Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from Sam Adam's Winter Classics mix-pack purchased in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable, 5.9%

Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale

Appearance: This is a clear, very filtered, reddish/brown beer. In low light the beer looks dark brown/purple. There is a wonderful 4-finger, tan/orange, thick, and creamy head on this beer. Carbonation is moderate to high, and there is nice lacing.

Aroma: On the nose I am getting big toffee and caramel, candied dark fruits, hints of fruit cake and licorice, lots of raisins, and a hint of ginger or cinnamon. The nose is malt forward with raisins.

Taste: Yum, this is big and malty. You get carbonation and cream up front; you are greeted with big caramel and toffee malts with some hints of chocolate. You also get raisins up front. There are definitely spices in this, especially towards the middle and back. Nutmeg and cinnamon dance on the palate. I'm not really getting as much orange peel as I thought I would; there are faded fruit notes, but I'm mostly getting a lot of raisin. The body is malty and substantial enough for a Brown Ale-type beer.

Body/Mouthfeel/Complexity: Carbonated, smooth, drinkable; the 5.9% isn't opposing. This is medium-light with some complexity but a slightly watery finish. The mouthfeel has good depth up front, but doesn't fully support the big malt and spice profile. The front is malt and raisins; the middle is malt and spices, and maybe a flirt with the orange peel; the back end is lingering spice and maybe slight dryness. It does leave you hanging a bit.

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 80%

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Comments: Old Fezziwig is another one of Sam Adam's winter standbys. This is probably the second most sought after Sam Adam's winter beer behind the Winter Lager. Sam Adam's describes the beer as malty with sweet toffee, sweet caramel, dark roasty chocolate, and lots of cinnamon, ginger, and orange peel. It sounds a bit like the Winter Lager, to be honest.

This is clearly a Christmas/Winter Spiced Beer. Sam Adam's describes it as a "classic brown ale." Ratebeer dumped it into the Spiced beer category, and BeerAdvocate put it into the "Winter Warmer" category, which I'm just going to ignore as per this quote from the BCJP: "English-style Winter Warmers (some of which may be labeled Christmas Ales) are generally not spiced, and should be entered as Old Ales." I think it is fairly clear that this is a spiced beer made for Christmas.

This beer uses Noble hops, orange peel, ginger, cinnamon, pale malts, and chocolate malts. Clocking in at 5.9% ABV and packing 213 calories per bottle, this should hopefully be just as good, if not better, than the Winter Lager.

Conclusion: This is my favorite 'Christmas Spiced Beer' from the Sam Adam's Winter Classics mix pack. I'm going to have to see if this stuff comes in a 6-pack for future reference. 

I'm really digging the malts in this beer. The caramel and toffee hit your palate right up front. The raisins and spices are very nice as well. This beer would be right at home with Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. 

The only thing holding this beer back is the slightly thin body. If this is truly a spiced Brown Ale than it should not be too heavy, but with the big malts I'd say a rounded finish from front to back is desirable. Still, this is a very good beer.