Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale - Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)

lsiberian

Texas

4.49/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

A- I really liked the dark color this beer presented. The head was a bit lacking, but the color really make sup for it.

S- A strong strong smell of malts and nuts please the nose with some subtle hints of fruit.

T- The initial flavor presents a wonderful nutty pecan flavor followed by malted brown sugar and coffee. The a long-lasting moderate hop note finishes out the beer.

M-The weaker head gives way to a more liquid feel that doesn't detract from the taste. My main reason for rating this a little lower is I prefer a little more foam.

Overall Samuel Smith' Nut Brown Ale presents itself as an excellent choice for those nights when you seek a good English Brown Ale.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2013 17:58:20 | More by lsiberian

WankelEngine

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 550ml bottle into a pint glass

A: Pours a clear but deep amber brown color. There is a small, light tan head which fades to a thin cap with smatterings of medium sized bubbles.

S: The nose consists of dry toffee, brown sugar, nuts and some fruit. There are notes of banana and bubblegum which create an overall sweet smell.

T: The dry, nutty flavor is much more potent here than in the aroma, beginning on the attack and rising to prominence in the mid-palate. The fruit flavor here is much more subdued, providing just a bit of apple and cherry to balance out the nut flavors. Still fairly sweet, with brown sugar taking control in the midpalate and leading to the finish, where some light, herbal hops round out the finish.

M: Smooth, creamy and medium-low carbonation.

O: A decent brown ale. Not my favorite style, but it has a few unique attributes. Glad I finally ticked this ubiquitous ale.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 23:58:43 | More by WankelEngine

DenverLogan

Colorado

3.49/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Poured from bottle into St Bernardus chalice.
Pours a medium brown with small amber head that remains till the end.
Light aroma of dark malts, slight caramel.
Medium carbonation and mouthfeel.
Flavors of dark roasted malts, minerals, slight coffee, toffee, carob, pecans, slight bitterness, burnt brown sugar. There's some richness and body, modest malts, light hops, dry finish...not bad but not particular smooth or tasty.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2013 05:36:11 | More by DenverLogan

breakingbland

Michigan

3.71/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A: Deep, clear copper color. Two fingers of head that diminished rather quickly; moderate lacing.
S: Not a strong aroma but some fruit could be detected -- maybe cherries. Very little hop aroma.
T: Well-balanced between malt and hops: A pleasant malty flavor with only a slight hoppy bitterness.
M: Good level of carbonation. Medium to medium-light body.
O: A very drinkable beer. I will definitely have it again, but will continue to try other nut browns.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2013 00:25:10 | More by breakingbland

Goblinmunkey7

Massachusetts

3.1/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Dark honey brown. Perfectly clear. Head is a very light tan/dirty off-white. Head is creamy, and drops to a small cap and smooth collar.

Smell: British water and yeast. Vaguely toasted and nutty. Some underlying hints of cocoa and caramel malt sweetness. Minerals and some earth. Distinctly Sam Smith. Some grassy notes. Breast maltiness. Some roasted notes as well.

Taste: Straight up English. Layers of grass, rocks, and slightly toasted malts. Minor chocolate, caramel malt sweetness, and cracker. Bready. Slightly roasted. So much grassy rock flavor. British water and yeast character ramps up as the best warms. Sweet and mellow. Vague nuttiness rolling throughout.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a moderate to light carbonation. Clean.

Overall: GE 100.

English, but not insane. Sam Smith's was one of my introductions to craft beer. Start here and you can't really go wrong.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2013 21:09:11 | More by Goblinmunkey7

Huffs

New York

3.9/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured into a pint glass, nice fluffy biscuit colored head developed which lasted and some what laced well. Aroma was mild with caramel and malt tones. Appearance was a clear dark amber, almost a brown / red color. Taste was very smooth with caramel notes and a light hop finish. mouthfeel was medium and slightly carbonated. Aftertaste was dry and mild.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 02:32:20 | More by Huffs

Uncle_Jimmy

California

4.3/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Appearance- sparkling brown with one finger of light brown foam that dissipates quickly

Aroma- baked apples, oatmeal cinnamon and fresh bread. not to many hop aromas...

Taste- malty and roast y like cinnamon raisin toast. Hops blend well. Some light astringency on the back end. very well balanced.

Mouthfeel- medium to full bodied subtle carbonation.

Overall- a great brown Ale, I will have another.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2013 06:21:02 | More by Uncle_Jimmy

mfnmbvp

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

550 ml bottle, uncapped and unfoiled and poured into a Firestone Walker pint glass.

A - Pours a very nice clear royal looking ruby color. I managed to pour an impressive two and a half finger fluffy doughy, cream colored head on the second pour.

