Tetley's Smoothflow - Carlsberg-Tetley Brewing Ltd

StonedTrippin

Colorado

2.85/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

something of an oddity here, from the nitro can. pours at first like a disgusting milkshake, but makes a comeback into a bronze liquid littered with tiny yeast bits and a dense as anything nitro head just off white and unwavering. the nose is bitter and dry English malts, with some finishing hops and some metallic notes. the flavor is about the same, real bitter on the back end, and a really minerally finish, not particularly pleasant, but not downright brutal either. the longer I sit without taking another sip, the less and less I like the aftertaste, just not quite right. the feel is weird too, with the head being thick like taffy, and the body of the beer itself being much thinner, and way under carbonated after all the nitro juice is gone. this really was a let down, as I thought itd be like a boddingtons cream or something, but this is way inferior to those. in the end, I can get through a can okay, but this just isn't as good as it could be. the 3.6% abv is curious as well, not sure if its a pro or a con here, but that's inconsequential at this point. so-so at best.

Serving type: nitro-can

04-25-2013 00:35:57 | More by StonedTrippin

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

2.94/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Two half-pints in Blackfriers Theatre (Boston, Lincolnshire) before and at half-time during 'Sleeping Beauty' by The Vienna Festival Ballet on 31 Mar 2013.

Dark amber body with a full creamy head that stayed the distance on both halves. It looked pretty good to be honest.

Too cold to have an aroma at first, as it warmed a malty molasses and mixed dark fruits smell began to appear.

The taste took its time to arrive because of the coldness, but it turns out the beer is slightly malty and semi-sweet throughout. Fairly smooth in texture as the name suggests, although I think smoothbland rather than smoothflow would suit it more.

Serving type: on-tap

04-02-2013 16:30:25 | More by BlackHaddock

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.14/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

440ml can poured into pint glass 26/2/13

A beautiful cascading head that ends up two fingers deep and stayed there for a while and leaves lots of lace deep down the glass, pretty much just one continuous ring of lace 5 inches wide. I know they cheated to make it look this good but hey what can I say it looks great

S caramels a little bread and cream with just a little fruit, pretty basic smells faint

T more of the same really, more biscuit and bread with heaps of caramel, again there's not really a whole lot going on

M medium bodied but it feels completely flat, the caramels linger on the finish

O pretty uneventful but drinkable, basic beer that I'd get board of way before I caught a buzz

looks great but I'm sure its all nitrogen, pretty tame without a whole lot of flavor and the feels a little lame, basic beer I wouldn't go looking for

Serving type: nitro-can

02-26-2013 20:33:02 | More by wordemupg

TheQuietMan22

Iowa

3.26/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Serving type: 440 ml can. Printed on the bottom is “14/09/12 23:09,” which I assume was the canning date and time. There is no widget, thankfully.

Appearance: Poured into an imperial pint glass. The can opened with an angry gurgle and the beer poured like a light-colored nitro stout. The color is similar to sun tea. One finger cap of very dense and creamy head refused to dissipate. More power to it!

Smell: Like an English pale ale, though the aroma is on the lighter side. Grassy and earthy hops, pale malts, honey, sweet caramel, and lemon.

Taste: Smooth (of course) and creamy, but unspectacular. It mostly mirrors the smell, but the flavors are fairly diluted. It does, however, have a nice, earthy hop bite.

Drinkability: It is canned British ale. Tasty and decent, but nothing special. Enough said.

Serving type: nitro-can

02-01-2013 21:08:39 | More by TheQuietMan22

mynie

Indiana

2.15/5  rDev -33%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Being a smooth operator, I figured this beer would be right up my alley. Golly, was I ever wrong!

It tastes like nitrogen and water. There is no expiry date, but I'm not familiar with any beer or beer-like ingredients that completely vanish after a beer expires. As it warms up, the tiniest bit of hop bitterness is present near the end, along with the big old woosh of nitrogen.

