Samuel Smiths Old Brewery Pale Ale

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Tadcaster, England

Pours copper into the glass with a small white head. Aroma is very weak. Some sweet malt coming through, but virtually nothing else. Flavor is some soft caramel malts with a slight hop balance. This would make a nice session beer, but is a bit on the pricey side.

Sooooo I’m back to Samuel Smith, after previous poor experiences I’ve decided to have another go. Got the gift pack w/ glass recently assuming the beers are ideally fresh and covered from light exposure. This English Pale Ale is a nice offering. Fruity malts with earthy overtones, the aroma has a light buttery quality. Medium copper in color, very clear with a small filmy head and minor lacing. Fresh and lively to the palate, balanced sweet malt and mildly bitter. Good session beer that drinks nice. Flavors of toffee, raisin, orange zest and buttered bread. Grassy aftertaste that delves into a lingering bitterness. I’m content sipping on this one, much more than in the past.

Bottle, The Champion, London, W1W. Amber pour with a thin, fading head. Aroma was caramel malts, dusty hop. Flavour had more malts, biscuit, toast, and a vague metallic/mineral tang in there towards the end which was bitterish. A tad yawnsome. Not really feelin’ it.

This is a pretty archetypal english bitter - moderately sweet and semi-earthy aroma, with notes of prune and bread pudding, and a tiny bit of hops underneath - lightly bitter up front, followed by some banana bread flavors, honey sweetness, and just enough diacetyl to produce a present, but not intrusive buttery quality - a little nutty toward the end - a fairly solid bitter.

Hazy brown color, beige head. Nose of malts. Flavor of bready malts with some prune dried fruit flavors as well. Soem hops, but they are well-hidden and subtle. Nutty flavor overall, and a bit chewy. Good stuff.

Pours to dark tangerine colour with a clean white head. The initial aroma I got from the bottle was of oats and porridge, but when poured this was a walnut aroma. The malts in this beer do give it a nutty flavour and the hops provide for a nice dry finish.

Bottle - Clear amber with off white head. Medium carbonation. Malty caramel background with a nice blend of slightly citrus hops. (Prob. cascade in there) Pleasant medium bitter finish. A very nice drop.

From a bottle this brew pours a redish amber with a decent head. Malty aroma with a little hops and some caramel - not nearly as citrusy smelling as an American Pale Ale. Nice taste - again, the citrus taste is not nearly as prominent but the malt, spices and honey taste make up for it. Solid beer.