Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale - Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)

rickyleepotts

Arizona

3.8/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This is another big one for us… have only 899 bottles to go! I am sure when we get close to the end I will begin to get sentimental… but not yet. I just want to drink! This is also the first beer we are rating from our new home in Scottsdale, Arizona. We recently moved, which is why we haven’t been drinking many lately, but are here and starting to get settled. We are leaving for vacation next week, so we won’t be writing while we are gone. But still.

Tonight we are drinking the last of the Samuel Smith beers. I am glad, because only one of these has impressed me. I am just not a big fan of this brewery. I did learn that the water used for this beer comes from a well dating back to 1758… so that’s pretty cool. I just hope the beer doesn’t taste like it was made in 1758. Bottoms up!

In the Glass: It looks good in the glass. It has a dark copper color, and appears to be thick and creamy. The head is a slight tan that floats on the top. The glass is full, so I can’t really swirl to see if there is much lace. I picked the wrong glass… for shame!

Nose: It smells like a bitter pale ale. I am a fan of bitter… the more bitter the better. That is why I frequent a good IPA. I have been getting into imperial IPAs lately. They usually have a more noticeable hop character and a longer, more satisfying aftertaste. Let’s see what the Old Brewery Pale Ale tastes like.

Flavor: The bitter notes hit you right off the bat. The beer then drinks like a very dry, and somewhat malty IPA. They kept mentioning the malty flavors, but the words “bitter” and “malty” don’t really go together. It seems to work here, though. The bitterness that you experience toward the front of the palate is gone as fast as it gets there, leaving you for a very balanced experience from front to back.

Mouthfeel: It drinks like a well-carbonated pale. I sometimes wonder what the difference between a pale and an IPA are… but this one is an obvious pale ale. I am not a big fan of Samuel Smith beers, but this one is the best I have had from them. No wonder it is so popular. Oh, and this is the last Samuel Smith in the book. Good!

Aftertaste: The aftertaste isn’t as bitter as I wanted it to be, but it is present for quite some time. There is some dryness toward the back of the palate, but as the aftertaste fades the bitterness sticks around. From the second I stuck my nose in the glass, I knew this was going to be a balanced and drinkable beer.

I am glad this one was bearable. Like I said, I am not a big fan of Samuel Smith. Their beer is VERY easy to get, and it is cheap. I am talking $3 a bottle cheap. That’s good for people that don’t like craft beer and want to try it for the first time… but when it comes to craft beer, you really do get what you pay for.

Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Pale Ale - The bottle says: “Brewed with hard well water (the original well sunk in 1758 is still in use), best barley malt, yeast, and aromatic hops to create a copper-coloured ale with a full, rounded flavor; fermented in ‘stone Yorkshire squares’; the finish is a perfect balance of malt and hops. A good many British beers were very dark before the Industrial Revolution; new malting techniques led to pale malts allowing the evolution of this classic brewing style - a cornerstone of British pub culture.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2012 06:17:27 | More by rickyleepotts

WDJersey

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +3.4%

05-26-2013 02:06:41 | More by WDJersey

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

05-25-2013 14:29:10 | More by Slatetank

Dapperticus

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

05-25-2013 01:17:16 | More by Dapperticus

kvnstfrd

Missouri

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

05-23-2013 04:27:48 | More by kvnstfrd

johntfox

Florida

4/5  rDev +3.4%

05-21-2013 01:11:48 | More by johntfox

mattparsons

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +3.4%

05-18-2013 22:16:05 | More by mattparsons

Xzfgiimtsath

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

05-17-2013 12:40:10 | More by Xzfgiimtsath

KStark

British Columbia (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

05-13-2013 14:33:46 | More by KStark

rph97

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

05-10-2013 20:03:56 | More by rph97

thatdewguy

North Carolina

4.75/5  rDev +22.7%

05-09-2013 05:14:34 | More by thatdewguy

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.71/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

