Old Fezziwig Ale

Samuel Adams' Old Fezziwig AleSamuel Adams describes their seasonal Old Fezziwig Ale as "spicy and bold, a big Christmas cookie of a beer." It’s a brown ale style of beer sitting at a warm 5.9% alcohol, and comes in their seasonal packs during the holiday season.

Appearance: Clear brown with garnet tints. Tan head, smooth, collapsed relatively quickly.

Smell: Spicy and malty. Hint of cinnamon; toffee; molasses?; maple syrup.

Taste: Brown ale with a kick. Black pepper at the back of the throat; bitter orange; cinnamon bark; chocolate malt; twiggy/woody. Cloves?

Mouthfeel: A little light, with a woody feel. Kind of wassail-y with the spices and orange.

Overall: Not sure what to expect with a name like "Old Fezziwig," but I thought it turned out remarkably better than I was expecting. A good holiday ale, not overpowering in the spices.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a decent 85 out of 100, with 97% of reviewers approving it. On RateBeer, it scores 3.37 out of 5, and is in the 74th percentile.