This is one of the least flavorful beers I've ever had, right up there with Coors light. This review is therefore sparse, as I just don't have all much to say. It's not awful, certainly, as being awful would require some flavor of some sort. It's just hardly even there.

Serving type: nitro-can

01-03-2013 22:47:47 | More by mynie

kojevergas

California

2.63/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

3.60% ABV confirmed. Can acquired in Ibiza, Spain and served into a Guinness pint glass. Reviewed from notes taken April 2011.

A: Pours a two finger head of lovely cream lacing with a nice bubble show, though not as good as the one seen when I reviewed this beer on draught. Head is of decent thickness and retention. Colour is a gold-copper.

Sm: Very light scent of cream and barley.

T: Creamy open. Cream and butterscotch body with lingering effects as the barley drives the finish. Balanced well for what it is but relatively simple. The finish is quite lovely, actually. Built somewhat atypically, but nicely. No alcohol or yeast comes through. I actually prefer this to the draught version.

Mf: Creamy, extremely smooth, and wet. It ought to be more dry to coax out the flavours, but that's the least of its problems.

Dr: It's marketed in Ibiza as an Irish beer, but this only serves to piss off those of us who live in Ireland. Serve cold; elsewise it suffers. It's expensive by Spanish standards, but it's alright. Very low ABV for the price and quality.

C-

Serving type: can

11-07-2012 02:47:07 | More by kojevergas

metter98

New York

3.3/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: The beer is clear yellowish amber in color and has an ever so slight amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high creamy and dense off white head that has excellent retention properties and consistently left a short head covering the surface and a thick coating of bubbles running down the sides of the glass.
S: Very slight aromas of toasted malts are present in the nose.
T: The taste is similar to the smell but is a bit stronger and also has some notes of tea leaves and slight hints of bitterness.
M: It feels light-bodied and a little smooth and thin on the palate with a low to moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is quite sessionable; I would have no problem drinking this beer all night long. The smell and taste could be a little stronger, but the mouthfeel from the nitro-can helps to keep things a little interesting.

Serving type: nitro-can

10-27-2012 13:22:55 | More by metter98

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Tetley's Smooth Flow pours with both sound effects and spectacle. The nitro-can sounds a loud, cracking siren and then gears up for what appears a magic trick: thousands of tiny bubbles synchronized into dance, looping and dipping, swarming up the glass like a flock of starlings under attack. In biology this phenomena is known as 'allelomimesis'; in layperson terms it's called 'cool'. And it results in a bed of head that could literally serve as a bed!

The brilliantly copper beer looks maltier than it smells. It's slim-pickings for the olfactory bulb. Maybe it's that thick sponge atop that's preventing any aromas from leaking out, or maybe the people brewing this just don't want to shell out for decent ingredients, but whatever the case this aroma is lackluster, to put it politely. Aside from the water minerals and a hint of honeycomb toffee, it ain't got much going on.

Tastes of biscuits and toffee are frustratingly vague. It seems oxidized. There is a teaspoon of the most pasteurized, mass-produced honey on the market, but it fails to result in any kind of redeeming sweetness. The minerals are easily the most noted component; it tastes (somewhat distastefully) as if the last thing to pass over the tongue is a handful of old pennies.

If you need rain, plan a parade and then invite liquid nitrogen. In my experience, the silly little 'widget' is responsible for ruining everything from aroma to flavour to texture. This particular offering suffers foremost from a deterioration of texture; the mouthfeel is dry and stale like cardboard and leaves a soapy remnant. Both bitterness and sweetness alike are nullified.

Tetley's was once the embodiment of real ale. Now, it is nothing more than a damaging testimony to the state of beer in England. The fact that an ale so insipid and uninspired can be a top-ten selling brand does not speak highly of British palates. However, I will concede that, insofar as mass-produced beers go, one could do much worse. That is in no way an endorsement, but it is about the most positive thing I can say.