S - Whiskey barrel smell is prevalent. Mild raisin / dark fruit smell. Some malt / wheat in the background.

T - Very sweet sugary authentic raisin taste, a flavor I have come to really admire from Samuel Smith's. Moderate level of carbonation, a very well-balanced and tasty beer. A dry hazelnut / chestnut type flavor, but faint. More dark fruit flavors than nut flavors. Faint hint of smoked oak wood in the background.

M - Clean, sweet aftertaste with a little bit of some green apple sugar aftertaste thrown in there also. Sticky, resinous, and very dry.

Reminds me a lot of the Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale, but with more of an oaked whiskey barrel flavor present. Either way, it is well-crafted and will surely suit the tastes of any type of palate. A beer to have again, like all of the beers I have drank from Samuel Smith's so far.

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale ---4/5.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2013 01:47:34 | More by mfnmbvp

oline73

Maryland

3.99/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours a slightly cloudy amber with a creamy off white head. Decent retention. The smell is sweet and grainy with some toffee and a fruity note. The taste follows from the smell. It's sweet but not overly so. I'm getting a slight fruity note along with some caramel. The finish is full of slightly sweet grain. The beer is dry, seems slightly chalky. Smooth carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2013 03:31:21 | More by oline73

Chaney

District of Columbia

4.03/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

One of the "Beers of Fame" brews I have not yet tried. Shame on my!

Served in a DC Brau jar glass.

A: Red-brown color, fairly clear, and a nice 2-3-4 finger head that stuck to the glass and then some.

S: Definitely a brown ale. Once I dug deeper, I got the nuts. Nothing complex.

T: Some butterscotch and caramel, as well as a grainy bill overall. Brown sugar and then some.

M: Carbonated enough, but not too. Not as understated on the bitterness end as I was expecting. Lots of lacing.

O: I've always had a soft spot for this style, and this is amongst the best of them.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2013 02:43:25 | More by Chaney

gabedivision

New York

4.09/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 330ml bottle to a pint glass

A- Pours a clear deep reddish chestnut color with a frothy 1 finger head

S- smells of sweet caramel, toffee, some light toasted malts, a touch of grain with a buttery light chocolate finish

T- sweet caramel and brown sugar tastes just like a Sugar Daddy, some graininess found, butterscotch, sweet sugary chocolate water on the finish

M- light bodied, smooth like velvet, medium carbonation, buttery, sweet and dry

O- great brown ale, lots of flavor, sweet, very candy like. Alway enjoyable always availble, what's not to love about Sammy smiths?

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 03:03:55 | More by gabedivision

HabiMendes

Rhode Island

4.04/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

The deep brown-reddish color, with a slightly tanned neck makes the appearance of this beer very pleasing. In the smell, we can detect some caramel-like idea, but not too exuberant. The taste is well-balanced, yet subtle in many ways: the hopness, body, and carbonation are all from low to medium (the last specially in the body).

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 00:21:26 | More by HabiMendes

Bradystraps

Connecticut

3.98/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Very good Nut Brown. Was expecting a bit more of a bite but it was very mellow. Good blend of caramel, nuts, toffee and bread. Excellent overall taste and appearance. Not tremendously filling, which is a good thing. Recommended and will def drink again.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2013 01:34:00 | More by Bradystraps

MonkeyboyATL

Georgia

4.54/5  rDev +11%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Nice looking reddish brown in the glass with light tan head. Smell for me is predominately brown sugar. Still get the brown sugar in the taste but not so pronounced. Otherwise, it's a nice malt and nutty bread taste which is absolutely delicious. I'm a big fan of browns and this one is right there at the top. Worthy of all the raving.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2013 21:34:38 | More by MonkeyboyATL

thlayli87

New Jersey

3.95/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Medium brown with three fingers of pillowy off white head. Lots of little bubbles cling to the inside of the glass. Decent lacing.

S - Grainy malt, caramelized sugar, toasted bread, and alcohol.

T - Very nutty flavor along with a lot of sweetness. Slight bitterness in the finish to balance things out.

M - Medium body, slightly syrupy, lingering sweetness on the tongue.

O - Really nice nutty brown ale. Easy drinking and refreshing. I wouldn't hesitate to get this again.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2013 22:31:07 | More by thlayli87

gr0g

New Jersey

3.68/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reddish-brown color with high clarity. As I've found with all Sam Smiths, the head is very nice, several fingers high and leaving some nice lacing. Aroma is primarily toffee-like malt. A little bit of chestnut and a floral hop note round things out.

Some nuttiness comes through on the palate, lending credence to the name. Malty sweetness is thoroughly masked by bittering hops and a bit of roasted malt astringency. Backbone of caramel malt. More dark malt flavor would be appreciated. Mouthfeel is light to moderate with a soft carbonation.

