It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale

Tonight's selection is an old favorite:  Sam Adams's Old Fezziwig Ale.  Back before the craft beer explosion, Samuel Adams was the original craft brewer.  After I turned 21, Santa would always bring me a Sam Adams winter sampler pack, which was always good, especially since I was used to drinking Natty Light.  While Sam Adams usually switches out a beer or two in the sampler pack each year, one of the constants is Old Fezziwig.  I credit Old Fezziwig for my love of winter beers, since I'm pretty sure it was the first one I had.  And I liked it.  In addition to having a great, Dickensian name, Old Fezziwig is dark, caramely, and malty, with some hints of spices, like ginger and cinnamon, but the spices are not overpowering.  And, at a relatively low 5.9% ABV, it's not going to give you visions of Jacob Marley.

Name:  Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale
Brewery:  Boston Beer Company
Location:  Boston, Massachusetts
ABV:  5.9%
IBU:  25
Good for drinking if:  it's your daughter's fifth birthday and you feel like having a beer while she and her sister run off the massive amounts of sugar they have consumed this evening.
Rating:  4.5 stars (out of 5)