Bottle. 02-03. Fresh saaz hops aroma with some barley malt aroma as well. Small head. Wonderful reddish-brown color. Initial taste is full of saaz hops with some sharp notes followed by some even, full malt notes. Ends with a warm, pleasing round flavor almost like a light honey chocolate bar. The body carries through and there is some syrup taste that is not unpleasant in the aftertaste. True to the style, i would never guess it was 6 ABV, as its round medium-full body with earthy, hoppy and barley notes suggest little harshness. A little too carbonated, but I have come to expect this from bottled Samuel Smith products and let the beer sit longer. While writing this I have a slight honey taste in my mouth that is peculiar as an aftertaste for this style, but enjoyable nonetheless. Could be a bit more complex, but that is more just being constructive, this is certainly a well made beer.

Bottled. Deep golden with average head. Hoppy, fruity nose. The typical delicate Samuel Smith maltiness spiced with a good dose of grassy hops. Dry and firm with a bitter finish. Excellently balanced.

A light yellow beer with no head. The flavor is sweet and malty. An average beer.

Amber color. Some maltiness in the nose and the taste but not enough to make of it a great beer…

OK, so I'm pretty sure that extremely hoppy american microbrewed IPAs have pretty much ruined me for English beers like this, even though they originated the style. As far as my expectations in the hop department, they naturally aren't met. But I was expecting that. I'm gradually learning to leave certain expectations aside in situations like this, and when I did for this I found the beer to be quite enjoyable. Rusty orage color with a nice hop aroma - flavor is quite a nice balance of bitterness and sweetness - very decent malt presense to counter the hops - malts hang around in the finish much stronger and longer than the hops do, which is usually quite the opposite in my IPA experience. Very enjoyable - good warm weather brew.

Amber color. Beautiful hoppy aroma. Good body structure, quite malty, boldly bitter, a bit metallic. Long strong final, quite aromatic, just a bit long infusion. Interesting IPA, rare for England.

An amber beer with a beutiful head. The aroma is light with notes of the nice maltblend. The flavor is flat but of a good maltblend and slightly bitter - a fine flavor. Clearly above an average beer - but not a super beer.

Black color, small frothy off-white head. Aroma of burned malts, bread and licorice. Sweet burned taste, again the bread and the licorice.

A black beer with a fine light brown head. The flavor is fruity, roasted, and oaty. The flavor is sweet with a slight but nice bitterness and notes of fruit, oats, and roasted malt. A very nice stout.

A deep red beer with a light brown beutiful head. The aroma is roasty, fruity, and fresh. The flavor is roasted, very woody but not dry, smooth, and slightly sweet with a note of breadmold in the beginning. The sweetness lingers on the lips. It's a very complex beer, with a lot of aftertaste.