Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Another seasonal beer to finish before the Spring starts, another winter seasonal from Samuel Adams.  It's hard to walk in to tasting a beer like this without the sour memory of the last couple of beers I've had by them, but I did my best to put that behind me as I opened Samuel Adams Winter Lager.  The description on the label called out ground ginger, cinnamon, and orange peel infused into their lager, so one can assume this is their attempt at a spiced beer.

Samuel Adams Winter Lager poured into the glass with little head to speak of, with a medium amounts of carbonation trails passing through the cherry wood colored lager.  The nose smelled like generic light malt extract  with some hop spice to it, but I was surprised that none of the aforementioned infused spices came through.

When drank, Samuel Adams Winter Lager offered a very mild, lemon flavored front that sat in the palette and didn't do anywhere.  There were hints of roasted malts, some earthy flavors to indistinct to put my finger on that may have been the spices, and a somewhat slow, dull linger.

I'm surprised the brewers at Samuel Adams exercised as much restraint as they did with this lager, especially considering my experience with their other seasonals.  There is an undefinable earthiness to it that makes it apropos to the season, but as a whole it doesn't stand up to most of the winter varietals I've had and never transcends being average.  That's more than I can say for my past experiences with them!