Samuel Adams Imperial White - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

sarahspat

Illinois

2.48/5  rDev -28.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

Pours a murky, deep tawny orange. A not particularly thick-looking head falls quickly and leaves nothing to remember it by.

Smells like... candy. Salt water taffy and fruit roll-ups.

Alcohol plays a large role in the taste. This beer summed up in a phrase: boozy fruit roll-ups. Or spicy caramel. Also a tiny hint of vanilla falls in there somewhere. I do taste the typical orange and coriander, but they play only minor roles here. Overall, the taste is anti-climactic. The intensity of flavors declines rapidly once the beer enters your mouth. The aftertaste is obnoxiously sweet and way too long-lived. I have a hard time believing that Samuel Adams didn't add a ton of artificial sweeteners and/or flavors to this beer.

The combination of the syrupy thickness and the cloying/artificial-tasting sweetness made this one incredibly hard to put back. This is definitely not a traditional witbier... nor is it what I would expect an "amped up" witbier to be like. I don't think I would drink it again.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2009 18:30:32 | More by sarahspat

Wrigfen

South Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +22.5%

05-22-2013 20:45:44 | More by Wrigfen

RyanCave

Virginia

4.19/5  rDev +20.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: beautiful amber, well carbonated-approximately quarter inch of head, good lacing
S: a bit boozy, banana, tapioca, carrots, classic belgian, bubblegum, plum and other fruit, little citrus
T: Sweet bread, banana, tapioca, not too much hop character, wheaty, bubblegum, a bit boozy, small spice
M: Well carbonated, complimented the taste
O: I was very surprised with this brew, I'm somewhat skeptical of Sam Adams and picked this up on a whim. Very glad I did, very well put together brew, I would buy this again

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 17:19:56 | More by RyanCave

mfigueroa713

New York

3.25/5  rDev -6.3%

05-19-2013 03:59:43 | More by mfigueroa713

Buck6196

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%

05-19-2013 02:26:37 | More by Buck6196

lucasj82

Indiana

4/5  rDev +15.3%

05-15-2013 01:44:15 | More by lucasj82

aty11b

Texas

2.75/5  rDev -20.7%

05-14-2013 01:53:43 | More by aty11b

BlesstheHarvest

Texas

3.75/5  rDev +8.1%

05-13-2013 15:04:02 | More by BlesstheHarvest

JamesStreet

Louisiana

3.75/5  rDev +8.1%

05-12-2013 16:16:42 | More by JamesStreet

rph97

Texas

3/5  rDev -13.5%

05-09-2013 23:14:04 | More by rph97

blknikon

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev -20.7%

05-07-2013 23:04:21 | More by blknikon

ksimons

New York

3.75/5  rDev +8.1%

05-05-2013 22:04:45 | More by ksimons

shockrocker65

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +36.9%

05-01-2013 02:44:05 | More by shockrocker65

FliryVorru

Alabama

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%

04-29-2013 17:30:25 | More by FliryVorru

GRE680

Michigan

2/5  rDev -42.4%

04-28-2013 22:54:41 | More by GRE680

DonDonLongJohn

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%

04-28-2013 17:30:38 | More by DonDonLongJohn

odement

Michigan

3.25/5  rDev -6.3%

04-25-2013 00:23:50 | More by odement

SmellsofMahagony

Texas

3.25/5  rDev -6.3%

04-24-2013 03:02:48 | More by SmellsofMahagony

pma7779

New York

5/5  rDev +44.1%

04-21-2013 22:22:16 | More by pma7779

Hophead420

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%

04-13-2013 07:32:59 | More by Hophead420

acevenom

Louisiana

3.71/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured into a Samuel Adams perfect pint glass. The beer pours slightly hazy copper with a thick, off white head that dissipates slowly. The beer appears to be well carbonated due to the presence of lots of tiny bubbles rising in the beer. Not much lacing is left behind on the side of the glass. I pick up the wheat in the aroma as well as the spice notes. It's not a strong aroma overall, but I can pick up hints of coriander with citrus. Also make no mistake about it. The booze is noticeable in the aroma even when this beer is well chilled. Like in the aroma, the spice notes take a back seat to the malt and the booze. The spices notes are there and I do get the coriander, pepper, and citrus in the flavor. The sweetness is almost like honey in many ways. The body is full with enough carbonation to make this beer clean on the finish. The alcohol provides a nice warming feel. This is a good beer for what it is, but I wouldn't necessarily classify this as a witbier. It doesn't quite reach the levels of quality of an excellent wheatwine, which is how I'm judging this beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 21:07:17 | More by acevenom

lsolanilla

Florida

4.75/5  rDev +36.9%

04-08-2013 16:14:17 | More by lsolanilla

alelover

Michigan

4/5  rDev +15.3%

04-07-2013 02:31:41 | More by alelover

HisBoyElroy

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +22.5%

04-04-2013 22:26:36 | More by HisBoyElroy

mfnmbvp

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle, no apparent date present, just a code. Poured into a Firestone Walker pint glass.

A - Pours about a quarter inch thin white cap which dissolves instantly. Dark orange amber colored body. Some alcohol legs noticeable. Of the four pack I bought, one of these beers had a very noticeable giant yeast strand / bacterial culture squid looking thing taking form. The one I'm drinking now has the slighting bit, but nothing like the first one I had.

S - Smells strongly of Belgian yeasts and floral spices. Coriander. Light peppercorn. Caramel malts. Alcohol soaked oak barrels. Not a very powerful aroma, but smells boozier than other witbiers. Still, an underwhelming aroma.

T - Taste is of Belgian yeast, bubblegum malts, some faint brettanomyces taste, and alcohol soaked oak wood / bourbon vanilla presence is both surprising and pleasing. Witbiers definitely aren't my thing typically, but this one isn't bad. Warming alcohol presence.

M - Sticky/ bitter. Yeasty/bready. Buttery, although I hate using that word as a descriptor, that's what comes to mind. Nice aftertaste.

Overall, a job well done from the Boston Beer Company once again, easily the best witbier I've had from them yet, as their others were forgettable at best. Quite possibly one of the better witbiers I've experienced in general, so that is also something. Definitely interested in trying more from their imperial series.

Samuel Adams Imperial White ---4/5.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 23:10:36 | More by mfnmbvp