Samuel Smith's Organic Apricot Ale - Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)

DaftCaskBC

British Columbia (Canada)

4.58/5  rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A: 1/4" cream coloured head over cloudy and thick amber liquid.

S: Apricots, honey and yeast.

T: Apricots, yeast, honey and some sweet buscuity malt. But more sweet apricots than anything else.

M: Medium viscosity and low carbonation. Nice and thick fruit feel.

O: Very drinkable, a beautiful summer beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2012 22:30:56 | More by DaftCaskBC

minterro

Michigan

4.48/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Found in Chicago (forgot what the liquor store was called)

I have no idea about the availability.

A&S: Spectacular, hazy dark yellow colored beer. Head pours about one and one half fingers of off-white fluffy head. Retained at a thin layer and leaves good wavy lacing. Powerful sweet apricot scent, minor citrus hoppyness.

T&M: Upfront very, very sweet (but not artificial sugary but more like a super concentrated fruit juice). Extremely tart. The intense sugariness fades a litter bit after midtaste and leads into a mixture of citrus and rich apricot tones. medium to light bodied and on the low side of carbonation.

Overall: It blew all other apricot beers or fruit beers I've tried before out of the water! I thought this beer was amazing and would recommend it to anybody. Best enjoyed on a warm summer's afternoon.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 03:53:55 | More by minterro

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.43/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Very enjoyable fruit ale, like other fruit beers from Melbourn Bros and Samuel Smith's it's excellent well managed fruit infused ale. They must use a concentrated apricot puree'. It pours like a viscous clouded golden orange apricot slurry, with a bright white head forming thick. Aroma earthiness, tart fruit, consider this as liquid candied apricots...excellent overall experience so far. Flavor enough natural tartness exists to balance things out between apricot flavors, hints of pear, and tart citrus with a bit of lactic acid yogurt notes. Poured into a 20 ounce imperial pint glass with a Samuel Smith logo. Apricot preserves like sweet/tart notes, dry finish, sturdy fine carbonation carries the medium body so well, of course there's fermentable sugars left behind but it never feels cloying. Overall, excellent fruit ale, never been so pleased with a fruit beer, definitely dessert level sweetness but it tastes so good.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2012 05:02:44 | More by WVbeergeek

pweis909

Wisconsin

4.41/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Cloudy and gold with a big white head that leaves lacy patterns on the glass. Smells and tastes of apricots. Go figure!. The apricot flavor is accompanied by a moderate sourness that makes this beer enjoyably refreshing. The beer seems slightly sweet up front but the sourness dries out the finish. No noticeable hop presence. Well balanced. Quite nice.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 21:13:37 | More by pweis909

UCLABrewN84

California

4.38/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a murky golden apricot color with a 1 inch foamy orange-white head that settles to a small cap on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is fantastic with aromas of fresh apricots, dried apricots, and some apricot/peach juice. Taste is of all of these apricot aromas translated into tasty flavors with a nice malt/grain presence on the finish. The flavors are both mildly tart and slightly sweet creating a nice natural fruit flavor. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a fantastic beer and definitely the best of all of the Samuel Smith fruit ales in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2012 04:28:26 | More by UCLABrewN84

Beerisheaven

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Was looking forward to trying this. Picked up 2 bottles last week, decided to have one with my post-Easter meal.

A - Poured from a bottle to two small Hunahpu snifters. I like the size bottle in that it is big enough to share and small enough if you want just a meaningful taste. Pours a cloudy yellow with a large white puffy head that backs off and leaves generous lacing on the snifter.

S - Very nice. Good waft of apricot with a little malt backbone. Not overpowing, generally nice.

T - I saw some of the reviews that noted its tartness. I will say that if you drink any amount of wilds or sours with regularity, you will probably think that this leans to the sweeter side. Wonderful taste of apricots to me with minimal bite.

M - I found this to be creamy, full, and delicious.

O - I really liked this beer and will pick up a few more for safe keeping. Great summer beer to say the least and now has raised my interest to try the other Sammy Organic fruit beers. I kept comparing this in my mind to the Selinsgrove Saison Peche and thinking if you subbed out the Peach for Apricot that you would have something similar. A really nice beer that might be too sweet for some but I found it to be quite nice.

On my way to pick some more up for sure.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2012 17:31:09 | More by Beerisheaven

Jamesthebrit

Michigan

4.33/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours super hazy and bubbly. Big white foamy head that stays around for quite some time before fading to a thin layer over the top.

S: Super fruity. Notes of apricots, grape must, sweet, strawberrys, smooth. Simply wonderful with lots going on.