Serving type: nitro-can

10-21-2012 15:33:33 | More by biegaman

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +24%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

You've probably heard the one about the guy who walks into a bar. No? He says, "Ouch!" Bro. Woody went to Ardmore last Saturday to see what he could see and walked into a bottle shop. He said, "Yay! Look at all of these new CANs in furtherance of The CANQuest (TM)!" It is called The Beer Shoppe in Ardmore Plaza and for those that do not live in PA, you have no idea what a rare bird it is to find a quality bottle shop, especially one that provided me with no less than five (5) new CANned beers on my first visit. This is one of those beers.

From the CAN: "Light English Ale"; "A uniquely smooth taste: For best results; Serve cold from the fridge, pull the tab, listen to the surge & pour down the side of the glass in one smooth movement."

The Crack immediately caused The Surge, a massive off-gassing of what I assume to be N2. It is always good to read directions and I followed theirs to the letter. I employed a gentle Glug, running the beer down the side of the tilted glass, where it began a beautiful cascade upon arrival at the bottom. I was left with a dense, thick finger of tawny head head with excellent retention. Color was a deep coppery-amber with NE-quality clarity. Nose had a pleasant biscuit malt quality. Mouthfeel was full and creamy thanks to the N2 presence. It was light in its flavor, a biscuit/cracker-like semi-sweetness, but still quite pleasant. Finish was likewise semi-sweet with the maltiness lingering well after the swallow. The low ABV makes it a sessionable CANdidate by even Ding's standards, but I am afraid that as a hophead, I would need more bitterness to sustain me.

Serving type: nitro-can

10-20-2012 04:48:15 | More by woodychandler

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.7/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a crystal clear dark copper in color with minimal amounts of visible carbonation after the creamy cascade from the nitro-can pour. The beer has a finger tall creamy light beige head that has great retention properties (with minimal amounts of reduction in the head over the drinking of the beer) and leaves an almost finger thick layer covering the entire surface with a slightly thicker ring at the edges of the glass. Significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Overall this beer has a mild aroma with light notes of caramel and slight sweet malts along with minimal amounts of hops.

T: Like the smell of this beer, the taste is also quite mild but still enjoyable. There are light flavors of caramel malts with a light amount of sweetness upfront followed by a light amount of non-lingering bitterness (which is very mild and not aggressive).

M: Light bodied with light to moderate amounts of carbonation (nitro-nation?). Smooth and creamy.

O: Extremely easy to drink and very sessionable - you could literally drink this beer all day long with the low ABV and light body. A very mild flavor and aroma to this beer but still quite enjoyable.

Serving type: nitro-can

10-02-2012 21:30:34 | More by dbrauneis

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

2.8/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

440ml nitro-can - $2.79 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours a clear, amber-tan body with a tall, dense, creamy, off-white head.

Smell: This one smells like cold tea with a barley backing and lightly sweetened with table sugar.

Taste: Incredibly mild hint of gently toasted barley grain. Scantly nutty. Low sweetness. Herbal, earthy hops with very light, understated bitterness. Dry, soft finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Low carbonation, though a smooth body.

Overall: Tetley's Smoothflow tastes alot like chilled Tetley tea.

Serving type: nitro-can

09-29-2012 21:39:17 | More by ChainGangGuy

hosehead83

Ohio

3.48/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a "nitro-can" into a standard pint glass.
Clear copper in color. "Reverse" flow cascade effect leaves a nice head of creamy white foam.
Aroma-Faint malt and grain notes
Taste-Mineral malt, light and creamy. Very smooth and sessionable at only 3.6ABV.

Serving type: nitro-can

09-17-2012 19:56:00 | More by hosehead83

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

2.73/5  rDev -15%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A 440ml can with a BB of June 2012. The guff on the side tells me to 'listen to the surge'....

Poured into a tulip pint glass. An orange-amber colour with minimal carbonation. Yields a thick head of creamy off-white foam with excellent stability; it forms a decent surface layer that refuses to budge. Aroma of mild caramel malt with a hint of fruitiness from the yeast. Not much going on.

