Samuel Smith's Organic Pale Ale

Samuel Smith's Organic Pale Ale.

5 % ABV. 31 IBU. Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England. 

Over ten years into this blog thing and I'm still working on closing the gap on Samuel Smith's, one of my longtime favorite breweries. Let's drink a fairly fresh pale ale and look back at my long-ago notes later. 

Clear, coppery/bronze coloring, slim white head. 

In the nose: Soft and slightly sweet. A mite bit buttery, butterscotch, even, but not from any flaw. This is intentional for the style. Some fruitiness, touch of citrus.

In the mouth: Crisp and clean. Ever so slight hop bitterness, more malty. Malt and hops make for excellent balance and supreme drinkability. Medium bodied, very smooth and mellow. Perfect example of an English pub ale, pale ale par excellence. 

That's what I think now. But I had different thoughts in February of 2003, when I posted this to BeerAdvocate.com: Pours a huge, and well-retained creamy head, with a pale amber color. Aroma is soft, slightly floral, faint fruitiness, some citrus, but very mellow in the hop department. Overall, a sweetish palate, practically nil on the bitterness scale. 

Light texture, very easy mouthfeel, lacks some substance. Doesn't need any really, for the purposes of this style. It's a pub ale, with not so much flavor to take your attention from the football or the darts. Slightly coppery, tangy taste, a little buttery.

My least favorite Samuel Smith's beer, just too mild and pale for my taste, although perfect for what it tries to be. I compare all "pale ales", sometimes unfavorably, against hoppier American craftbrew versions.

Man, what a jerk I was! I gave it a 3.38/5, 13% below the average. Ignore what I said18 years ago. What a terminal snot. 

A delicately flavoured golden ale in which subtle fruity esters from the Samuel Smith yeast strain interact with a background of maltiness and fresh hops. Brewed with water, organic malted barley, organic hops and yeast; fermented in ‘stone Yorkshire squares’.