Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig
Brewed By: Samuel Adams
Brewed In: Boston, MA/Cincinnati, OH
ABV: 5.6%
Type: Winter Warmer
What they say: “Old Fezziwig Ale is in the tradition of special seasoned beers for the winter Holidays, and takes its name from the festive character in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”. This is a hearty, rich, brownish-red ale that gets its character from large amounts of specialty malts. These roasted caramel and chocolate malts give it a very full body and a smooth taste that’s then spiced with a touch of cinnamon, ginger, and orange. Happy Holidays.”
Website: Couldn’t get a blurb off their website as I was writing this because they still have a stupid Flash website that isn’t indexed by Google. So, not only could I not get information about their beer at the time I was writing this, but Sam’s website doesn’t even come up on the first page in Google. And, confidential to the site that shall not be named: Making your search function require log in is really dumb when I can go to Google, type a beer name and your site’s name, and go directly to the page. This is reason number two you shall remain the site that shall not be named in my heart.
Why I picked it: This is beer four of six in 2009′s Sam Adams Winter Classics. This beer has only been, and is pretty much always, available in the Winter Classics pack.
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Presentation (5): One of the few Sam Adams beers that eschews the traditional image of Sam Adams holding a mug in some way, shape, or form. I don’t think it’s ever changed — likely because it was designed before Sam went corporate and worried about things like branding and such. Since it’s never sold outside of the holiday pack, there’s no reason to rigorously brandify the bottle. The neck label has the beer’s name written on a festive red ribbon and the primary image is Old Fezziwig tipping his hat to the drinker while a well-dressed lady looks on like she wants a little of him. I’ve always liked this label and I like that it’s never changed, thus separating in to “something special” that only shows up in Winter Classics. 5
Originality (5): Another Sam Beer with a largely retroactive originality score. Old Fezziwig was first introduced in 1995 and, again, the craft beer revolution hadn’t quite started. That was back in my supermarket days and I don’t remember anything fancier than Guinness going out the door back then. 4
Body (10): The beer pours brown with heavy carbonation to convey the big flavors. My issue with Old Fezziwig is similar to my general complaint with most early Sam recipes. They’re extremely heavy and almost syrupy. The beer sticks to the tongue, throat, larynx, nose, eyes, hands, belly, and everything else it touches. It’s a heavy-bodied beer that blows out tastebuds without the ABV to really back it up. If a beer’s going to do this to the taste buds, it should at least have the rocks to be the only thing quaffed that night. 4
Taste (10): I’m pretty sure this beer is the granddaddy of Winter Lager. It has the same wintery flavor, but with much bolder caramel and chocolate malt flavor. There’s always been a specific flavor in this recipe that’s bothered me and it took me until now to realize it’s ginger. Once I noticed it, I couldn’t stop noticing. It kills the beer for me. Maybe it’s the combination of chocolate with ginger? I’m not sure. Whatever it is, the beer was never right for me but now I can put a name to it. 6
Efficiency (10): The body is so heavy and the flavors are so bold that it doesn’t really hold up to the 5.6% ABV. The chocolate and caramel is all over your tongue from the first taste through the next three beers. It’s a heavy, meal-like quality beer and not something drinkable for any amount of time. All these things together crushes the efficiency. 4
Versatility (10): Tough to rate because it’s a special thing only included as a treat in the Winter Classics pack. It’s not available in kegs or six-packs and they even stopped offering it as a bomber. I considered N/Aing the versatility rating but, since I don’t do it with Saranac, it’s not fair to do here. There’s just too much flavor here to be good for much. It’s offered perfectly for what it is, but what it is isn’t very versatile. 3
The Snob Sez: I won’t go so far as to say I look forward to my seasonal 24 oz’s of Old Fezziwig, but I will say it’s become enough of a winter institution that I’d miss it if it were gone. I also feel safe in saying that if this didn’t exist, Winter Lager wouldn’t exist as we know it today. For that alone, it has my respect.
Final Score: 26 (of 50) – good beer
Related posts:
- Friday Beer Snob: Samuel Adams Winter Classics 2009 – Winter Lager
- Friday Beer Snob: Samuel Adams Winter Classics 2009 – Cranberry Lambic
- Friday Beer Snob: Samuel Adams Holiday Pack 2009 — Coastal Wheat
- Friday Beer Snob: Saranac 12 Beers Of Winter 2009 – Maple Porter
- Friday Beer Snob: Saranac 12 Beers Of Winter 2009 – Winter Lager
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[...] (5): Like Old Fezziwig, this beer is exclusively brewed for Winter Classics and, as such, has a unique painting for the [...]
[...] Old Fezziwig: I won’t go so far as to say I look forward to my seasonal 24 oz’s of Old Fezziwig, but I will say it’s become enough of a winter institution that I’d miss it if it were gone. I also feel safe in saying that if this didn’t exist, Winter Lager wouldn’t exist as we know it today. For that alone, it has my respect. 26 [...]
[...] Old Fezziwig: I won’t go so far as to say I look forward to my seasonal 24 oz’s of Old Fezziwig, but I will say it’s become enough of a winter institution that I’d miss it if it were gone. I also feel safe in saying that if this didn’t exist, Winter Lager wouldn’t exist as we know it today. For that alone, it has my respect. 26 [...]