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...
Notes on beers brewed by
Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
Samuel Smith
Samuel Smith’s Organic Strawberry Fruit Beer
500 mL bottle from Hop City, Atlatna, 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 reserved in terms of fruit of the three Smith's fruit beers (Cherry and Raspberry being the others). Sweet and sour which finishes quite dry. Malts dominate. Extremely...
Samuel Smith’s Organic Raspberry Fruit Beer
Intresting to say the least. I first came across the cherry version of this, bottled in London in the summer of 2007. I quite enjoyed that, so I thought it would be a good bet that I would like the raspberry and strawberry version recently arrived in the US - started with the Raspberry. 500 mL bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. $5.99. The beer pours with an amazingly deep, crimson color and a HIGH, pinkish head. Decent lace. Doesn't look a great deal like beer, but it IS exceptional in...
Samuel Smith’s Organic Cherry Fruit Beer
Drunk at the The Citte of York on Holborn in summer 2007. Reviewed from notes. I must admit that I initially bought this beer at the bar simply to try it as a novelty. At the time I hadn't been back to England in a very long time, and I was anxious to try as many beers that I knew I could get when I got back to the US as possible. I had low expectations, but they were handsomely exceeded. Odd looking pour from the bottle, giving and almost brown, cloudy concoction. It reminded me of an...
Samuel Smith’s Organically Produced Lager Beer
Extremely smooth, with a sweet sensation from the golden pour. Lots of clarity and some decent carbonation. Not much head or lacing. Some grassy aroma's dominate, but not in any kind of funky way. The tastes are quite sweet, but the overwhelming sensation that is left behind is a highly drinkable smoothness. Easy drinking, refreshing and smooth. Nice.
Samuel Smith’s Organically Produced Ale
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,...
Samuel Smith’s
Nut Brown Ale
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...
Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Pale Ale
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...
Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout
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 small amount of smoke - but very little, and...
Samuel Smith’s India Ale
In the light of the "kick you in the balls", over the top-hopped nature of so many (especially American) IPA's these days, I suspect that this beer is going to disappoint many. Of course, the reason that others will find it a let down, is the same reason that I enjoyed it so much. Subtlety and balanced are in the brew in abundance and its better for it. This is its main strength. A light orange colored pour, typical for your general IPA and a modest but well formed head meet the eye. The...
Samuel Smith’s Pure Brewed Lager Beer
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...
Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome Ale
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...
Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout
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 some can be, but a gentle, caressing brew...
Samuel Smith’s, The Famous Taddy Porter
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 little lacing and no creamy...