Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

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BA SCORE
86
very good
-
2,299 Ratings

THE BROS
90
outstanding
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read more »

rAvg: 3.8
pDev: 13.95%
Reviews: 1270
Hads: 1029

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Brewed by:
Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

Massachusetts, United States

Style | ABV
Winter Warmer | 5.90% ABV

Availability: Winter. bottle (1266), on-tap (4).

Notes:
No notes at this time.

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Reviews

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Reviews by Groomsy:

Groomsy

Kentucky

3.8/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle from 2010 Winter Variety Pack, notched with freshness date of Mar. 2011. Poured into a pint glass. Review taken from notes during and after consumption.

Appearance: Pours out a very Newcastle type of brown but with some hints of crimson red in the light. A two-finger rocky white head tops off the beer and leaves some spotty lacing down the glass.

Smell: As good as this smells, I can't say that it necessarily smells original. Honestly, it smells like an amped-up version of some of Sam Adams other winter seasonal beers. Aside from the ample caramel malts, there are also hints of cinnamon and ginger spices, as well as some citrus/orange hints? Malts and spices are the order of the day here; low hop presence.

Taste: BIG caramel malts hit the tongue at first. Very sweet and pleasing, but not overly sweet or artificial. There are plenty of spices to follow as well, including the aforementioned cinnamon and ginger; the cinnamon takes the biggest part here and the other spices fade in with it. There's a tiny bit of citrus zest in the finish as well some hints of brown sugar. There's a very mild earthy hop bitterness to finish out the taste, but it's hardly noticeable.

Mouthfeel: Big and creamy, no mistaking it. This beer's aim is to warm your innards on a chilly winter night, and the thickness of this beer certainly does it. It has a thick body, but the carbonation helps to prickle the tongue with some of the spices and finer flavors.

Drinkability: Despite the big body of this beer, its malty and sweet body would make it easy to drink several pints. Just be sure to handle it carefully.

Out of the Winter Variety pack, I think this is probably one of the best selections, but at the same time, it only takes the Sam Adams seasonal recipe - lots of caramel, big spices, low bitterness - and tweaks it some while boosting other characteristics. Maybe I'm just burnt out on the Winter pack at this point, but I still found this to be a delicious and wonderful beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2010 21:56:42 | More by Groomsy

More User Reviews:

Justinn13

New Jersey

4.5/5 rDev +18.4%

06-16-2013 17:22:16 | More by Justinn13

Satsuma

Florida

3.75/5 rDev -1.3%

06-16-2013 03:57:07 | More by Satsuma

Walletsworth

North Dakota

4.5/5 rDev +18.4%

06-15-2013 16:57:54 | More by Walletsworth

bdaggett

Vermont

4/5 rDev +5.3%

06-13-2013 22:55:31 | More by bdaggett

dbossman

Nebraska

3.65/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Dark brown with a reddish tint and a steady, sudsy one-inch head and decent lacing

S: Toasty and roasty malts and burnt brown sugar; some subtle fruits and definitely ginger on the finish

T: A lot of roasted semi-sweet bready malts up front with a balanced finish of fruit and spice--this beer is so much more balanced than I remember it; with toffee and brown sugar and toast followed by just a touch of ginger, orange rind, and cinnamon--though as it warms the flavors do become a bit cloying

F: Medium body--actually a touch chewy on the finish

O: A really nice holiday beer that I hadn't had in years; glad to come back to Old Fezziwig; unfortunately, as I said I find it to get a bit sweet and taxing to drink as it warms

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2013 18:17:07 | More by dbossman