Hi guys. For today’s craft beer review I’m going to try the Organic Apricot Ale produced by the Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery (Tadcaster) located in Tadcaster, England.
I’ve never tried this particular Samuel Smith’s brew before. I do favor a lot of their products however, so I’m eager to try it.
From the website, samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk, we find this description.
Handcrafted at the tiny All Saints 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 at Tadcaster. There it is blended with pure organic cherry, strawberry, raspberry or apricot fruit juices and more organic beer to create fruit beers of considerable strength and flavour. The smooth distinctive character of the matured beer serves as the perfect counterpoint to the pure organic fruit juice.
Ok. Let’s give it a taste.
This brew came in an 18.7 oz. bottle and it had an ABV of 5.1%.
It poured a hazy orange juice type of color with a soft, frothy, somewhat creamy, white head. It was nicely sized and the retention time was fairly decent. The lacing was solid. It left nice rings of foam after each and every sip.
The nose presented a sturdy waft of apricot. It was very clean, fresh and sweet smelling. Hints of wheat and bread added some complexity. It does smell an awful lot like fruit juice to be honest.
The taste released a very, very strong characteristic of juicy apricot. A little too much for me actually. It was very sweet and just a tad bit tart. I even found it to be a touch sugary. Some wheat, yeast and bread hid underneath, which tried to tame that sweet, fruity juice taste, however it had a hard time. Thus the flavor became a touch one dimensional I thought.
The mouthfeel was medium bodied. It was smooth, although quite crisp too. Very dry with a pleasing amount of medium strength carbonation. A good dose of flavor was left behind on the palate after each sip as well.
Overall, I thought this beer was “ok”. Not horrible by any means, but I doubt I go searching for another bottle anytime soon. I could tell it was well made, but it just had a bit too much sweetness and apricot for me. That in and of itself made it somewhat difficult for me to drink. It would be worth a try I guess. Summertime might be the best time to sample it though. Have you guys ever tried the Samuel Smith’s Organic Apricot Ale? What was your experience like? Be sure to leave me a comment and tell me all about it.
Thanks for reading everyone. I really appreciate it.
Until next time. Cheers.
Score: 3.5 out of 5
Grade: B-
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