Samuel Smith Old Brewery: Oatmeal Stout

As promised in my last Samuel Smith review, I wrote that I would buy, consume, and post on Samuel Smith Old Brewery Oatmeal Stout. If you just clicked on that prior post, you may notice my varying use of this brewery's name. To tell you the truth I'm quite confused. On the pale ale I purchased, the label states "Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale. However, this beer label reads Samuel Smith Old Brewery Oatmeal Stout. I don't know what happened to the apostrophe 's' but it disappeared somewhere. If you don't believe examine the pictures.

That all being said I'm pretty sure these beers all are produced from the same brewery. A brewery in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England. A very very old brewery in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England. Apparently Samuel Smith uses 200 year old yeast strains for its beers and ancient brewing techniques; specifically the Yorkshire Square.

As a result, Samuel Smith's brews have unique flavors you just can't find anyone else. If there is any continuity between the two beers I reviewed that might be attributed to the old brewing methods it could be a noticeable sweetness. I thought the pale ale had very sweet toffee flavors and this beer has some syrupy sweetness to it. For being a stout, the beer's sweet aftertaste was a little surprising. The sweetness reminds me of a little of coke or pepsi. That may sound gross, but it works. The sugar sensation is not overpowering at all and rounds out a pretty hearty initial mouthfeel. Besides the sweet, the stout smells like oats which isn't surprising, as it is an oatmeal stout, and the malt flavors finally start to emerge as the beer warms a little. Combined with the sweetness it's pretty good.

So I followed through on my promise to review this beer. And while I can't promise it, I'm very confident that this very old brewery will produce a brew that any beer drinker will enjoy. Cheers.

Samuel Smith's Old Brewery: Pale Ale

Since Nick, Hofer, and Eric all have studied in Durham, I probably shouldn't be the first to review a brew from across the pond. But as of late I can't keep my hands off Samuel Smith's selections. So here goes:

Before I start on the pale, I must say that I had two 550ml bottles of Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout over the weekend and the quality was unreal. I'm not a huge fan of imports because I'm accustom to American styles and on occasion the beer doesn't hold up during the travel. But the stout really blew me away. I was out enjoying a birthday meal so I didn't drink it with a discerning palate. But I'll definitely give that stout some more quality time later.

As for the pale ale, I cannot believe, I am absolutely shocked, by the sweet smell. Poured into a pint glass, when you nose dips past the rim during sips the aroma is almost overpowering. A very sweet toffee smell. Luckily the taste is more subtle than the smell. Still some sweetness but mostly toasted malt flavors. A bready flavor compliments the other tastes giving an overall enjoyable combination. The only drawback is the hops are very limited, especially compared to most American Pale Ales. As a result the body is kinda thin. But this feature also makes the beer very drinkable. In addition there are enough flavors to overcome the light mouthfeel. The refinement of recipe is noticeable. It's as if they have been brewing this beverage for over 200 years. Cheers.