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

erz316

Indiana

3.48/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

bottle into sam smith pint glass

body isn't quite as pale as it is a slightly copper tinged brown. the body is completely transparent, and the head is a slightly off white orange colour. the nose is dull, a slight aroma of hops at the most. the taste is also quite dull, a touch of hops that leave a long biter aftertaste and a bit of a grainy taste. just kind of a 'meh'. the body has some heft to it and the carbonation is fine.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2009 23:59:30 | More by erz316

womencantsail

California

3.48/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer pours a burnt orange color with a nice finger or so of slightly off-white head.

S: Light floral aromas up front but other than that, sort of blah. Toffee and stale bread with a small amount of butter in there, too. Slight butterscotch as well.

T: Luckily the flavor picks things up a bit. Still on the sweet side, as to be expected from an English pale. Malty all the way with caramel and toffee, but there is a nice little bite of floral hops and bitterness.

M: Medium in body with a lively carbonation and a dry finish, despite the sweetness.

O: Wish I could give this one a higher score, but the nose was just off-putting. Too bad.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2011 23:35:17 | More by womencantsail

BadBadger

New York

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

A nice ale. Pours a moderate amber color. A nice off-white head forms and lasts. Smell is slightly hoppy. The taste is somewhat better than average, with a pleasant balance of hops and malt. A nice pale ale to enjoy, although not so special that it should be searched out.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2004 02:20:55 | More by BadBadger

Naes

New York

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

This ale pours a dark amber with orange hues and has a tall off-white head that laces and retains quite well.
The aroma is of the typical British style hops with a bit of graininess.
The flavor is less hopy than the nose implies, but never the less, the British style hops definitely are the main ingredient to the flavor. The underlying maltyness throughout this beverage is a bit bready and has a grainy presence as well. Overall, not bad for a British pale ale, but could use a bit more in the flavor department. It is just a bit watered down.
Mouth feel is a bit light, but the carbonation levels are done right.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2006 06:02:02 | More by Naes

MUSHROOMCLOUD

Texas

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

A - 1/2" off white head down to a cap immediately. No lace. Amber-orange colored beer.

S - Caramel with a light backing of herbally hops.

T - Tea, toffee, caramel. Tangy, grassy hops.

M - Medium bodied with high carbonation.

D - Good drinkability. Another solid Sam Smith's.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2007 19:24:24 | More by MUSHROOMCLOUD

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

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

Poured into a pint glass.

A - Poured a light copper color with white head that lasted very little time and disappeared in to thin film

S - Malts all around. Some hop character a bit not too much going on on the nose. Kind of disappointing. Some soury notes in the nose as well.

T - Nice malty taste with limited hops some soury citrus notes and slight nuts as well.

M - Crisp well balanced. Clean.

D - Refreshing and not too strong.

not my favorite EPA but definitely not a bad selection.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2009 00:36:42 | More by JoEBoBpr

MoreThanWine

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured a 2" head which dissipates to 1/8". Surprisingly dark for a pale ale, looks like Lipton tea. In fact both in bottle and in glass my sample looks surprisingly dark compared to the photo in the BA reviews. Has a nice creaminess, some malt, and a hint of coffee in the flavor. Honestly, to me this seems like an aborted stout, like they started to make multiple things out of their stout process and with more time or a little tweaking this pale ale would indeed have been a stout. Enjoyable, but not what I expect from a pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2010 08:44:17 | More by MoreThanWine

OldFrothingSlosh

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Presentation: 12oz. clear bottle (how do they get away with that?!) with the gold foil around the top.

Appearance: An opaque copper-colored appearance with a frothy, bubbly head that rings the glass distinctly after each quaff.

Smell: Just a little bit of citrus hoppy aroma....but there was also a whiff of "skunkiness" to this one as well.

Taste: Nothing in this beer really jumped out at me. The hops didn't outpower the balancing sweetness from the malts. Just a decent-tasting pale ale.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation and crispness of the hops make for a good mouthfeel.

Drinkabilty: Definitely one of the more "puckering" type PA's I've had. This one really finishes dry. That was kind of a turn off for me.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2003 16:02:16 | More by OldFrothingSlosh

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance - orange amber, small tight creamy head almost like whipped cream sitting on top of some hot cocoa.

Aroma - slight caramel malt preceded by a brief hint of skunk which was subdued but detectable. That completely evaporates, leaving the caramel behind in a much weakened state and kind of hard to pick up.

Taste is of lightly roasted caramel malt and some metallic notes. Light bitterness at the finish, fairly good stuff. Edit - fresher sample tried 1/10/05, no metal, very clean taste, adjusting taste from 3.0 to 3.5.

Mouthfeel is fairly smooth, below average carbonation. Not all that memorable but certainly not bad.

