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

JosiahS

California

3.8/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

a: Hazy orange/peach color. 1-1 half finger white head, fluffy.

s: gym socks, light clove, apricot, bubblegum, orange peel, spicy and generally malty.

t: Bright orange, bubblegum and clove, finishes with orange peel, cinnamon and bready malt.

m: medium body with some slickness to it. Medium carbonation.

o: Spices come through well, any more and it would have been too much for me. A bit sweet for my taste but nice.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2012 00:38:49 | More by JosiahS

BDIMike

Ohio

4.38/5  rDev +24.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Apperance is amazing on this beer. A very bright golden color with a nice haziness to it. A very refreshing column of bubbles rises up and and creates a thick, fluffy white head that doesn't go away at all.
Smell is fantastic. All the usual Christmas spices of nutmeg, cinnamon, and citrus. Really solid smells.
Taste is great. So much better than all of the other Christmas ales on the market. Instead of the usual stout base, there is a strong wheat and citrus base. The spices feed off that very nicely and become the star.
Mouthfeel has a nice refreshing crispness to it.
Drinkability is awesome on this Christmas Ale. A great load of spices with a lower alcohol than most, makes this beer one to drink a 6 pack or more of. Great selection that I am glad I got a 6 pack of. I need to get to the store to get more before its out.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2012 01:51:19 | More by BDIMike

mckenziac

3.85/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a Samuel Adams Boston Lager glass. Taken from a Sam Adams "Winter Classics" variety pack.

Appearance: Pours a hazy golden color. Has a small, fizzy head that dissipates quickly and leaves no lacing.

Smell: Smells wheaty and yeasty with strong winter spice notes, especially cinnamon. Has a slight citrus smell as well.

Taste: Slightly hoppy up front. Starts wheaty and yeasty with strong citrus flavors. Finishes spicy with cinnamon and nutmeg predominantly.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and well-carbonated.

Overall: An interesting new offering from Sam Adams. It's an interesting concept to remove the normal witbier spices, like coriander, and replace them with winter warmer spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg. I think it mostly works here and this is a beer that I definitely wouldn't mind having again or seeing in the mixed packs.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2012 12:16:46 | More by mckenziac

hosehead83

Ohio

3.85/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a standard pint glass
Cloudy apricot in color, with a moderate head of fluffy foam.
Aroma-Citrus zest, subtle nutmeg
Taste-Orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon, spicy wheat. An interesting "lighter' take on a Christmas ale. Not overdone, and pretty refreshing and drinkable for a holiday brew. Flavor gets a little muddled upon warming. Not a great fireside brew, but suitable for a holiday "refresher" or opening gifts on a warm Christmas day in the tropics.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 18:17:05 | More by hosehead83

Domingo

Colorado

3.03/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Oh Sam Adams. Just when we think we're getting rid of the abundance of random wheat-based seasonals, another one comes out.
This one is essentially a holiday spiced witbier.
Looks more or less like a standard witbier. Light in color, foamy, cloudy. No issues here.
The nose has a little cinnamon and nutmeg, plus a distinct wit cirtus-y sourness. Maybe this won't be bad?
The flavor department is really where this one falls apart. Strong cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg hit right away. It's like a pumpkin or holiday beer gone wild. the problem is that on the back end, there's the Sam Adams wheat roughness that only works in a few beers (like Summer Ale). Here it doesn't. Instead it's all spice on the front, wit sourness in the middle, and all husky bitterness on the back end. I don't mind spiced beers, but this one is all out of whack.
No problems with the texture, and I suppose if you're really really into massive spice notes or don't mind that weird back-end, this might be drinkable for you. Maybe non-beer drinkers would like it, too.
A novel idea that just doesn't work. I really wish Boston Beer would stop with the forced wheat seasonals. This might work as a blonde, lager, or porter but as a wit it just doesn't...at least for me.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2012 17:22:47 | More by Domingo

kneeland

North Carolina

3.65/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

I was worried when I poured it. It looks like cloudy beer that's been sitting in a solo cup for a few days. But the head has a good lacey consistency, and it sticks around.

The taste is good, considering I was scared to try it. Nutmeg, wheat, a little citrus, other spices.

It came in the Sam Adams winter pack, and overall I like it, but I'm not positive I would go buy a six pack of it.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2012 17:13:50 | More by kneeland

TheSixthRing

California

3/5  rDev -15%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance - Pours cloudy, pale orange with a white, half finger head. Subpar retention results in sparse lacing.

Smell - Smells of pie crust, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Taste - Follows the nose. Heavy on the nutmeg and cinnamon spices, with a pie crust malt flavor. Faint hint of coriander as the beer heads for the finish, and a subtle wheatness peaks through at the tail-end of the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Light in body, with an almost fizzy carbonation.

Overall - Not very impressed. Reminiscent of their Harvest Pumpkin ale, minus the hints of pumpkin. Is it drinkable? Yeah, but I wouldn't want to buy it again, and I'm hoping it's a one-and-done in the Winter pack.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2012 01:50:33 | More by TheSixthRing

shand

Florida

3.98/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It's 84 degrees out here in Florida. Christmas? Why not! White Christmas pours a golden-white color with a finger of head. The aroma is heavily spiced with all the usual suspects - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc. There's also a strong orange aroma here as well. The flavor is very well-composed, the bouquet of holiday spices interact well with the strong orange flavors. The aftertaste is the nicest part of the beer, with the orange, a touch of wheat, and a bit of lingering spice leaving a very good impression. The mouthfeel is light and moderately carbonated, and the drinkability is good. Overall, White Christmas is a nice holiday beer. I'm not sure it needs to be with the fairly similar Old Fezziwig and Winter Lager, but it's tasty and well-done. Balance is the name of the game here.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 19:04:14 | More by shand

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served in a Walter Payton shaker pint glass.

I think it's way the hell too early for Bing-o to be crooning his signature at me, but that's a vain argument for another time. This stuff pours a hazy golden straw topped by a finger of white foam. The nose comprises orange zest, coriander, light wheat, and a pinch each of black pepper and clove. The taste brings in more of the same, along with some brown sugar and some fairly strong ginger. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, though nothing is necessarily outstanding here, this beer was pretty tasty and enjoyable. The spices are definitely present, but they're also balanced against the citrus-y wheat so they don't get out of hand. Not bad.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 14:14:26 | More by TMoney2591

rfgetz

Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a hazy straw color, moderate head. Scent is very pale with notes of pilsner and wheat malts, giving a little grainy tang to the nose, some faint seasonal spicing and a touch of lemon peel. Taste is light as well, faint notes of wheat and pilsner malt, lemon rind and seasonal spicing and faint as well. Lighter side of medium. Drinakable - yes, memorable - no.

Serving type: on-tap

01-02-2013 16:32:03 | More by rfgetz

zachary80

Indiana

3.2/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Good white head, hazy golden body with an orange tint. Great lacing.

Aroma of a spiced witbier - cinnamon and nutmeg, check. Not picking up orange peel in the aroma. Doesn't smell all that appealing. Average score since it met the basic expectation.

Taste starts with the same spices up front, then a bland wheat finish. Some nutmeg lingers. The spices seem to dominate the weak base beer.

Full-bodied, fits the rest of the beer well. Basically what you'd expect from a "winter" wheat - a little beefed up, but not overly so.

Overall not a fan of how the flavors come together, although the problem may be that I don't enjoy the underlying beer. Technically good, but not very enjoyable. Would not recommend.

Serving type: nitro-tap

12-05-2012 03:26:24 | More by zachary80