John Smiths Original Bitter / Extra Smooth

Brewed by John Smiths (Heineken UK)
Style: Bitter
Tadcaster, England

Serve in English pint

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A guilty pleasure. This is a creamy amber brew that's not really long on flavor, but has a nice mouthfeel. If I was still living in the UK I wouldn't bother, but being back in Canada, this beer brings back fond memories. Nice for session drinking.

Faint hops in the aroma. Dark honey/caramel colour with a creamy head that lasted the distance. Touch of bitterness but not much else in the taste department. Could drink plenty of these but one was enough.

Can Absolutely no aroma. Nice chestnut colour, low creamy head. Could not detect any flavor either - weak beer. Med body - anonymous finish.
Earlier Rating: 10/8/2002 Total Score: 2.2
nitrokeg tap. Dark golden amber color. Very very lightly malt taste. Slightly acidic aroma. Boring watery aftertaste.

Canned. Creamy head (because of the little ball inside the can!). Strange mouldy aroma with some roasted malt. Not good!! Mild taste with a little fruit. This is the worst of the English bitters I had on my trip to London. Only good thing about this bitter is the smoothness....

Canned. John Smith’s Original bitter. Sadly, I had about twenty of these on Friday night. Amber / brass coloured body with a full cream head. Biscuity malt flavour. Thin bodied easily quaffable.
Earlier Rating: 12/14/2003 Total Score: 2.2
Draught. at Ha Ha’s, the West End. London.
Not really a lot of rating to be had at this place. I just has this as joke really. Just the one. Tawny amber coloured body, masses and masses of cream that field the glass. Tastes like bitter water. Thin on the palate, most forgettable.

UPDATED: JAN 18, 2006 Original Rating (6-4-5-2-13=3.0): Biscuity malt aroma. Creamy white head on brown body. Some grain bitterness with a toasty character. Very smooth almost oily mouthfeel. I could have sworn it was nitro. Can.
Rerate (6-5-4-2-9=2.6): Mild fruitiness pairs well with caramel and lightly grainy malt with some herbal hops apparent also in the subdued but pleasant aroma. Crystal clear mahogany brown body is topped by a dense, fine bubbled, off white, nitro head that lasts throughout and coats the glass. Mild fruitiness to the light caramel malt flavour along with a mild bitterness that appears in the finish, but all in all there is not a lot of flavour. Light body with moderate carbonation and that creamy smooth nitro mouthfeel. Can’t help but feel this would be a better beer if bottle conditioned. Served relatively soon after being brought in from the cold Canadian winter. Half pint glass. Can (Gift, Jan-05).

Caramel in colour. Aroma has some sweetness and faint hops to it. Flavour had some sweetness to it but was rather weak. Finished a bit watery with a short bitterness.

Very nice colour of dark copper with a very thick almost white head. Thick enough almost to stand a pretzel in. A slight caramel aroma complemented with grainy notes. the taste starts out less than bold and dissappears fast to its bitter end. Very smooth and a slight bit watery. Very easy drinking.

This beer poured more of a dark golden color with a hint of ruby to it. Nothing much to say except the head stayed along the edge of the glass all the way down.

On Tap: Hard Rock Cafe, London. Light amber colored with a thin head. Has no flavor and no aroma. Like bitter water. Okay, maybe a little hops and malt. Finish sour and bitter.