Drinkability - if it wasn't for the metallic taste this would easily score much higher. Edit - a different beer when fresh, adjusting score from 2.5 to 4.0.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2003 20:00:43 | More by brewdlyhooked13

pootz

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

1/2 liter clear export bottle...no date codes ..I assume this is parsturized or sterile. Poured a lovely deep amber-orange with a fluffy rocky cap that laces well to the glass. Moderate carbonation. Aroma of floral hopping and apricot tones over the honey malts. Malty body is balanced with some semi bitter hopping some mild complexity and a rather short finish...for all I had heard about this beer , I’m underwhelmed..perhaps this beer suffered from being an export and had it’s normal character killed by pastrurization or serile filtering but this is an average pale....and there are better domestics IMHO.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2004 02:03:09 | More by pootz

slitherySOB

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

My last of the Samuel Smith beers. Until, of course, I'm lucky enough to find more. This ale pours a nice, copper colour with a small but firm white head. About a finger's worth of foam floating atop the copper. Their are a few whisps of lace. But, not much. No more than a few strings here and their. Smells of fruit candy, grass, lemon and bread. Taste is mild. Bready, sweet, with a bit of a bitter grass finish. Mouthfeel is a bit granular, rough. I like it. Drinkable as a session beer. But, not overly complex. Simplicity is what makes this beer good.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2005 23:57:54 | More by slitherySOB

sopor

Oregon

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Deep brilliant amber with a little over a fluid oz of tan cream head that looks like it will stick around with the help of lots of small bubbles rising. Very small biscuity and caramel nose.

Sweet bready malt with a very well balanced hop note of slight citrus and piney herbs. A hint of woodiness. A light and crisp refreshing body.

Tasty pale ale, and very drinkable, but nothing spectacular enough to get me to stop drinking mt local APAs.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2005 16:44:00 | More by sopor

ccrida

Oregon

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

550ml bottle into my Samuel Smith's imperial pint glass, the Pale Ale is a hazy, dull copper with a medium sized, orange tinged khaki head that leaves moderate lace.

Smell is grassy hops and sweet, sugary fruit.

Taste is heavy on the esters, sweet, biscuit malt, wet grass and a bit tinny, with a bitter, dry finish, with lingering fruity esters. I don't care for the watery taste of most english ales, which this one certainly has, but it has enough flavor to satisfy. Not my cup of tea, but a good example of the style.

Mouthfeel is really nice and smooth, with a medium light body.

Drinkabilty is ok, I don't care for the tinny, grassy taste, but it's pretty light and easy drinking. Nice to see they dropped the clear glass and started using brown bottles.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2008 00:49:45 | More by ccrida

matt7215

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

550 ml bottle from a LCBO gift pack

pours amber with a solid tan head that lingers and laces. very nice looking pale ale though quite different to the eye then some american pale ale styles.

aromas of pale malts, toffee, caramel, minimal hopping.

the flavour is malt forward with slightly sweet floral caramel and rounded bitterness. very malt focused but not totally lacking in hops they just play second fiddle to the malt structure.

the mouthfeel is mediocure but not bad in anyway.

this brew is quite drinkable but not my favourite pale ale.

a solid brew but not something i buy much of even though it is availible in my area.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2008 04:19:04 | More by matt7215

Mdog

Minnesota

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Clear amber, good head.

Smell: Toffee, a little unappealing green apple.

Taste: Mild toast, toffee sweetness, mild tea bitterness.

Drinkability: Nice blend of flavors and lower ABV could make this a session beer.

Beer #2 from the sampler pack, the pale ale is a solid English pale, very balanced between malt and bitterness. I'd like to try this on cask sometime.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2010 22:56:52 | More by Mdog

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a brown 18.7 oz. bottle. Has a dark brown color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is nutty, hops, maybe a touch of honey. Taste is also nutty, balanced hops and malts, some honey. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and has average drinkability. Overall this is a good quality beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2010 13:41:31 | More by tone77

wvsabbath

West Virginia

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Serving Type - Bottle

Appearance - Dark burnt orange, not much head, some lacing.

Smell - Malts, yeast, some hops, mild sugars, some floral, grapefruit.

Taste - Bitter, yeasty and some grapefruit bitter hop kick. Smooth as usual for sammy smith beers. Kinda not alot of flavor just straight up pale ale. Has a grassy dry finish.

Mouthfeel - Very bitter and dry. Thin though, low alcohol and not high on flavors. Rather a simple straightforward beer.

Overall - The beer is good but doesnt offer anything new or special to the pale ales. Solid and easy to drink, a good starter beer or if you enjoy bitter beers. I could live without this one imo.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2011 03:29:06 | More by wvsabbath

TacoSaladin

Texas

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance:
A clear and crisp copper color with a light/frothy white head with semi-decent head retention. I feel the color was a little on the dark side for the style (I classify this beer as a SB) but in hind sight the room was a bit on the dark side.

Aroma:
The overall aroma is sweet and of hops, leaning more to the sweet. Also this beer has hints of caramel.

Taste:
This beer was less bitter tasting than expected. There was more of a focus on the malts. The carbonation was appropriate with a dry (sweet) finish with a hint of hops.

