Beer Me! — Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster) — Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom

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Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)

Not open to the public (as far as I know)

High Street
Tadcaster LS24 9SB
Telephone: +44 (0) 1937 839201
[Update]

Notes

Opened: 1758

U.S. Importer: Merchant du Vin

Contributor: Mario Kornmesser

Why do people rave about these beers? At least the recent samples have been better than the earlier ones.

Updated: January 8, 2023

News

2020-04-16: Samuel Smith Brewery Is Delivering Beer by Horse and Cart (VinePair)

Beer List

Imperial Stout

Imperial Stout

7.00% abv.
- Date: January 5, 2008 (#6794)
  
  Package: bottled
  
  Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE
  
  Score: 16 points
  
  Appearance (3)
  Jet black. Moderate dense head.
  
  Aroma (3)
  Burnt. Sweet roasted-scorched malt. Chocolate. Some solvent.
  
  Mouthfeel (8)
  Big body, smooth. Huge chocolatey maltiness. Fairly bitter and intensely roasty. Some solvent. Huge grassy hop flavor gets even huger at the end.
  
  Overall Impression (2)
- Date: March 20, 2001 (#3848)
  
  Package: bottled
  
  Place: BJCP Training Course, De Pere WI
  
  Score: 12 points
  
  Overall Impression (2½)
  Black, moderate head. Licorice aroma, ethyl acetate odor. Medium-big body, bitter and black, lots of acetate (nail-polish). Very warming - fusels? Oxidized - cardboard.

India Ale

English-Style Dark Mild Ale

5.00% abv.

Date: May 10, 2008 (#7003)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 15½ points

Appearance (3)
Bright copper color. Thick head.

Aroma (2½)
Grassy hops, and...cookie dough?

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, smooth. Lots of sweet caramel malt and lots of grassy, resiny hop flavor. Moderate bitterness fades in the finish.

Overall Impression (2)
Date: February 13, 1998 (#2394)

Package: bottled

Place: Shipley's Alehouse, Manoa HI

Score: 12½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Golden, low carbonation, thick white head. Sweet aroma, maybe herbal if you try really hard. (Although my first impression was "ketchup".) Good body. Very one-dimensional oily bitterness. Not as bad as some of the other Smith's beers, but only barely drinkable.

Nut Brown Ale

English-Style Brown Ale

5.00% abv.

Date: January 11, 2008 (#6810)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 15 points

Appearance (3)
Bright red-brown. Huge creamy head.

Aroma (2½)
Enormous distinctive grassy English hops.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium creamy body. Intense grassy hop flavor up front. Biscuity sweet malt, toasty. Fairly bitter — finishes grassy and resiny and just a bit warming.

Overall Impression (1½)
Date: February 27, 2001 (#3777)

Package: bottled

Place: BJCP Training Course, De Pere WI

Score: 12½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Red-brown, good head. Fairly smoky aroma. Medium-light body, big skunkiness, mildly roasty.
Date: March 18, 1996 (#1334)

Package: bottled

Place: Moloka`i Wines and Spirits Unlimited, Kaunakakai HI

Score: 9 points

Overall Impression (2)
Dark copper opaque, good head. Very sharp odor, much worse than Pale Ale (17-1333). Smells like grass clippings fermenting in the sun. OK brown flavors, reasonably nasty hops. Sticky.

Oatmeal Stout

5.00% abv.

Awards:

Bronze Medal, 2010 US Open Beer Championship
Gold Medal, 1996 Brewing Industry International Awards

Date: January 11, 2008 (#6811)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Black with garnet highlights. Huge foamy head.

Aroma (3)
Sweet and chocolatey, with lots of grassy hops.

Mouthfeel (8)
Thick and creamy. Richly malty with lots of chocolate and a nice roastiness. Grassy, resiny bitterness in the finish.

Overall Impression (2)
Date: March 21, 1996 (#1335)

Package: bottled

Place: Moloka`i Wines and Spirits Unlimited, Kaunakakai HI

Score: 12 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Very dark red transparent, good brown head. Black aroma, hint of nasty hops as in Nut Brown (17-1334). Good body, OK black flavors. Mostly sweet, hint of bitterness in finish. Almost but not quite smooth.

Date: September 20, 2008 (#7356)

Package: bottled

Place: Hy-Vee Council Bluffs, Council Bluffs IA

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Golden. Slight haze. Thick head.

