Samuel Smith's Organic Strawberry Fruit Beer - Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)

buyBinboaVodka

New Jersey

1.95/5  rDev -48.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

A - Poured from a bottle into a chalet. Poured a hazy amber with reddish highlights. Head was ginormous with sticky lacing all around the glass.

S - Sweet and sour strawberries up front followed by...strawberries. Almost a smell similiar to a starwberry wine cooler. This has an attractive scent to it.

T - Straight up sweet strawberry soda. I can't really taste any malts in there. It kind of tastes like a strawberry cough syrup to the end of it.

M - Carbonated like a soda with sweet feeling left in the mouth.

O - I think I'd rather drink a BL lime over this. This actually made my stomach turn a little. I think the smell of this beer might give me a gag reflex. Not my thing, but if somebody wants a strawberry beer...are there many other options?

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2011 20:22:53 | More by buyBinboaVodka

Reswald

Alaska

2.13/5  rDev -43.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Bought this beer on the recommendation of a friend. 500 ml bottle poured into a 21oz snifter.

Poured slightly hazy, Dark honey in color. Nice head. Aroma smelled strongly of fresh strawberries; very nice. Unfortunately the taste was god-awful. Very astringent and nasty. I struggled through a few more sips before pouring the rest down the drain.

I can only assume the bottle had been mistreated. My friend has too good a palate to have touted me on this beer if it had tasted like this to him!

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2009 19:24:03 | More by Reswald

Amalak

New York

2.25/5  rDev -40.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

I had out of the bottle that a friend brought over.
A- It has an opaque brown and red rue. There was some head and lacing.
S- The fruity strawberry scent certainly comes through.
T- Taste like a Belgian beer that had a bunch of strawberry jolly ranchers dropped in. Terrible. Sorry if a lot of people like this, but I am simply not a fan at all.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2010 17:27:42 | More by Amalak

jsanford

Georgia

2.42/5  rDev -35.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

550ml bottle poured into a Pint Glass.

A - Pours a hazy orange-red with a thin off-white head that dissipates to a slight haze.
S - Uhhh....strawberries. I'm really getting a strawberry yogurt thing here, lots of strawberries, a bit of tartness, perhaps just a whiff of sweet cereal grain.
T - Yeah, that is definitely a strawberry beer! Tastes a lot like a strawberry candy, someone below me said Pez and that sounds about right. Strawberry Pez and sweet cereal grains. Not really my thing, but I guess if you're a strawberry fan this would be right up your alley.
M - Syrupy, with a medium mouth-feel and moderate carbonation.
O - Borderline novelty beer for me, just way too sweet and fruity. No thanks.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2011 03:37:42 | More by jsanford

zeio

California

2.5/5  rDev -33.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

This beer is not like a fine Lindeman's lambic or a carefully constructed fruit beer. This beer is sweet fruity and the taste is simply disjointed for a fruit beer. I would say that a Bartles and James type drink might be more drinkable than this. I expected a lot more from Samuel Smith, and think there is a possibility the bottle I had was shocked during shipment, but there were fundamental things about this beer I would consider changing if this was my effort from my brewery.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2009 06:01:47 | More by zeio

froghop

Washington

2.73/5  rDev -27.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

pours a clear light amber with a tint of red, has a medium light pink head, and some lacing.

smell is of grain, fruit, and some malt.

taste is sweet, berry, and some malt, ends very sweet.

for a fruit beer it is not that bad, too sweet for my liking but has a decent flavor.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2009 01:52:28 | More by froghop

jsisko01

Michigan

2.8/5  rDev -25.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance - Pours an orangish/apricot color with a half inch thick, off-white head that dissipates instantly.

Smell - Very sweet and I can only detect strawberry aromas..

Taste - WAY too fruity.. Extremely sweet and you have to really love strawberries to enjoy this beer. Slightly bitter in the finish.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with mild carbonation.

Overall - I'm honestly grossed out by this beer... I can't handle more than a couple sips of it lol.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2012 03:18:57 | More by jsisko01

mithrascruor

California

2.9/5  rDev -22.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

500 mL bottle poured into a pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy light copper color with red highlights. Big rocky off-white head; decent lacing.

Smell: Smells like strawberry candy. And a bit of fresh greens too.

Taste: Seriously tastes like strawberries and their stems. Actually maybe a bit more like that hard strawberry candy than real strawberries. Very sweet. I can't taste anything else in it.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied and a bit fluffy. Light but everpresent carbonation.

Drinkability: If you like the flavor this would probably be good, but it is just so incredibly sweet.

