India Ale
Samuel Smith in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England 🏴
Bitter - ESB / Strong Bitter Regular|
Score
6.59
|
|
Brewed with well water (the original well at the Old Brewery, sunk in 1758, is still in use, with the hard well water being drawn from 85 feet underground); best malted barley and a generous amount of choicest aroma hops; fermented in ‘stone Yorkshire squares’ to create an exceptionally full-flavoured complex ale with an abundance of maltiness and fruity hop character. The label on the bottle is based on Samuel Smith’s Victorian letterhead when the brewery was a contractor to Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s forces.
Sign up to add a tick or review
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
550ml bottle. Clear amber colour with a one-two finger off-white head. Aroma: malty, biscuity, toffee, caramel. Taste: sweet biscuity malts, caramel, toffee, fruity, hint of citrus, quite well balanced, light hop bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied, carbonation is soft-medium, extremely smooth mouthfeel very easy drinking. Classic traditional English IPAs are not my thing but I enjoyed this one, great example of the style.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Jun 2017
at 22:55
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Clear amber pour, moderate off- white head. Average retention. Aroma: biscuit malts, honey, floral hops. Light to medium body. The flavour starts with light to medium biscuity sweetness. The ending is super dry. Medium bitterness. Solid ale.
Tried
on 29 Apr 2017
at 07:33
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Keg at the Rising Sun in Smithfield. A very English IPA that looked nice and dark in the glass and had a good head. There was low carbonation and a pleasant mouthfeel. There was a strong and bitter flavour from the hops that was quite thirst quenching. It’s not spectacular, but very solid and one that I will quite happily have again when I am next in a Sam Smiths pub.
Tried
on 21 Apr 2017
at 03:05
6.5/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 6
Texture 7
Overall 6.5
Transparent orange colour, average head, pretty dense, quite good retention and lacing. Slightly subdued aroma shows hay and light caramel followed by marmelade-like fruity notes, with orange most noticeable, plus some floral hints. Taste is a little more bitter than the smell suggested, with a half floral, half neutral dryish bitterness that brings balance to an overall still sweetish feeling. Average intensity, good enough definition. Light to medium body, with moderate crispness; very easygoing with a pleasant lively hint. Fine, though definitely not very bold and overall quite unimpressive
Updated 08/01/2025
Updated 08/01/2025
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Oct 2016
at 15:16
7.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
This is what I think of when I’m wanting an English beer. A great balance between malt and hops with a nice earthy and sweet, lightly hoppy finish. Medium body. Flavorful without being narcissistic. Real good.
Tried
on 12 Oct 2016
at 21:29
5.8/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
Clear orange golden color with a fine frothy white head. Nice lacing. Looks good. Moderate intensity in the aroma. Medium body and a smooth fine carbonation. Ok balance between sweetness and bitterness. Caramel malty, herbal and mild citric flavor.
[On tap at Anchor Tap (Tower Bridge) in London, England]
[On tap at Anchor Tap (Tower Bridge) in London, England]
Tried
from Draft
on 23 Aug 2016
at 04:36
6.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Kicsi, nagyon tartós hab, kristálytiszta réz szín. Enyhe, citrusos, déligyümölcsös illat. Enyhe karamell, déligyümölcsök, leheletnyi édesség. Közepesen testes és szénsavas, enyhén keserű, leheletnyi olajosság. Visszafogott, kiegyensúlyozott világú, kellemes sör.
Tried
on 17 Aug 2016
at 10:46