Sam Adams Old Fezziwig

Given that I don't often drink Sam Adams, I really am excited to have this Winter Classics pack, especially after trying the excellent Holiday Porter yesterday. Today I went with the Old Fezziwig Ale which has recently stirred up a little debate on BeerAdvocate over whether this year's version is as good as it's been in the past. Old Fezzy, as they call it, is a malty and spicy beer, brewed with cinnamon, ginger, and orange (peel?), with an ABV of 5.9%.

It poured darker than I expected, though clear at the edges. The smell was largely made up of toasty malt. Given that they say they used a lot of "specialty malt," I'm guessing they used a lot of Munich and/or Victory malt. I also thought I noticed a hint of cinnamon in the aroma, even before I noticed on the label what the beer was brewed with. The taste has that heavily toasty character to it with a certain subtle spiciness that I could not discern by flavor. The spiciness was not too bad because it didn't overwhelm, instead it was only barely noticeable in the background. I thought towards the end I could still pick up on a little cinnamon in the taste, but that might have been more in my head. This, along with the Holiday Porter, is one of the better seasonal beers I've come across this holiday season. Kudos to Sam Adams so far, we'll see how they do with the Cream Stout and the Cranberry Lambic (<<--- not expecting a whole lot). Old Fezzy gets a 4.05 from me, or a B+ on BeerAdvocate.