Samuel Adams Imperial White Ale

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Very sweet. Aroma is very mild. To me it did not have the alcohol flavors that many reviews related. For the ABV, I think it was well hidden and surprisingly smooth. Relatively thick on the palate but with almost no head (12oz bottle). Not bad at all in my opinion.

Only the faintest aroma of clove. Cloudy copper, thin head. Medium mouthfeel. Sweet flavor of hard candy and cream., with cloves buried in there somewhere. Cloying and without balance. Cotton candy palate. Bears no resemblance to a traditional witbier. Subpar as a double. Samuel Adams should shit can this failed experiment before it ruins its reputation.

(Bottle from McKean and Charles) Pours fairly cloudy deep amber with a tallish biege head in my weizen glass. Head is quite well-retained. Aroma of banana, citrus, caramel and sugary rock candy. Mouthfeel is wheaty smooth, fairly thick and a little sticky on the back end. Nice, rather well-retained rings of lacing. Flavor is sweet and kind of boozy - kind of like a weizen bock but not quite as malty and boozy and not quite as complex. Flavors of caramel, spice and rock candy. The spice element is notably good. Pretty hot but not really in a detracting way. A bit more malt backbone would have helped. Quite a bit better however than the scores here indicate IMO although I think there is a bit of anti-SA bias. The two beers it brings to mind to a degree are Southampton Double White and Les Trois Mousq. (sp?) Imp Weizen.

Sample at AleFest Columbus (06/27/09): This beer is a hazy yellow-orange color with a medium thin white head that dissipates steadily. Thin rings of lacing on the glass. Aroma of yeast, citrus and malt. Light to medium body with flavors of grainy malt, brown sugar and citrus. Spices in the background too. The finish is coriander and yeast with a fruity aftertaste. Above average overall.

12 oz bottle. Pours bright amber with 2 finger white head and great lacing. Aroma full of yeast, spices such as coriander and some light fruit. Light on the tongue with some banana, yeast, and coriander. Medium heaviness in the mouth. Solid brew.

Pours a cloudy golden orange hue with a thin white head. Aroma is very spicy with some coriander and wheat. Tastes quite fruity with orange and apricot with more spices including coriander, very sweet flavors of syrup and sugar, and some wheat and yeast notes. Rather heavy body with some of the alcohol coming through though most of it is hidden well. Worth a taste.

12 oz bottle from Spyder, split with my wit-loving wife. Unfortunately, neither of us could finish 6 ounces of this drain pour. Hazed golden orange with a fizzy white head. Massively spiced nose, scads of coriander, somewhat astringent. Harsh on the tongue, boozy and medicinal, far too much coriander. Thick body. Hated it, and only made it through 5 oz.

Spectrum of orange to gold body with a proud off white head, a bit too much carbonation and banana in the mix, yet a nice diversion.