More like candy than a beer. Kinda weird.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2010 02:19:02 | More by mithrascruor

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

2.9/5  rDev -22.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

It is Easter Sunday and I am off tomorrow, affording me the opportunity to try some of the beers that have been in my refrigerator awaiting my having the time to spend with them. I am concentrating on the fruit beers right now, having had cherry beer and cranberry kvass earlier.

From the bottle: "Brewed at Melbourn Bros ancient brewery in Stamford, Lincolnshire and blended and bottled as Samuel Smith's Brewery, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire."; "Handcrafted at Melbourn Bros' tiny brewery set in a time warp in Stamford using the old manually operated brewing equipment. Finest organically grown barley and wheat are used to create a complex ale which, having undergone primary and secondary fermentation with different yeasts and extended maturation, is taken to Samuel Smith's small, independent British brewery in Tadcaster. There it is blended with pure organic strawberry fruit juice and a previously cellared organic brew - creating an unparalleled fruit ale. The smooth distinctive character of the matured ale serves as the perfect counterpart to the pure organic fruit juice."

It was a very active beer with foam that came out of the neck as soon as I popped the cap. It was not a gusher, but I was quick to move it into the sink so as not to have beer all over the counter. The finger of off-white head settled into wisps pretty quickly. Color was an oh-so-slightly hazy orangish amber. Nose was definitely strawberry, but with a slight lemony tang. Mouthfeel was medium with an initial taste of strawberry bubble gum followed by a wheat-like tang. I hate to say it, but this was waaayyy too sweet for the likes of me. Finish left me with the feeling that I was overdosing on kiddie candy. More? No thanks!

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2011 18:38:09 | More by woodychandler

TCgoalie

Michigan

2.95/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A nice frothy head with a strawberry red tint. Very good head retention.

All kinds of strawberry when smelling this. So much that it is tough to tell what else is there. I do smell a bit of a plasticy smell that isn't too nice.

The strawberry taste is fake tasting, like it was from a syrup. There is some essence of malt, but mostly strawberry overkill.

Plenty of carbonation present and after swallowing, it is very similar to the aftertaste of eating a bunch of fruit.

Pretty easy drinker, but the flavor is not that satisfying enough to want more.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2010 03:27:53 | More by TCgoalie

Zorro

California

3/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

An orange colored beer with a small white head.

Smell is strawberries and peaches. There is a little citrus here but this is all strawberry and peach in aroma.

The taste starts out sweet with a mélange of fruit flavors only one of which is strawberry. Strawberry, orange and lemon flavor, unexpectedly sweet. Bizarrely this beer doesn't taste all that much like strawberry more like a mixed fruit parfait there is some melon and caramel in there but the taste is sort of a loud shout of fruit on the tongue. Quite nearly a drain pour here. Honestly this tastes more like a dreamsicle than strawberry.

Mouthfeel is good.

I keep trying to reconcile the taste of this beer with strawberries and I can't match that to the taste. At best this has a remote taste of strawberry. Can't give this a very high rating it is just plain weird tasting.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2010 22:57:03 | More by Zorro

bradleyp

Illinois

3.13/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Thanks again to Market of Choice for keeping this beer in stock, for my girlfriend. I tried a few sips of this beer just to get a taste for it. I'm not a big fan of fruit beers, so i tried to be open minded when trying it.

There is a dark amber/berry color to this beer. The smell of strawberries is very potent throughout. It tasted like strawberry, honey, and possibly raspberry. My girlfriend likes it because it's "Organic" and she loves strawberry. I wasn't too impressed with this beer compared to other sammy Smith's. Give me an Oatmeal Stout any day over this beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2010 05:39:51 | More by bradleyp

zeff80

Missouri

3.13/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A - Poured out a clear, copper color with pink highlights. It had a small, off-white head of bubbly foam that left little to no lacing on the glass.

S - It smelled of strawberry. Like some fake strawberry juice.

T - It tasted of sweet strawberry. Really that's it. It's not a great strawberry flavor like a fresh strawberry.

M - It was crisp, sharp and smooth. A light to medium bodied ale with a dry finish.

O - This is an okay ale. I liked the apricot ale much better.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 03:23:14 | More by zeff80

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.15/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear, appropriately strawberry-hued body with a thin, fizzy, whitish head. Faintly effervescent.

Smell: Strawberries! Then again, it smelled of strawberries even upon opening. Slight hints of malts beneath, but, boy, the strawberry scent is quite strong. Strawberries!

