Samuel Smiths Old Brewery Pale Ale

Poured deep orange with a off white head. The aroma has that classic Sam Smith skunkiness I find in all their beers. Grain notes and some carmel pepper the aroma. Upon further aroma gathering I noticed that toasted bread and malt become noticable. Flavor is sweet and bread like. Some carmel and toasted notes make their way into the flavor as well.

It’s nice to be re-aquainted with an old friend after a long time seperated,so I was pleased to find this (and others) in a "fine wine" shop that I’d always thought too upmarket to sell beer, mind you, the beers were away at the back and at floor level, so they couldn’t be seen from the street...anyway, I digress!A fine looking beer clean amber in colour with a long lasting white head that’s leaving a nice lace as it goes down the glass. A powerful balanced nose with both the malt and the hops putting in fine performances, the same can be said for the palate, fairly complex but not overpowering, both components balancing the other, a pleasant bitterness and a slightly sweet maltiness, there is a good long finish too! A nice treat, must visit that place again!

The beer seemed a bit excited from the trip from the corner store to my glass. It foamed up a bit upon popping the cap, but I managed to rescue most of it into my glass. As I am pouring this brew, I get definite, disappointing notes of light struck beer. The beer is topped by a frothy, initially three-finger thick, large bubble, lace inducing, tan colored head. The beer itself is a brilliantly clear, ruby hued, dark amber color. The light struck skunkiness seems to fade with time, and notes of toffee, a wisp of diacetyl, toasted grain and some caramel do a fair job of masking that particularly offensive aroma. There seems to be a touch of earthy, lightly herbal hops, though one could certainly wish for a bit more.

My taste buds are greeted by a nice sharp bitterness from the get go, it combines with the carbonation to give this brew a decent bite through to and even magnifying in the finish. Soft fruity notes of apples, a touch of grape-like raisin and some notes of lightly sweet caramel balance out the hop bitterness. There is a nice level of underlying toasted malt character here; it gives the beer a sort of toasted biscuit type note. Also there is just a wisp of diacetyl again, it adds a really subtle buttery quality to this brew, but I am a touch sensitive to this particular flavor. It is not offensive though and helps to add some more complexity to this brew. While light and quaffable, this brew has a certain malty heft to it that is quite nice, again it is another thing that helps to balance the noticeable bitterness.

This is not a bad brew, but it is certainly not great either. Shipping this in brown bottles would certainly help this brew immensely. Still I am perfectly happy sipping an Imperial pint of this brew. While some flavors may be too much, or others lacking, this beer really struck a nice balance between the hoppy bitterness and the multifaceted malt character; it is something the English seem to do well, even in a beer like this.

12oz bottle. It has a nice light amber color and had a small head. Had a yeasty aroma but not powerful. The taste was good, nice carmel and hops.

Pours amber/red with small off-white head. Nose is rather fruity and malty with some slightly bitter floral hops bite. The flavor begins rather malty, nutty, with mild bitterness. It segues into a suprising apple flavor and ends with grapefruit flavored hops. Slightly chalky mouthfeel. Enjoyed this beer.

Bottle. Light brown color. Very malty and sweet for the style. Very light taste of hops kills the sweetness at the finish.

Bottled (thanks sayravai). Amber colour, mediumsized white head. Aroma is plummy malty and a bit spicy. Flavour is spicy, plummy and wellbalanced. Very ’’’’vintage’’’’ feeling over it. Nice for it’s style though.

Bottled@Tuulensuu, Tampere. Amber colour, small beige head. Aroma is hops, wood and some vegetables. Flavour is the same along with some slight licoriceish notes. 6 3 7 3 13.

12 oz bottle. Poured a carmel/amber color with a slightly tan head. Aroma was not really strong but definately could smell the yeast. Flavors were balanced with carmel, malt, hops and definately a great, smooth taste. I really am enjoying all of Samuel Smith’s beers and will pick this one up again.