Notes on beers brewed by
One of the relatively new, 12oz slender bottles. Ostensibly a black pour, but some red-garnet highlights at the edges. Head decent, but retention and lace not great. Nose is a cocoa powder extravaganza, quite extraordinary. Tastes are a bit more chocolate milk-like, but either way the chocolate element is quite pronounced. That's a good thing for a beer labeled this way. It does seem to get sweeter on warming, and with building volume. Despite the organic label, to me, the chocolate doesn't...
I have to admit I'm not 100% sure that this beer is any different to this, but for now I'll add it as a separate beer and see if I can get some confirmation. I have a feeling that it might be the same, because I know for a fact I've drunk this many times before, and I would most likely have taken some notes. However, in the beer advocate db (yes I still look at that from time to time) they are listed as two different beers. I'm unconvinced. 355 mL bottle, part of a recent Half-Time purchase....
550 mL bottle in the usual Sam Smith's fruit series presentation. This bottle came from Horrocks in Battle Creek, MI. Aggressive pour serves up a pitted white head that is not too well retained, on top of a pretty, bright orange body. Tiny amounts of lace. Nose offers a light, generic fruit note. I'll say one thing about the Sam Smith's fruit beers, they certainly bring a genuine fruit flavor to the party. Now, is that something that I want or care for in many instances, well no, but it's hard...
Additional note 02/03/23 (pictured) A cloudier, more brownish/orange color than the red garnet noted in 2009 below. Head is excellent this time around too, with good retention and some fantastic lace. All in alll it looks quite different to what it did 14 years ago. Updated label of course as well. Chewy and substantial in the mouth, with the drier element this time around, and bettered retention, the beer feels substantial even though this is listed at 8.0% rather than the original 9.0%. Not...
Additional notes 07/06/23 (pictured) 14 years on the notes and experience are basically identical. Sam color, same nose and tastes, same attitude. Original notes 07/02/09 550 mL bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Poured into a wine glass. Pour is a strawberry blonde body, well carbonated with a slightly off-white, high head. Retention and lace are very good. Mild, sweet fruit in the nose. Seems balanced. Strawberry juice is present in the tastes but it is fairly muted. Definitely the most...
Additional notes 06/20/23 (Pictured) Now $7.99 for the 550 mL bottle, from Horrock's Market, Battle Creek, Michigan, USA. Fourteen years on, and almost identical thoughts to those that are given below. Strong raspberry seed on the nose, and still quite drinkable if you can get past the slight, cough-mixture feeling. Color is still amazing! To be honest I don't hate this beer, BUT about once every 14 years is the correct frequency! Original notes 06/10/09 550 mL bottle from Hop City, Atlanta,...
Additional notes 08/13/23 (pictured) Not as sweet or cough syrupy as one might think, it's still as drinkable (on rare occasion) as it has been over the years. The fruit is prominent, but it has a light, tart cherry edge. has a lot of the 1970s and 1980s Cherry Drop sweets (candy) about it. Still easy drinking in small amounts once a year, still enjoyable. Original notes 08/21/08 Drunk at the The Citte of York on Holborn in summer 2007. Reviewed from notes. I must admit that I initially bought...
Additional notes 07/08/23 (pictured) This is now called "Pure Brewed ORGANIC LAGER BEER". This is a 355 mL bottle from Half-Time, not one of the old, larger bottles. The clarity and pale color of the pour is quite staggering, as is the lacing which is excellent. Head is not incredibly well retained by the lace almost makes up for it. Nose is grassy (see below), and there is a sweet, clean feel about the beer. If I'm honest it's a little too sweet for me, and although still very drinkable and...
550 mL, dark brown, sturdy looking bottle, so not quite a full English pint, but almost there. Pours to give a nice soapy looking thin head, a golden orange body and a hint of chill haze. The nose is made up mainly of sweet hops. As expected a mild flavored beer, with a low-profile hop tang, a dryish mouthfeel and some lovely, classic English malt balance. To go with the hops we have a hint of walnuts of all things, and a very refreshing drinkability. Reminiscent of a cask beer in most ways,...
Additional notes 02/05/23 (pictured) Still not a beer that gets me excited. There's a lack of depth for my palate which may have been spoiled by almost 2two-and-a-half decades in the USA (I accept that), but it always feels a bit thin. I have this on draft many times too, but I just don't recall much about those experiences, most of them were years ago. Original notes 11/19/05 My interest in brown ales was recently revived by Tommyknocker and Rogue Hazelnut, which both proved to be really...
Beautiful crystal clear copper colored pour, with a small off-white head and some lacing. Soft, sweet malts dominate what little aroma there is. The aroma, of course, improves with warming. Very malty all the way through which is not necessarily out of character for an English Pale Ale that tend to (with the exception of the IPA's) steer slightly away from the hop emphasis we see so often in the USA. Lovely smooth drink with a wonderful cream/bitter lingering finish and aftertaste. Also...
Pictured 07/13/23 Original notes 02/27/05 A definite viscosity in the pour, that, coupled with the opaque blackness, lets you know that you are in for something of genuine quality. Pour is classic, black stout black, with a small, bubbly head that ultimately fades to the type of head I love on a Porter or Stout - that classic, spotty, creamy, tan film that lingers and laces the glass. Initial notes are of depth. Deep, bitter flavors of cooking chocolate - that really bitter, cocoa flavor, a...
Additional notes 07/09/23 (pictured) Color, as noted below, a resplendent orange, with some tremendous head and some decent lace. Cracking looking. As notes, a classic, light drinking, subtley hopped (in the grand scheme) ale that dances on the tongue oh so stealthily. Gentle, but with presence. Original notes 02/06/05 In the light of the "kick you in the balls", over the top-hopped nature of so many (especially American) IPAs these days, I suspect that this beer is going to disappoint many....
What's this all about then? I have to laugh at the style that BA lists this as, "Euro Pale Lager". Of course, Americans are still under the impression that England is part of Europe in a way that reaches beyond geography, when *we* all know that anything that comes out of Yorkshire is likely to be as un-Eurpoean as a trip to Walmart in Villa Rica,GA. Anyway, back to the beer. Crystal clear yellow, with a very large attractive head. Extremely smooth (which is good) without a hint of skunk or...
2022-2023 (pictured) 11/26/2022 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II commemorative edition. So, so flavorful as always, but it f it's possible this seems so much richer and fuller than years gone by. Delicious biscuit flavors as usual, the kiss of hops and a clarity and mouthfeel to die for. Simplicity itself, one of my favorite, British bottled beers of all time. 2007-2008 Vintage (Additional notes 02/08) Thanks to Penney for this gift. 500 mL bottle. Biscuit malts still there behind the great...
Pictured 07/13/23 Original notes 02/07/04 550 mL clear bottle, Arbor Beverage Depot, Douglasville, GA. $3.99. Jet black, and pours with a beautiful frothy, thick head. The head is almost a strawberry blond in color and is persistent. The overall aroma is sweet, with the predominant taste being sweet maltiness. There is very little bitterness. A really creamy, full mouthfeel and mild aftertaste completes the experience. The sweetness is definitely the major factor here. Not a brutal stout like...
Pictured in Athens, GA, USA on 12/17/21. Updated Review 02/08 355 mL bottle as single as a gift from Penney - many thanks. Sherry aromas are still present for me (after all these years). Simple beer, remains smooth and tasty. I like a little more cream in my Porters but still a classic standard, especially when you consider what I can reasonably get in the USA. Original Review 01/04 A sherry/sweet coffee aroma came before a fast fading "reddish" head. The head left the beer quickly with very...