

4/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Toned copper in color with a touch of haze. The small cream-colored head is tightly beaded and retains fairly well. The lacing is small and broken, the carbonation is fairly lively.

Aroma: Spicy aroma with cinnamon, ginger, candied fruit, and dark bread.

Taste: Opens with a flourish of winter spices and honey, a mild citrus hop presence soon follows. The underlying malt presence is toasty with subtle caramel notes. Towards the finish, the hops assert themselves with a modest metallic bitterness that lingers well past the somewhat dry finish.

Mouth feel: Smooth, but with a slight sting of carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: A solid example of a winter bock, very pleasant.

Presentation: Packaged in a twelve-ounce brown glass long neck bottle with a pry-off crown, served in a standard Pilsener glass.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2002 09:08:42 | More by Pegasus

marc77

California

3.8/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Attractive ruby hue and excellent clarity. The head is weak, but manages to leave a respectable lace. The strong Hallertauer hop nose is followed by quite subtle and non descript spices. Perhaps orange zest and nutmeg? Moderate body and very slick mouthfeel. It almost has that "oily" mouthfeel that the Boston Lager has. The refined Hallertauer Mittelfruh hop flavor is quite high, but the hop bitterness is mild and thus imparts a significant sweetness to the brew. Lots of caramelized sugars in flavor, perhaps from the prodigious use of crystal malt. Mild nutmeg is present in flavor as well. Winter Lager finishes sweet w/ lingering crystal malt sweentess. Overall it's a very flavorful brew, but the sweetness borderlines on being cloying and thus hurts the drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2002 20:21:53 | More by marc77

mophie

Delaware

4/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice brown color with a respectable light tan head. Faint spicy, clean aroma. Nice, slightly sweet malty taste, with just a hint of spice. Trace alcohol finish. I prefer a bit heavier brew in the winter, but on those occasions when I want something a bit lighter, this will do just fine.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2002 10:55:16 | More by mophie

Bighuge

Minnesota

3.1/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This is a pretty average beer in my opinion. I definately like their other winter offering a lot better. Old Fezziwig. This beer just doesn't have anything that really stands out to me. Wheat malt taste present with very slight hop bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2002 15:54:25 | More by Bighuge

frank4sail

New Jersey

3.78/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Amber, almost cranberry color. Sweet/Spice nose with hints of alcohol. Average head retention. Spicy with a slightly bitter finish. Overall, an above average dark lager.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2002 19:59:35 | More by frank4sail

BeerAngel

Texas

4.65/5  rDev +28.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

One of the best winter brews available IMHO. It pours a clear tea color with a nice off-white head. The smell of malt, light wheat, and spices smell delicious! The spiciness is just right with flavors of a light roasted malt, faint wheat, and a hint of spices.Very smooth, very balanced with the right amount of hops, and very drinkable! I will have this beer in my refrigerator every season.
Cheers!

Note: It is not called Winter Lager here in Texas. Texas Law says that beer over 5% is an ale, but since this is a lagered beer, BBC labels the Texas version Winter Brew on the bottle even though the six pack holder still says "Winter Lager". Some more of Texas' own wacky beer laws!

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2002 16:47:45 | More by BeerAngel

jackndan

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +24%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Sammy Winter 2002: I used to be a summer guy, never skied or liked shoveling snow. But I’m coming around to the fall and winter, and great beers have helped that transition. It always helps to ease the pain to look forward to great O-fest and festival beers. One beer, in fact the first beer I looked forward to, was Sam’s Winter lager.

I’ve heard people say that Sam’s seasonals have been slightly off, but I think Sam’s getting back into their stride with the 2002/03 Winter (not that you’ll see much of it after January 1). Its got a deep ruby amber color, with an off white sticky head. Huge thick lace. The aroma is heavily malted, with spices and rich coffees. The taste, in this fresh batch is a little raw, with assertive malts, well balanced with spices and hops. This is a big/fast seller, and hard to get in Winter. I’ve got to buy an extra twelve and forget about it because it should cellar very well. Wonderful!

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2002 23:18:32 | More by jackndan

rastaman

United Kingdom (England)

4.33/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

i really liked this beer, had a really well rounded flavour, tasty to boot aswell, shame we don't get it round here.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2002 19:44:00 | More by rastaman

ZAP

Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Another good one from "Sammy"...I like "Old fezz" better but this is good in its own right..Light reddish copper appearance with a decent head...aroma is sweetish, but not as strong as "Old Fezz"...tastes a bit like a Bock..but it says it is a wheat lager on the bottle...very easy drinking and tasty...an excellent winter beer.Not a real hoppy beer..definitely more on the malty side, and it really doesn't taste much like wheat to me..

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2001 21:01:14 | More by ZAP

Jordan

California

4.3/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Spice and sweet caramel aromas. Head is sticky and endures. Beautiful red copper color, clear. Great malty sweetness offset by a unmistakable hops presense, also a hint of spice. Absolute delightful mouthfeel, silky smooth. Also very highly drinkable and worthy being termed a 'Winter' brew. Almost 7%abv this one makes a cold night toasty warm.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2001 22:35:46 | More by Jordan

proc

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This reminds me alot of Boston Lager with a little more oomph. A nice winter offering, slightly spicy, but just slightly with a nice taste of malt througout. Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2001 15:05:01 | More by proc

Brent

Kentucky

3.15/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A dark wheat? Really didn't strike me as having a lot of wheat characteristics. I also didn't detect much spicing in the brew. It has a nice, sturdy malt body with a mildly fruity undercurrent. Pleasant, but not a lot of zip for a seasonal.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2001 10:08:33 | More by Brent

xXTequila

Massachusetts

4.45/5  rDev +22.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

This years Winter Lager is practically another style of beer compared to last years batch.
Deep dark red/brown. The head sits thin but height wise but its thick like a chunk of heavy cream.
Thick sweet malt, rum, caramel, and raisins.
The perfect beer for a snowy night.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2001 08:49:38 | More by xXTequila

AaronRed

New York

4.1/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

A full lager. Smelled like a winter brew with all the spices wafting out of the glass. Very malty with a touch hops at the end. It took me a while to drink this beer, not because I did not like it, but because of it's rich flavor.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2001 22:10:01 | More by AaronRed

ThreePistols

Florida

4.65/5  rDev +28.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Dark amber color with decent head and lace. Roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, spicy aroma and taste with a dry hoppy finish. I stock up on it when it becomes available for the holiday since it is a seasonal beer. Happy Holidays... Cheers


11/2002 – I am not changing my review but rather to say... it’s the season again; Sam Adams’ Winter Classics 12 pack is on the shelves again. It does my soul good to enjoy SA Winter Lager. This year's SA Winter Lager seems better than last year, which is a very good thing, or I'm more capable to appreciate this “classic” winter brew. Which ever the case may be, SA Winter Lager is one great beer.

Happy Holidays
Prosit!

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2001 10:20:15 | More by ThreePistols

John

New York

4.7/5  rDev +29.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

A favorite of the SA brews. Excellent.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2001 16:44:17 | More by John

suglis

Missouri

4.9/5  rDev +35%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

An excellent beer with some slight fruity overtones.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2001 15:25:39 | More by suglis