Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Today was one of the first cold days of the year.  To celebrate this (late) coming of winter, I decided to crack open a "winter lager".  It comes in a 355mL brown bottle, with the standard "Sam Adams" embossing above the label.  It has 5.5% alcohol/vol, and a best-before date of October 2012.  I was originally hoping that "winter lager" meant an eisbock, but the alcohol content is far too low.

When opened, I was surprised by the spices.  It reminded me a lot of the Santa Swillie.  It poured a dark red colour, with lots of bubbles and a thin dark head.  Very visually appealing.  I had to look very hard to see the floaties.  The spicy aroma was almost all gone after the pour, replaced with a slight maltiness.

This beer was rich.  The flavour was almost all malt.  The beer was very smooth.  There was almost no hoppiness to it at all.  There was a slight spiciness to it, but not overpowering.  Overall, I wouldn't think of this as a winter beer.  However, this beer was pretty damn good.