Tastes of weak caramel malt with a dry finish. A hint of fruity ale yeast and faint stewed hops, along with cardboard and a slight staleness. Slightly sweet, with virtually no bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth and full-bodied, but has an artificial quality that detracts from it. Slight aftertaste of fruity malt.

Not very good - doesn't live up to it's description as an English bitter. The mild aroma and flavour are bland and characterless. Looks the part and the mouthfeel is OK, but overall this is just dull. Another macro ale with a nitrogen gimick. Give it a miss.

Serving type: nitro-can

06-28-2012 21:37:09 | More by jazzyjeff13

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.48/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

From the 440 ml. can marked 15/09/12-05:33-B1316N2. Sampled on February 23, 2012. It is a nitro can so the head explodes into the pint glass and nearly engulfs the whole glass. Once it settles down it has the appearance of medium amber with fine clarity. The aroma is full of sugar-sweetened malts but little in the way of hops. The body is light like a 3.6% ABV beer should be. This has a decent bitter flavor with an accompanying smooth sweetness.

Serving type: nitro-can

02-24-2012 23:13:17 | More by puboflyons

dansmcd

Australia

3.03/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - One finger of tight dense creamy white head, perfectly cut, crowning the clear amber below. Great sheet lacing.

S - Very light notes of caramel, toffee malt.

T - As with the aroma, ridiculously faint flavours.

M - Creamy head with a water thin body below, low carbonation.

O - Mild English Bitter taken too far.

Serving type: nitro-can

01-27-2012 14:02:58 | More by dansmcd

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.13/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Typical nitro pour and head.
Nose shows honey and caramel, that’s about it. Very faint.
Similarly plain flavours, caramel and toffee, very little bitterness.
Watery body, needs much more carbonation.
Incredibly easy to drink, but pretty boring stuff!

Serving type: nitro-can

01-09-2012 09:46:23 | More by CrazyDavros

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.33/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours amber with a one inch off white head that lasts all the way down. Fair amount of lacings. Smell is grains and malt. Taste is malty with a fair amount of bitter hops. Mouthfeel is quite good. Creamy with minimal carbonation. Fair imitation of a pub pull. Drinkability is awesome. At 3.6%abv this is the original session pub ale.

Serving type: nitro-can

11-05-2011 12:53:50 | More by WoodBrew

shambeano

Australia

3.28/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a nitro can into a pint glass.

A- Pours a clear amber with about 1cm of thick creamy head that stays for the entire beer.

S- a little bit of sweetish malt, followed by some peppery hops. pretty basic, but pleasant.

T- again there is some nice malts in there, on the sweeter side, but only just. hop wise, there is less going on in there than on the nose, the bitterness pretty much just rounds out the beer. not too bad.

M- creamy, not too much carbonation, which goes with the style, however it is a touch watery. the bitterness doesnt last for too long, but the dryness continues for a tad longer. not too bad.

O- There is not a whole lot going on in there, but there isn't anything unpleasant. an easy beer to sit on and have a few through the evening, especially with the lower ABV. Its not a great beer, but its better than average, and by the end of it i wanted (and had) another.

Serving type: nitro-can

05-03-2011 13:17:04 | More by shambeano

bryehn

Ontario (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Another old favourite I reviewed when I started my blog, but never scored at BA. Let's see what I think a year later. BB July 28, 2011.

This is a great-looking beer and I've never had a nitro misfire or a dud. Pours a deep, clear, gem-like amber colour. After settling, it has the creamiest, thickest white head I've seen come out of a nitro can. Settles as a sturdy film and collar without leaving any real lace.

The smell is very mild, but builds character as it warms. Toasted malts are accented by a caramel-like sweetness and a slight metallic note.

Surprisingly rich in taste, it delivers bready, toasted malts and a very crisp and dry finish. I also get a mild orange pekoe tea note.

The mouthfeel is unsurprisingly watery, but remains creamy feeling throughout the glass. There is a slight yeasty note on the back of the tongue.

Tetley's is undoubtedly my favourite "mild" and probably my favourite low ABV beer overall. Its great for lunch meals or any other time you may want a decent malty taste without catching too much of a buzz.