Aroma (3)
Sweet, fruity, grassy.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, smooth. Huge biscuity malt flavor. Mild grassy hop flavor and bitterness. Biscuit character lasts a long time.

Overall Impression (2½)

Date: March 18, 1996 (#1333)

Package: bottled

Place: Moloka`i Wines and Spirits Unlimited, Kaunakakai HI

Score: 10½ points

Overall Impression (2)
Amber opaque, OK carbonation and head. Diacetyl aroma, some DMS? Smells like old cut grass...sharp. OK body, fair amount of diacetyl. Subdued bitterness.

Date: April 22, 2008 (#6967)

Package: bottled

Place: Hy-Vee Columbus, Columbus NE

Score: 14 points

Appearance (3)
Bright golden-amber. Moderate head.

Aroma (2½)
Big biscuity malt. Enormous grassy hops.

Mouthfeel (7)
Medium body. Low carbonation. Big sweet malt. Big grassy hop flavor. Mild bitterness. Big sweet grassy finish.

Overall Impression (1½)

Date: March 12, 2008 (#6935)

Package: bottled

Place: Crescent Moon Ale House, Omaha NE

Score: 13½ points

Appearance (3)
Very dark red. Moderate head.

Aroma (2)
Intense blackstrap molasses.

Mouthfeel (7)
Light body, fizzy. Really sweet, mildly roasty. Very very grassy. Resiny bitterness. Weird balance.

Overall Impression (1½)

Date: November 6, 2001 (#3978)

Package: bottled

Place: Sam's Wine and Spirits, Chicago IL

Overall Impression (2)
Black, thick head. Incredibly oxidized - cardboard odor. Medium-big body, roasty and sweet, lots of cardboard flavor, some diacetyl.

Date: April 23, 1996 (#1386)

Package: bottled

Place: Kamuela Liquor Store, Kamuela HI

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Red-black, big brown head. Coffee, burnt toast aroma. Black malts, sweet. Quick bitterness followed by long roasty finish. Not bad.

Date: May 21, 1996 (#1483)

Package: bottled

Place: Kamuela Liquor Store, Kamuela HI

Score: 10 points

Overall Impression (1½)
Red-amber opaque, good carbonation and head. Typical Smith's paint-thinner aroma, some crystal behind that. Sweet, harsh bitterness...typical Smith's beer. Bah.

Date: December 8, 1996 (#1898)

Package: bottled

Place: Kamuela Liquor Store, Kamuela HI

Score: 10 points

Overall Impression (1½)
Amber, moderate carbonation, good head. Immediate mercaptan odor blast. Same old Smith's rotten grass odor. Sweet, OK body, bitter, vegetal. Lots of diacetyl. $3.45/bottle.

Date: January 11, 2008 (#6812)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Bright amber. Huge head.

Aroma (3)
Big sweet caramel malt. Fruity.

Mouthfeel (9)
Big body, low carbonation. Richly malty, caramel and sweet. Fruity esters. Very mildly warming. Tasty chewy malty finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: November 12, 2008 (#7540)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Bright amber. Big head.

Aroma (3)
Big English hops. Fruity, some caramel.

Mouthfeel (9)
Medium-big body, chewy and malty. Grassy, resiny hop flavor, moderate bitterness. Nice caramel malt, some toffee. Wood. Hop flavor returns in the finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: November 20, 2010 (#8364)

Package: bottled

Place: Hy-Vee Stony Brook, Omaha NE

Score: 14 points

Appearance (3)
Bright amber. Moderate head.

Aroma (2½)
Biscuity, bready, and very grassy.

Mouthfeel (7)
Medium body, smooth. Grainy, grassy, with an English hop bitterness. More bitter than the 2010 version.

Overall Impression (1½)

Date: November 20, 2010 (#8361)

Package: bottled

Place: Hy-Vee Stony Brook, Omaha NE

Score: 14 points

Appearance (3)
Bright amber. Thick head.

Aroma (2)
Very earthy, almost musty.

Mouthfeel (7)
Medium body, smooth. Sweet fresh grainy malt and lots of grassy English hops up front. Medium bitterness. Clean grassy-grainy finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: June 26, 2010 (#8267)

Package: bottled

Place: Brix, Omaha NE

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Red. Translucent. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Sweet, malty. Earthy, grassy.

Mouthfeel (8)
Fairly thick and really fizzy. Malty like an Old Ale. Grassy like an English Pale Ale. Warming late. Plums and apricots.

Overall Impression (2½)
Pretty good beer, but awfully expensive.