Taste: Strawberries! Let's go with 85% sweet and 15% tart. It feels like theirs a light beer underneath, but who can tell, what with all the strawberries present. Very, very faint hint of acidity. Seems a bit removed from beer and seems to be trying to be a sweet, fruity malternative.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-plus carbonation. Very lightly crisp.

Drinkability: A sweet fruit beer with enough carbonation to keep it from being too terribly cloying, but it still feels, tastes, smells, and seems very malternative-ish. What's gotten into you, Samuel Smith?!

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2009 03:26:25 | More by ChainGangGuy

BierFan

Michigan

3.2/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a brown 550ml(28.7oz) bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: Big fizzy white head has a slight hue of pink. The body is a slightly hazy amber.

Smell: Aroma of strawberries and oxidation. Perhaps it's meant to be somewhat oxidized as the back label says it undergoes "extended maturation" before being blended with a "previously cellared organic brew". Not quite as sweet or fruity as I was expecting.

Taste: A little tartness up front followed by a candy-like strawberry sweetness that stays on your tastebuds for a while.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2009 16:25:47 | More by BierFan

bbkd3b

Missouri

3.2/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2.5

Strawberry beer? Hm... Poured it into a pint glass.

A - A nice, 1-finger head lays on top of a murky, bronze body. Color is a bit-off putting, but there's a fantastic amount of carbonation feeding the head for great retention. Also resulting is a sticky lacing ringing down the glass.

S - Yeasty scents and strawberries galore. A bit sugary... It smells like a fruit preserve more than anything else.

T - Seriously... Strawberries on top of strawberries. There's maybe a bit of malty grains on the side. This hardly tastes like a beer to me. Follows up with an artificial sweetness of sorts... egh.

M - A consistency that slides off of the tongue with a real spot-on carbonation. Finish is remarkably smooth.

D - I don't know... Finishing the bottle was enough for me. I won't go looking for it again.

Overall/notes - This one is tough for me to judge. It does what it wants to, I guess, but I prefer a fruit beer to not overwhelm me. That's the main problem I had here. The strawberries absolutely dominated any other flavor. Good for fans of strawberry jam, I guess.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2010 22:59:26 | More by bbkd3b

Pexkool

Mexico

3.23/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

My girlfriend bought this beer over a shopping impulse after seeing "strawberry juice" on it, so we gave it a try. She doesn't like beers that much, but she liked this one because it doesn't taste like beer at all! ...And I don't know if that's a plus.

A: Hazy amber color, with a thick foamy head about an inch tall that dissipates to a thin lace and then disappears.

S: Strawberries all over the nose. Honestly, I can't smell a thing that isn't strawberry yoghurt and tartiness.

T: Too much strawberry for me, it tastes straightforward like a strawberry soda, including the light carbonation. According to my girlfriend, it tastes like strawberry soda mixed with the lightest beer out there. You can taste a little hint of beer at the end, but I'm not sure if it's yeast, malt or wheat because of the faint taste.

M: Soda-ish, with the carbonation and the strong strawberry flavor. I can't think of anything more appropriate than that of a soda mouthfeel here.

Overall, a beer for people who doesn't like beer. My girlfriend liked it because the bitterness of the hops is very well hidden in this beer, and it doesn't taste much like beer at all! I didn't liked it because of the strong strawberry flavor it has, it's just too much for me. I prefer a strong chocolatey stout over this any time.

I didn't liked it, but she did! so 3.5 for effort (and because we finally found a beer for her)

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2011 22:47:06 | More by Pexkool

Patrick999

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is probably my least favorite of the Sam Smith fruit beers. Amber color, not red, but then again strawberries don't really contribute that much red coloring. Strawberry jam aroma. In the taste, some strawberry with a little medicinal tartness. I don't think the strawberry plays as well with the base beer as the cherries and raspberries do in their respective editions. Hyper-carbonated and sticky on the palate.

I could drink it again, paired with the right dessert, but otherwise I'd probably reach for the raspberry or cherry ahead of it.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2010 22:21:27 | More by Patrick999

jtierney89

New Jersey

3.3/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Clear orange hue with a soft peach head, nice sticky lacing. Smells of fresh strawberry sherbert or strawberries and cream even.

Brisk carbonation with a body on the thinner side of medium. Sweet strawberry flavor throughout, silky mouthfeel. Some pale malt shines through and a touch of either yeast bite or hop kicks in to remind you it's still a beer. The snap at the end balances the beer pretty well with only a touch of lingering sweetness.

Good balance and refreshing. Doesn't taste artificial like other fruit beers but it is very close to tasting like sparkling strawberry juice.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2012 03:04:34 | More by jtierney89

portia99

Massachusetts

3.33/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

550ml bottle poured into a Bruery tulip.