the glory of these beers is their price, less than 4 bucks per go? are you kidding me?! the quality to price point is unrivaled in the beer world. while some are outstanding, standard setters, others are just okay. this pale ale is somewhere in between. its clear in the pours, more red than copper, with a finger of off white bubbles that pop down to a thin skin before long. the nose is quintessentially English, with all the caramel malt dusty attic you could ever want, but with a welcomed touch of vanilla extract. the yeast doesn't really manifest itself until the flavor, neither do the hops. the yeast combines with the caramel malt to give a doughy cereal profile, while the hops finish the beer nice and bitter, balancing the vanilla expertly. tastes just a tad old at the end, but ill bet this is nearly perfect at the source on tap. thinner body, which im back and forth between liking and not, and airy carbonation that keeps this beer drinking easily. overall this isn't my favorite beer from sam smiths, but now that I have worked my well into their lineup, I can safely say that the quality of this brew is up to the high bar of the others. again, the economics cannot be beat.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2013 04:20:14 | More by StonedTrippin

DrewSnyc667

Massachusetts

4.44/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

12 oz bottle poured into a pint glass

A: Slightly hazy brilliant copper color. Minor activity and almost no head whatsoever

S: Amazingly robust chocolate and caramel. Unique to the stye, I am chewing on the malts before I take a sip.

T: A malt fans delight. Super complex starts like chocolate chandy and ends with a nice little hop crisp

M: Nice amount of carbonation keeps that sweet malt at bay and makes this highly session able

O: I have been really into the English session ales lately and this one is another treat.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 01:35:02 | More by DrewSnyc667

Damian

Massachusetts

3.3/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

Drank from a 1pt. 2.7fl.oz./550 ml bottle
Served in a Samuel Smith's imperial pint glass
Thanks to my dad for this bottle

The beer poured a slightly hazed, deep crimson-amber. A two-finger crown of tight, frothy, beige colored foam topped the liquid and slowly faded to a lasting cap. Patches of lacing trickled down the glass.

The nose was very British. A bit steely and quite mellow overall. Good dose of biscuity malts. Somewhat toasty. Mild toffee notes. Slightly fruity and moderately sweet.

The flavor profile was decent. Biscuity malts dominated. Some toffee. Touch of noble hops. Fruity in the center. Earthy, bittering hops came through in the finish. Crisp and drying.

The mouthfeel was slick, smooth and somewhat creamy on the palate. Medium bodied with a fine and mild effervescence.

Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale might be spot-on for the style, but I found it rather boring. If you have an affinity for British session ales, this might be your cup of tea.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 03:22:32 | More by Damian

BigJohnny

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +3.4%

04-23-2013 10:29:29 | More by BigJohnny

bmurray10

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

04-22-2013 14:35:32 | More by bmurray10

scmoore81

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

04-19-2013 14:11:22 | More by scmoore81

Lee45102

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

04-17-2013 01:42:56 | More by Lee45102

SFC21

New York

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

04-08-2013 23:44:28 | More by SFC21

shohen

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

04-07-2013 13:55:50 | More by shohen

Kinzei

Texas

4/5  rDev +3.4%

03-30-2013 20:50:00 | More by Kinzei

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

4.41/5  rDev +14%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale has a very thick, soapy, cream-colored head, lots of thick lacing rings left behind, and a somewhat hazy, amber appearance, with a few bubble streams and some little brown particles floating about. The aroma is pungent, sweet, bready, roasted, and full. Taste is of the same elements, with toffee and a pleasant, and even sharp, hop bitterness in the middle-to-end of the sip. Mouthfeel is medium and slick, and Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale finishes dry, refreshing, and quite drinkable. Overall, this is a most excellent beer!

RJT

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 14:42:21 | More by RonaldTheriot

JMS1512

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +3.4%

03-29-2013 02:10:36 | More by JMS1512

JavierGC

Spain

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

03-24-2013 05:55:03 | More by JavierGC

yoitsarch

California

3/5  rDev -22.5%

03-23-2013 18:06:21 | More by yoitsarch