Over the holidays I sampled a fair number of brews and even remembered to take some tasting notes occasionally. So let's get to it.
First you'll notice the 12 Days of Christmas glasses we had this year. Specifically the 7th Day was the glass I used this time around. Alas, they are all packed away now until next year. As is the Santa figure who, along with his twin, hangs around the kitchen during the season. So not exactly the accoutrements one would normally use for serious beer drinking, but hey it was the holidays.
As you can see one of the beers sampled during the holidays was White Christmas. This was from their variety 12 pack Beers of Winter. Unlike past years there were only four varieties in the box. There were four bottles each of White Christmas and the Winter Lager. Then there were two bottles each of the Boston Lager and Old Fezziwig Ale. In the past there have been at least 5 and often 6 different brews represented.
I took to Twitter to complain and actually got a response from Sam Adams. The brewery, not the Patriot/brewer. Anyway they claimed there were 5 varieties to be had in a 24-pack that was special for the holidays. Unfortunately I never found this alleged 24-pack anywhere.
Now to the beer. White Christmas is an ale brewed with spices. Specifically you can detect nutmeg and cinnamon. I am a fan of both, but in a beer a little of them goes a long way.
The first thing you notice are the spices along with a slight flowery scent in the aroma. Flavors of the spices and a hint of pine are the first things to register as you take a swig. Then you detect a slight orange taste. The spices grow stronger and eventually remind you of a pumpkin pie as you drink more of the beer.
White Christmas is definitely a holiday brew. It is too sweet and the spiciness too pronounced for any other time of year. It fits right in though with the festive season and can be enjoyed then. But before Thanksgiving or after the New Years, well it's just too much.
In the month of December I might be generous and give this 6 mugs out of 10. But now it's January so I'm afraid over all I give White Christmas from Samuel Adams 5 mugs out of 10.