T: Very fruity and sweet. Fades to a little bit of lingering stale grape must but nothing too bad. There is a good range of flavors all in the fruityness.

M: Sits a little light but a lot of flavors begin to develop.

Overall a great beer. I like fruity beers so if you don't like sweet beers pass on this. I think it's a great showing with the fruit really blending in well here. I'm probably going to try to snatch up more Sam Smith beers as their other beer that I had was also quite impressive.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2012 23:50:55 | More by Jamesthebrit

wvsabbath

West Virginia

4.28/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Serving Type - 18.2 ounce bottle

Appearance - Light golden yellow with a creamy foamy 2 inch white head, and lots of lacing.

Smell - Fruits, malts, grassy, earthy dankness. Not much else.

Taste - Well, from the first sip, sweet apricots with a nice smooth malt backbone. Very natural flavor, much more like fresh juice compaired to sugary concentrate. Pear, peach and orange are mixed in, along with some added sugars.

Mouthfeel - Light, sweet and smooth. TOunge gets fruits, some malts and earthy notes. Palette gets more fruits, malts and a little more sugars. Aftertaste is sweet, herbal and smooth.

Overall - This is how fruit beers should be. You really get the fresh, natural and fruity aspect in each sip. Very well done, a little pricey for sammy smith beers but worth the price since its high quality ingredients.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2012 01:12:38 | More by wvsabbath

Kromes

Georgia

4.18/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: An unfiltered light orange color with a finger's width white colored head.

S: A smooth wheat malt aroma with a very fragrant apricot.

T: Very sweet and tart apricot flavor. The tartness goes very well with the sweet apricot flavors. Finishes tart and sour with a lingering apricot flavor.

M: Medium body, a little bit puckering from the tartness. Good carbonation.

O: Some apricot ales are overly sweet, some too tart and dry. This one hits right down the middle and provides both with great results.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2012 19:39:17 | More by Kromes

BeerForMuscle

New Jersey

4.15/5  rDev +7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - The cloudy body of a wheat beer, a foamy lace ring.

S - TONS of sweet dried apricots. Everything apricot here i.e. dried, fresh, jam etc. A very faint hint of malted grains upon deep inhalation.

T - Of course, big apricot flavor with fresh, dried, candied etc. Much like apricot jam, tangy, sweet, faintly tart. A slight bitterness in the way of apricot skin, and dried beer grains. A fresh, inviting flavor with clean elements.

M - Cleansing, crisp, tart, subtle dryness in the end.

O - A wonderful brew, definitely the apricot lovers holy grail. This beer puts other "apricot ales" to shame. This doesnt just taste like someone sprayed apricot perfume into a crappy lager, its a mouthful of the actual fruit. Well done/

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2012 01:21:09 | More by BeerForMuscle

ChrisCage

Alberta (Canada)

4.15/5  rDev +7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A- Poured into my English Ale Pint glass. It pours a beautifully hazy golden color that looks a lot like apricot nectar. The head is excellent as well, starting off about two fingers in thickness and retains like a proper English Ale should...down to about a half finger thick...the color of the thick foam is off white with hints of copper lingering within. Lacing looks to be good as well with plenty of sticky stringy bubbles clinging to the side of the glass.

S- This has one very dominant aroma...fresh pressed apricot fruit! The sweet nectar permeates the nostrils with delight, and in the background are whiffs of malt, earthy apricot kernel and a mildly drying hop cone smell right at the end.

T- The flavors of the beer follow the aromas closely with a noticeable exception. While again, the dominating character on the palate is apricot, I find it to have a tang to it that doesn't quite match what eating a fresh piece of the fruit would be like, and this in turn provides a slightly sour flavor. Other than this, the malt gently finds its' way to the palate and the finish isn't bitter at all, but rather like in the aroma, I find the hop profile to be more drying. Not bad overall flavor-wise!

M- This beer is very creamy and easy going on the palate, with very fine carbonation striking my tongue. The result of this is a definite medium bodied beer that had a very refreshing, fruity character.

O- The drinkablility of this beer is quite good, but it's not something that I could drink rather quickly or in large quantities. I think if the weather was really warm, this makes a great patio beer. The alcohol is very well hidden and it's a very smooth drinking beverage. My only knock is that the flavor feels slightly forceful and I'd like it even better if it was a little more subdued....still, a very good apricot fruit beer by comparison! Of course I always like the idea that all ingredients used are organic....something that should be commonplace!

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 23:47:04 | More by ChrisCage

flagmantho

Washington

4.13/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 550mL bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: golden-orange hue with a thick haze and two big fingers of pillowy ivory foam. Head is tenacious and leaves a good lace behind, as well.