Sam Smith has a brown ale that displays great session ability and versatility with various dishes. While more oomph would be appreciated, it's still a big step up from the likes of Newcastle.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2013 00:28:05 | More by gr0g

TwelveOunces

Kentucky

3.9/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

550 Ml poured into a pint glass

A- Pours clear amber color. A large pale tan head with good retention.

S- A lot of grain in this beer. A nutty and woody characteristic. Caramel.

T- A very grainy brew. A lot of nutty flavors and a touch of roasted malt. This beer has a lot of caramel and toffee notes. A well balanced and well made beer.
M- This beer is very drinkable. A slight grain in the aftertaste..

O-This is slightly disappointing. But it's a decent brown ale and has plenty of taste for a 5% beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 00:12:50 | More by TwelveOunces

ColdWaffles

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from an 18oz bottle into a Samuel Smith's tulip-pint glass.

Appearance: Spot on. Clear brown ale with an excellent frothy head.

Smell: Not much, a slight nuttiness and some malts maybe? I've had bottles where I picked up more, I only get a slight sweetness now. Grading this on the serving.

Taste: Awesome rich, sweet nutty, malty ale. Nuts and toffee, with vanilla on the tongue. Tastes almost exactly how I'd want it to.

Mouthfeel: Admittedly lighter bodied, but not to the detriment of the beer. Light carbonation, exceptionally smooth.

Not quite as good as their Porter, but not much is.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 04:29:30 | More by ColdWaffles

DaftCaskBC

British Columbia (Canada)

4.35/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: 1/2" cream colored head over brown/mahogany liquid.

S: yeast, vanilla, hazelnuts and plums.

T: Hazelnuts, biscuit, pears, molasses, peppermint and toffee.

M: Medium to thin viscosity with a high level of fine carbonation.

O: Beautiful and unique taste profile, the best of the style in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 02:41:50 | More by DaftCaskBC

sevenarts

New York

3.63/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Translucent amber, light brown, looks kind of like cola. Fluffy light tan head, some lacing.

S: Vanilla, caramel, slight nuttiness, wood, toffee. Smells malty and sweet and rich.

T/M: Lots of rich, sweet malts: caramel and toffee dominate, together with roasted nutty flavors, vanilla, a bit of a bitter edge followed by a lingering sweet, syrupy aftertaste. Body is medium-light.

O: A pretty good brown ale, admittedly not my favorite style but this is a fine take on it with a nice, if occasionally overly sweet, mix of flavors.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2012 00:54:36 | More by sevenarts

kojevergas

California

3.23/5  rDev -21%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

550ml brown glass bottle with foiled-over pressure cap acquired as part of a $9.99 3 bottle/1 glass gift box at a local Trader Joe's and served into a New Belgium stem-goblet in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are fairly high given its current glowing reviews and my opinion of the brewery.

Served after a warming period following its removal from the refrigerator. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

Presentation: The label is alright. The foil is a nice touch. I'm glad it's brown glass and not green or clear. The Michael Jackson quote on the back label is a nice touch: "Samuel Smith's of Tadcaster has the richest, maltiest and nuttiest of brown ales." Though I do have to complain: no oxford comma, Michael Jackson?

A: Pours a three finger khaki colour head of great cream, good thickness, notable frothiness, and great retention - though the modest ABV diminishes the impressiveness of that achievement. Decent lacing. Body colour is NOT brown, but actually a translucent chestnut-amber. Nontransparent. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show.

Sm: Caramel, a nice blend of biscuit, dark, and caramel malts, cherry fruit, nuts (though far less than anticipated - especially considering the style), butterscotch, fig newton, and toffee. A delightful very British aroma (as strange and vague as that sounds). Assertive and true to character. Amber malts. Minimal floral hopping. A fairly strong aroma.

T/Mf: Cherry comes through quite a bit, actually, complemented by surprisingly overt bright fruity hop esters. Hm. Caramel and toffee, sure. Cream, buttery qualities. A butterscotch kiss on the climax. The fruitiness and bold hop presence are actually a bit off-putting, especially as it warms. Sugarcane. The foundation lacks the maltiness I'd expect of a good brown ale. And where are the nuts? Their absence is unforgivable given the style. Too sweet, especially on the finish - an attribute worsened by the smooth and wet texture. Smooth and wet - in a brown ale? And on the finish, no less? This should be coarse, dry, and malty as hell - with some cream to take the edge off. This is not that. No yeast or alcohol comes through. Good carbonation and thickness. Fruit syrup does come through, or perhaps just artificial fig extract a la fig newtons; though this is not the dark fig you'd get in a good quad, it is bright, thin, and out of place. I'm disappointed in both the build and balance, though I must admit I do enjoy it all around. It's just a failure as a Brown Ale is all. Hopping feels as English as can be.