Serving type: nitro-can

04-21-2011 16:57:17 | More by bryehn

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

500ml Can

Appearance - The beer pours a creamy amber colour with a large off white milky/frothy head. There is an average amount of carbonation and there is a ton of thick lacing on the sides of the glass. The head stuck around for several minutes before it dissipated. It really looked spectacular when I poured it out of the can.

Smell - pale malts, metallic, a grassiness, breads/grains, caramel

Taste & Mouth - There is a very low amount of carbonation on the tongue, but the beer feels exceptionally creamy. It has a nice mild malt/caramel flavour mixed light hops and breads/grains. There is also a slight metalicness and it might come across as moderately watery. The beer finishes with a mild hop/malt aftertaste.

Drink - The beer really has a fantastic look and is a nice easy drinker. I could easily session this beer all night long. Worth seeking out.

Serving type: can

11-18-2010 00:10:53 | More by spinrsx

prosper

Alberta (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +32.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours a light amber. Typical nitro characteristics and cascade.

Smells great - some english yeast esters, and a trace of floral english hops.

Taste is marvellous. There's a small hint of something roasty in there, and some light bready notes, perfectly balanced with bitterness for a crisp, neutral finish. Maybe just the faintest trace of something carmelly-sweet, too.

Mouthfeel is surprising for such a small beer - even with the nitro. I approve

Drinkability is excellent. This one is absolutely intended as a session beer, and it truly excels at it.

Overall - it's pretty similar to Boddington's

Serving type: nitro-can

09-22-2010 03:13:16 | More by prosper

Spikester

Oregon

3.9/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 5

Pours amber with a one inch off white head that lasts all the way down. Fair amount of lacings. Smell is grains and malt. Taste is malty with a fair amount of bitter hops. Mouthfeel is quite good. Creamy with minimal carbonation. Fair imitation of a pub pull. Drinkability is awesome. At 3.6%abv this is the original session pub ale.

Serving type: nitro-can

09-06-2010 05:50:48 | More by Spikester

bala747

Singapore

3.85/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Another of my frequent beers, Tetley's Smoothflow comes in a nitrocan that suggests I should 'listen to the surge' and pour. I always choose to pour this beer myself because it looks really beautiful as the head settles.

A: A gorgeous milky brown when first poured, settles to a beautiful copper-brown as the head settles. The head remains all the way down to the end of the glass. One of the prettiest non-trappist beers around.
S: Hints of sourdough and some caramel, herbs and hay.
T: Caramel with some sourness (in a good way), some yeasty flavours, with a mildly acidic and bitter aftertaste.

M: It felt flat initially but after a few minutes it warmed up to a thick, slightly cloying feeling at the roof of the mouth. The only let-down in this otherwise fine beer.

D: Very drinkable due to its low ABV, and nice flavours.

Overall a very decent beer that is just tasty, and certainly one of the best looking beers in its category.

Serving type: nitro-can

05-25-2010 12:52:44 | More by bala747

plaid75

New York

3.43/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On nitro at The Atlantic Chip Shop, Brooklyn, NYC.

Poured a medium copper hue with a two finger frothy white head. There was very god retention and good lacing.

The smell was mostly absent with a touch of caramel.

The taste was equally benign with a doughy malt and cleansing hop.

The mouthfeel was full on nitro.

Overall a decent nitro ale.

Serving type: nitro-tap

04-16-2010 20:24:33 | More by plaid75

Grunewald

British Columbia (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

A - poured from a 440ml can into a pilsner glass. It pours clear ruddy amber with a very thick and creamy tan head. The head lasts until the very end and cascades into itself after a sip.

S - biscuit, malt, dry teabags and herbal hops

T - grainy malt, light caramel and lightly astringent herbal hops

M - low carbonation, medium body, viscous and semi-dry finish

D - nice foamy head thanks to the nitrogen. The flavor is an appealing mix of grain and breakfast tea.

Serving type: nitro-can

03-30-2010 06:25:58 | More by Grunewald