Smell: nice, rich apricot aroma with a big earthiness underneath it. It smells fresh and natural.

Taste: malty backbone with a great apricot flavor. The earthiness of the aroma is replaced by a fresh tartness in the flavor which is quite refreshing. A good fruit beer!

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a good level of carbonation and resulting creaminess. I like it.

Overall: this is actually one of the better fruit beers I've had. Apricot is earthy and pairs well with the malt, and there's just enough tartness to make the beer highly refreshing and drinkable. Great stuff!

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2012 17:18:35 | More by flagmantho

brock146

Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Looks like an apricot! Cloudy and murky.

S - Smashed apricots, sweet fruit scent.

T - Like biting into a fresh, ripe apricot with a slight sourness. Sticky and a little bit of booze in the middle.

M - Apricot flavored smoothie. Thick and bubbly.

O - Another very good fruit beer by Samuel Smith

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 20:52:35 | More by brock146

Gavage

New Jersey

4.1/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: pours a slightly hazy orange color with a 1" head that slowly falls to a thin surface covering.

Smell: apricots and more apricots.

Taste: the apricot flavor is very strong and quite pleasant. Some grass and wheat tones linger in the background. Very little bitterness here as this beer is very sweet.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer. Very crisp and prickly throughout with a dry finish. Long lasting apricot aftertaste.

Overall: one of the better fruit-centric beers I have had in a while. If you enjoy apricots, this one is worthy of a try.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2013 17:37:02 | More by Gavage

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Wow, what a find on a recent beer-buying expedition to Philly! I was unaware that S. S.'s was even making such a beer! To say that I am excited to try it would be an understatement.

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 apricot 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."; "The [pictured] steam engine provides power to drive the malt mill and mash tun rakes. It was built in 1910 by Marshalls of Gainsborough."

This was one frothy, heady beer, lemme tell ya! I had two-plus fingers of French Vanilla head off a relatively low-aggression pour. The room smelled like I was using apricot air freshener and my mouth was immediately watering. Color was a hazy orangish-yellow, like fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. Mouthfeel was soft and creamy and the taste reminded me that apricots are not the sweetest fruit out there. Man, did this have a tang that woke up my dormant taste buds! This was a sipper, to be sure. It was tart, but not sour, if that is at all meaningful to others. Finish was white wine dry and very refreshing. This would make an excellent summertime beer or for anyone that simply digs fruit beers. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2012 17:20:34 | More by woodychandler

tobelerone

New Jersey

4.1/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is the beer for apricot heads. Not a sour at all; more like apricot preserves in beer form. I wound up serving this with a flourless dark chocolate cake that had a thin layer of apricot in the center and the pairing was terrific.

The beer pours cloudy and a golden apricot color–go figure–with a nice fluffy cap of white foam that settles slowly and leaves decent lacing. Both the taste and aroma are full on, sugary apricot preserves. Just a touch of tartness, yeast, and light malty notes underneath. There’s still some inkling that you’re drinking a beer, but not too much.

Medium-light bodied with good carbonation; avoids being cloying. While it’s definitely on the sweeter side, it dries up a bit in the finish. I really enjoyed this; I certainly wouldn’t want to drink it everyday, but I could definitely see myself buying this again if I’m the mood for it.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2012 03:27:43 | More by tobelerone

scratch69

Missouri

4.1/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I poured a bottle into a mug.

Appearance- Cloudy yellow-orange with a fingers worth of off-white head. Fair amount of lacing.

Smell- Fruity apricot aroma.

Taste- Sweet apricot flavor with a faint hint of floral hops at the finish.

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied and sticky with an average amount of carbonation.

Overall- Great tasting fruit beer. It tastes more like fruit juice than beer, but it is still delicious.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 03:26:15 | More by scratch69

avalon07

South Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had an orange color and a cloudy consistency. There was an inch and a half of creamy, fairly long-lasting head. Good lacing.

S: As expected, lots and lots of apricot in the aroma. Pretty much dominates this category.

T: Tasted of - you guessed it - apricots. There's a hint of malt in the finish, but the apricots take over everything. Not quite as vibrant as I would have thought, but still very tasty.

M: A good amount of carbonation with a slick, syrupy finish. Medium-bodied.

O: I didn't quite like this beer as much as Samuel Smith's other organic fruit beers, but it is very enjoyable and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2012 13:12:54 | More by avalon07

Giggy

Michigan

4.03/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

550 ml bottle. Was looking for something different. Not necessarily interested in the organic aspect.

A: Mustard yellow coloring. Very cloudy and hazy. White head.