Overall:
All-in-all I think this beer is a little too mild on the bitterness for a English Pale Ale (SB). With that said, this is a very enjoyable drink.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2011 21:44:44 | More by TacoSaladin

Bruiser81

Kansas

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This brew poured a deep amber color with an impressive head. However it dwindled quickly leaving just a ring around the glass. The aroma was malt and maybe a little bit of maple or molasses. The smell was also a bit skunky, but it wasn't bad. The taste was a bit calm with nothing really jumping out at first. There is a little bit of sweet malt up front. The finish balances out well with just a little bit of a bitter hop taste. This beer goes down smooth with just the right amount of carbonation. I will probably drink this brew again. I'm not a big fan of Pales but this one was decent.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2003 19:54:21 | More by Bruiser81

longpondbeerman

Maine

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This is a very light, floral brew that pours a clear light amber that is typical of the English Pale Ales. There's little head, and less lace, and by the smell, you'd almost think you were about to consume water laced with a hop or two and some lemon. The taste is fortunately more full-bodied, even complicated. It's not too bitter, but what bitterness there is sticks with you throughout. It does not fade. The sweetness, that floral taste, is of rose hips offset by a twist of lemon--a fun and tantalizing feature. The mouthfeel is light and more bubbly than I expected. A good brew, really--though costly over on this side of the Atlantic.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2003 22:40:53 | More by longpondbeerman

Beastdog75

New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Nearly everything Samuel Smith produces can be considered a classic, and their Pale Ale is certainly no exception. This is a good pale ale for almost any occasion. Of course, it is also customary to gripe about the clear bottle that this is served in, but I found that the exposure to light didn't effect the flavor as much as I thought it would have.

Sam Smith' s Pale Ale pours a golden amber color with hints of red and brown. A slightly off-white head forms and lasts for about 3 to 4 minutes, leaving some whispy lace behind. The aroma unfortunately did suffer from being lightstruck, lending a skunky aroma, but it managed to subside enough to give some hints of caramel. There is a smooth, moderately carbonated mouthfeel to this beer. As mentioned, the skunk did not hinder the beer all that much. There is a good malt presence with notes of caramel and buttery toffee. A light-moderate harshness/roughness was present in this beer, and it might be due to the light exposure, but I have nothing to back that up. I found the hop presence leaned towards the stronger side of things, with the beer being bitter and drying in the finish. The aftertaste had more notes of caramel, and the bitterness lingered long after the beer was done. This one finishes out with a light alcoholic warmth.

I do see this beer as being a good pairing for pub grub: perhaps some bangers and mash, fish and chips, or maybe even a prime rib. This is a good drinkable pale ale, and other strong offering from Sam Smith's.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2003 03:44:39 | More by Beastdog75

NiceGuyMike

New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Smooth and somewhat refreshing. Strong maltiness in both smell and taste a bit too much, really. Dark amberish brown color with so so off white head. Again with the clear bottle. They need to stop. Easy drinking.

Overall not a bad beer. A bit average, just not great.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2005 04:21:59 | More by NiceGuyMike

rowew

Colorado

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Presentation: 550 ml clear bottle, gold foil around the neck and cap. No date information. I think this has been sitting around a while, but its been in my fridge for most of that time (if there was a date I would know for sure!).

Appearance: Reddish brown in color, clear with a good sized head that fades to average lacing.

Smell: Caramel malt, just a hint of butterscotch (diacetyl?).

Taste: Smooth mouthfeel, great carbonation level (low, but still there). Nice caramel malts, just a bit of sweetness without being too much.

Overall impression: Nicely balanced and highly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2007 22:57:49 | More by rowew

PatrickJR

North Carolina

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 12 oz bottle into nonic pint glass.

A - Deep transparent copper, 1/2 inch head that recedes quickly to thick white collar. Nice stream of bubbles from the bottom.

S - Predominantly coffee and caramel, with some spicy hop character in the background.

T - Lots of caramel malt with dark fruit overtones and a faint hop bitterness in the background. Usual Sam Smith's sourness near the finish.

M - Pretty smooth with a decent amount of carbonation.

D - I wouldn't mind drinking a few of these, but I wouldn't mind not drinking a few either. It's good, but it's something inbetween a pale ale and a light stout or porter.

A fairly poor representation of a pale ale if you ask me, but a tasty beer nonetheless. The hops don't shine through at all, one of the hallmarks of the style, and the malts are far too dark to constitute "pale." The beer is on point, but like their India Ale, I feel the name is a misnomer.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2008 06:09:26 | More by PatrickJR

laituegonflable

Australia

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a golden brown colour with an ecru head, lightly dispersed and hanging around reasonably well. Some very nice lacing effects, but slightly thin. No carbs, clear body. Looks tasty.

Nose has some nicely balanced malt and hop characters. A strong, almost syrupy pale malt character blends with a slight grassy hint of hops. Actually, on second thoughts I think the malt dominates and it's slightly sweet, kind of mediciney but not bad.

First taste is a bitter one, especially compared with the smell. A quite strong malty mid-palate is fenced in by a spicy front and a slightly herbal and also sour, earthy finish. Quite an interesting palate although there is still that slight medicinal flavour lingering at the back which gives it a bit of a downer. Mouthfeel is quite stimulating - the beer looks smooth but comes alive with a bit of a tingling, sparkling effect over the tongue.

This is a good ale, well-balanced and interesting. Too polite and British to offend or excite me.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2009 01:00:23 | More by laituegonflable