A - Pours a slightly pinkish orange color with a loose and somewhat quick dissipating white head...leaves a decent layer of bubbles on the surface.

S - Not surprisingly, this smells largely of fresh strawberries, a touch of vinegary sourness. No hint of hops or malt in the nose - all fruit. Does smell pretty darn good if you like strawberries though, which if you are drinking this beer, you probably do.

T - Tons of strawberry in the flavor too. Very up front and strong. Pretty sweet in overall impression with a slightly strange confectioners sugar character. A touch of astringency and a bit of a tartness from the fruit as well. No hop flavor or bitterness to be found and only the faintest of cereal grainy malt.

M - This is really where I get the most of the confectioners sugar thing. This beer has a sweet and almost powdery feel in the mouth. Carbonation is lower than I expected here - plenty there, but thought it would be more on the high end of the carbonation scale. Overall a very sweet beer that leaves a lingering sugary impression well into the aftertaste.

D - Low in alcohol, high in residual sugar content and fruitiness. If Lindeman's made a strawberry lambic, it might be something like this, but they would probably do a better overall job. Strawberries don't seem to have enough tartness to them to make a truly enjoyable beer. This is an interesting beer, but sharing a single bottle of this is enough for me. Glad to try it, but plenty of other fruit beers that are more appealing to me.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2009 00:03:04 | More by portia99

Dawkfan

Alberta (Canada)

3.38/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A- This pours a bright golden orange with 3 fingers of off white head, with a pink tinge to it. Retention and lacing is average.

S- Smells of strawberry juice & mild sourness/bitterness. This one almost smells better when your nose isn't right in the glass.

T- This delivers as advertised, it definitely tastes like strawberries. There's a decent malt backbone as well. It finishes a little tart.

M- Medium bodied, with a bit of a syrupy like quality to it, which I'm not a huge fan of.

D- This is one of the better fruit beers for sure, but I'm limited to just this one, the syrupy feel would become to cloying for me.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2010 02:18:15 | More by Dawkfan

BirdFlu

New Jersey

3.4/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pour is surprisingly lager-like. doesn't ahve any red-titint the way you expect from a fruit beer (especially considering their cherry offering). Smell is a very syrupy sweet, but not to an inorganic extent. Just all very sweet strawberry. Taste is also quite sweet and, unfortunately, does sort of approach an inorganic, flavored type of taste. In fact, it tastes a lot like some sparkling wines (cheaper ones like Andre Cold duck). Not beer-like at all. Mouth is light but not watery and so its easy to drink in that it wont weigh you down. The sweetness is really a bit much, though.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2009 05:39:49 | More by BirdFlu

Cubsfan1087

Iowa

3.4/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I was a little disappointed with this beer. I like Samuel Smith's other fruit beers very much, but this one didn't really do it for me. I found the smell to be extremely unappetizing. The taste wasn't terrible. It's definitely got some strawberry flavor. If you want a Samuel Smith fruit beer, go with Raspberry or Cherry.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2010 04:53:04 | More by Cubsfan1087

Vengeance526

Louisiana

3.4/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a copperish orange color with light red highlights, producing a small, fizzly white head that lasts just a little while and leaves little lacing.

Obvious aroma of strawberries, not much else to be found. A little sweet but pleasing overall.

Taste is again sweet starwberries, this time with subtle notes of honey and malt. Just a little too sweet to be overly enjoyable for long but not too bad.

Medium body with medium carbonation. Good for a fruit beer, but personally, this one didn't seem to be pulled of quite as well as their raspberry. This one was a little sweeter and although I enjoyed it in the beginning, it became a bit much after a while. I wouldn't care to sit through a whole bottle of this myself.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2010 01:59:17 | More by Vengeance526

RickS95

Indiana

3.43/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From the look I would guess this to be a regular IPA as opposed to a fruit ale. It pours an apricot color with a fleeting, bright white head.

Nose is all strawberry juice. You can pick it up as soon as you pop the cap, the smell turns the room into a strawberry field. A bit too strong.

You really have to like fruit to enjoy this beer. It's extreme fruit juice. There is some carbonation and it makes it hard to distinguish this as a beer as opposed to some ridiculously sweet soft drink. There are some spices I picked up as well, cinnamon maybe, but this is all strawberry.

Very carbonated, very sweet with some spices and the carbonation added for balance. Slightly tart finish.

It's not something I'd want to have every day, but would make a good beer for the warmer weather months. Not bad, just a bit extreme in all characteristics.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2012 03:15:09 | More by RickS95