S: Dominant apricot but also wheat, yeast, and stone fruits.

T: Was surprised to find it so sweet. Was expecting it to be more dry. Tastes of sweet apricots, honey, pears, peach, and orange.

M: Smooth with a slight tingle from the carbonation. Creamy.

O: Very drinkable. Good summer brew.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2012 21:06:28 | More by Giggy

thain709

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Poured with a very cloudy, dull golden body...the head was white and fluffy and disappeared very quickly...there was a thin, broken cap left...not much lacing

S - Very fresh, juicy, and fruity...I didn't find overpowering, but rather very enjoyable...apricots and a hint of some peaches were the main characters

T - Again, the fruit is the star of the show...the apricots were very fresh and juicy...they never became cloying because of the wheat malt in the background...the wheat malt just rounded out the flavor and it never took over the fruit presence...the finish is full of fresh apricots

M - Medium bodied...with a hint of thickness to it...smooth with adequate carbonation

O - I'm not going to lie, but this is pretty much a one trick pony...a tasty one trick pony non-the-less...one bottle would be enough to satisfy me especially when looking to cool down or have an alternate to hops

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2012 16:39:37 | More by thain709

DavidST

Texas

4/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 550ml bottle into a pint glass. This pours a very hazy apricot yellow color with a massive white head. The smells are very strong on apricot. The feel is medium to a little thick. The taste is good but very sweet, loads of slightly sour apricots and not much else. Very fruity, but good.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2012 04:17:54 | More by DavidST

TheMultiYeast

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours hazy yellow orange with a small white head and little lacing.

Smell is sweet, slightly bready, plenty of apricot

Lots of apricot in taste, light sweetness, clean pleasantly tart finish

Feel is crisp, refreshing, tart, well carbonated...Good stuff!

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 03:11:46 | More by TheMultiYeast

Cylinsier

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bigger bottle, 16 oz maybe?

Pours a hazy yellow orange with minimal lacing for a head.

Tart and sweet fruit smells, like lemon and orange.

A sweet and tart apricot flavor are everpresent, fresh and clean. Fruity sweet, but nothing artificial about it, and it's not overbearing.

Lighter body with a poppy carbonation.

If you don't like sweeter fruit beers, this will not be for you. But if you do like fruity beers like lambics, then this is about as good as it gets for my money. The apricot balances the sweetness with a natural tartness that really makes this a treat. There are few if any fruit beers I can think of to put ahead of this one.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2012 01:10:50 | More by Cylinsier

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.99/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

LOOK: Pours a cloudy peach color, sporting a creamy white froth that leaves some lace. Appears almost like a smoothy of some sort.

SMELL: Fruity nose of honey apple crisp, apricots and faint grain chiming in to remind that this is still a beer.

TASTE: The apricot notes apparent in the smell are even more pronounced in the taste. Tart, juicy apricot, with a bit of pit like mineral note, but it is very subtle. A touch of biscuity malt, grain and yeast lend all of the beer like character, and there is a very small bittering note. Other than that its tart, juicy apricot all day.

FEEL: Light to medium bodied, medium carbonation. This brew drinks easily and effortlessly.

OVERALL: A proper early-day beer, this apricot ale has genuine flavor and quality character. Fruity, but still balanced and full, making it very drinkable. I had this paired with a spicy tuna and crab salad sushi roll, and it paired decently, making for a quite solid lunch. Good beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 17:03:50 | More by Stinkypuss

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

3.99/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle into a Duvel tulip.

A: Pours a hazy amber color. The head is a three finger white shade. As it recedes, it leaves behind plentiful lacing on the glass.

S: Apricots. Okay, there isn't much else to the aroma - but this singular quality is pulled off extremely well. I also notice a bit of cream and cherry esters, as well.

T: Much like the nose, the flavor profile is pretty much an apricot bomb with only an augmenting cream note to break up the monotony. The general flavor profile is 90% sweet and 10% tart, but I'm really glad that it doesn't come off in an artificial manner, too. Simple? Yep. Sweet and not very beer-y? Of course. Enjoyable? Oh fuck yes.

M: The texture is medium bodied and crisp. Some finishing dryness does a good job of scrubbing off any overdone syrupy-sweet linger - still, this one is pretty damn sweet on the back end. I don't really notice the carbonation because of the aforementioned sweetness.

O: Admittedly, the sweetness means that that the first half of the bottle is more pleasurable/drinkable than the second half. Nonetheless, as a fruit beer, this one is hard to beat. I would absolutely buy this again.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2013 20:07:12 | More by ThisWangsChung