Samuel Adams Imperial White Ale

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

Bottle: Pours a hazy beige yellow color with a nice white head. The nose is medicinal and full of esters, alcohol and cilantro. The flavor is sweet, sticky, medicinal and very hard to drink. This could use a ton more carbonation, balance and less spicy. Spicy, sweet!

Bottle. Pours a hazy golden brown with a small off-white head. Aroma is fruity citrus, orange peel and coriander. Flavor was sweet with caramel, banana, wheat, citrus and alcohol with soft carbonation and has a medium to full body.

Draft at my local. Pours a hazy orange. I am unaware of the aroma due to the old guy next to me smelling of campfire and mildew, rambling on about NASCAR. I tried to down this one as quick as possible, which may not be a bad thing because the taste was sweet (a bleeh kind of sweet) and uninspiring. Heavy on the vanilla and filling. Syrupy, alcohol is distinct. I wanted to like you, I really did....

(bottle). Cloudy copper color. Small off white head. Strong alcohol aroma with light malt and wheat. Sweet flavors of malt, wheat and alcohol. Avg duration. Smooth finish with light alcohol lasting. Slick texture. Soft carbonation. Spare lacing.

12oz bottle. Pours a murky amber-orange body with a thin, beige, fizzy head that dissipates immediately and leaves a good retention on the glass. This looks no where close to a wit. Aroma is very sugary sweet and fruity. Lots of jumbled, thick, caramels with a light coriander and wheat malt. Orange peel, a very light yeast spice, and some burnt sugar crystals. Not picking up any booze, probably because this has been aging for awhile. Flavor isn’t as jumbled and is rather enjoyable. Starts very sweet, but not as sugary as the aroma. Some slightly bready wheats and flowery fruits come in with the caramels up front before coriander and a light flowery bitterness even out the sweetness. Some orange peel, clove, herbal yeast spice, and a trace of warming alcohol as well. Finishes with some burnt sugar, very sweet malts, coriander, and a light herbal spice. Dry with a light carbonation and a pretty full body. Overall, its a bit jumbled, especially in the aroma, but the flavor was better. Still a little too sweet for me, but besides the warmth at the end, I didn’t pick up on the 10.3% at all. Even though this has been sitting around for awhile, it probably could use some more time. Not bad.

Hazy orange with a small dense head that lingers around for a while. Fruit aroma, spicy alcohol taste. Filling finish.

12 oz bottle courtesy of the Binnys Singles Rack (Orland Park, IL). My adventure into the Imperial Series led me to drink and rate each of these bottles that have been lurking in the fridge. Pours a darker orange amber with decent haze, good carbonation, moderate whitish head that laces well, soapy hold. Aromas are a touch of booziness with coriander the driving force behind it, a touch of sweet maltiness, light orange peel, Belgian yeasty spice, mellow with a touch of harshness behind it. Initial is far too sweet up front, a decent bitterness to temper, but warm upfront, moving into bitterness, and on to the Coriander, orange, and yeasty spice. Finish is warm and boozy as it travels down the throat to the belly. This beer lacks real balance and is harsh on the palate, working in stages rather in a coherent harmony. Stale wheat and pretty copious sweetness through out. I didn’t enjoy this.. but someone might.

Bottle at Stockholm Beer and Whisky 2009. Hazy orange red coloured with a medium sized off white head. Sweet and fruity aroma of caramel, citrus, burnt sugar and spices. Sweet and fruity flavour of caramel, citrus, burnt sugar, coriander and rubber. Sweet and citric finish.