Dr: The lack of nuts and strangely fruit-forward build make this a failure of a Brown Ale, but I still like drinking it. I wouldn't get it again, though. It seems anything but traditional. a good buy at Trader Joe's. Brown Ale fans steer clear, but this is worth a go and is quite drinkable if you simply enjoy beer. It's tough to come up with a letter grade on this one because it's not at all to style, but I do like it for what it is outside of conventions.

C+

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2012 07:19:31 | More by kojevergas

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.73/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle into pint glass

Appearance- Pours a light brown- mahogany color with a big off white head. The head has a great level of retention hanging around for quite some time with it very slowly fading to give a great level of lacing.

Smell - The aroma is of a malty and nut aroma. The malty aroma is mostly of a brown bread nature and is complimented well by a caramel and toffee sweetness smell. The nut smell is a nice blend of a walnut and almond aroma which when combined with the sweet smells creates a great nut brown aroma overall.

Taste – The taste starts out with some sweet caramel and a malty flavor of a brown bread nature. Nutty flavors of a mostly walnut nature become more and more prevalent as the taste advances. An almost cider like flavor also develops more toward the middle of the taste. This results in a sweetening of the beer, which over time then starts to fade as the caramel and toffee loss some ground. A grassy and earthy hop flavor come to the taste at the end, bittering the taste ever so slightly. With the lessening of some of the sweetness that was originally upfront, a bready, walnut, and lightly grassy hop flavor are left to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is a little on the thinner side with a carbonating level that is on the below average to average side. Not bad, although a little more creaminess and chewiness may have been better for the nut and bready flavors of the brew.

Overall- A easy drinking nut brown. Not the smoothest of flavor transitions and a little weak in body, but still one to try if you get a chance.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2012 02:10:40 | More by Darkmagus82

JohnRyanJosey

5/5  rDev +22.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Wow. Just, wow. I only review beers I like, so, for my first review, I figured I'd review my all-time favorite. My favorite style is the English brown, and this is the king of them all. The best browns are British, and this is Britain's best. If you like browns, you have to try this. It's a requirement to get into heaven.

A - A deep reddish brown, the color of autumn leaves. Beautiful, simply beautiful.

S - A toasty toffee smell, hazelnuts, absolutely no alcohol.

T - Toasty, overflowing with nuts. But the aftertaste is the best part: hazelnuts for a few minutes. Slightly sweet, but not too sweet. It goes equally well with a perfectly marbled steak or a slice of pecan pie. The perfect accompaniment to a delicious meal. The definition of delicious beer.

M - Creamy and smooth, with just a little bit of carbonation, but it isn't flat. Just silky, smooth and soft.

O - Sell your soul for just a taste of this beer. If I had to drink one beverage for the rest of my life, other than water, this would be it. A meal in itself, but a perfect partner with nearly anything.You'd be hard-pressed to find a meal with which this doesn't go perfectly. The best beer on the planet.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 19:41:03 | More by JohnRyanJosey

ZBerkeleyan

California

4.33/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. A dark brown brew with a thick tan head and nice lacing. Carbonation was not visible.

Nice nose on this one: a slightly sweet malts remind me of brown sugar, there's a little chocolate and nuttiness as well.

Taste was similar to the nose, but was surprisingly dry and not too sweet. This brown ale could serve equally well alongside a dinner or dessert. As the beer warmed more roast-y flavors combined with the malt flavor for a nice twist.

The mouthfeel is smooth with a dry finish.

Overall this is a tasty and versatile offering from Samuel Smith. I like the flavors, and it did a good job of warming me up on a winter evening. In fact, for a winter treat I would prefer this brew rather than Samuel Smith's Winter seasonal. The Nut Brown is a good addition to Samuel Smith's lineup, though not quite as good as their famous Oatmeal Stout, in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2012 06:44:47 | More by ZBerkeleyan

happy4hoppybeer

Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours into glass a nice dark amber, with faint ruby-like color shining through. Nice white head, almost a couple fingers thick. Thick bubbly lacing.

Nose of caramel, toasted barley, some fruits and faint chocolate. Really complex aromas. I dig it.

Creamy mouthfeel and taste of vanilla, nuts and some roasted malt. The flavors are more on the subtle side, not in your face at all. I wish they were on the same level as the aromas are. Body is fairly medium, and like I said before, very creamy and smooth.

This is a really good and impressive English Brown Ale. So far, I really like Samuel Smith's. Hope to have more.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2012 17:50:37 | More by happy4hoppybeer