Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week": Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Dec 12, 2007 7:00PM

A couple years back we visited the realm of good winter beers. It could be said that it was one of these posts that was the genesis of the "BotW" series. But we can't remember if we ever covered these beers individually for "BotW" consideration. Today, we rectify that, with one of our personal favorites.

From that post, our tasting notes on Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale:

A creamy, honey-colored ale with a smooth malt flavor and small bubbles on the head, this is another guilty pleasure for Chicagoist. This ale is brewed in honor of Wassail, the winter celebration (and hot ale drink) that predates Christian times. That should please the Bill O'Reillys and James Dobsons among us. Like Anchor Christmas ale each year's label for this is different. It also makes a tasty base for wassail.

It begs for one of those "couldn't have written it better ourselves... oh, wait, we did" jokes. Seriously, we've loved Sam Smith's Winter Welcome ever since we became fascinated with quality beer. Buying a few bottles every year has become a tradition, if only to see what label the brewery comes up with every year. Treat yourself right and get some of this week's "Beer of the Week" for yourself.