Ran across last year's vintage of Winter Welcome, and couldn't resist seeing how it held up. It went well with my winter warmer binge anyway, and was an excuse to buy another Sam Smith beer. I have to go through the others, and look for more Stingo...
Pours almost a straight amber that's lighter than many warmers. Great light tan head that's as big as you want it to be, which gets pillowy before slowly receding. Fairly strong carbonation.
Despite not truly being a beer to be cellared, it seems to have held up well. Good carbonation is a good first sign, and a fairly floral smell is another. Very slightly bitter and malty, with a good balance. No obvious spicy smells though.
I like this beer, but it's more like a light pale than a warmer. That may be the first sign of how it's mellowed over the year. It's mildly bitter with a good malt backbone, neither or which is truly significant in flavor. But it's solid, and like most every Sam Smith beer is very good. It just has no winter warmer spice to it, is all, but like I said that's as likely to be because of the extra year it spent in the bottle as anything else.
Guess I'll have to go out and get this year's to see.
Showing posts with label Samuel Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Samuel Smith. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Samuel Smith's Yorkshire Stingo
Probably the beer I'm most looking forward to in my last out-of-state beer haul is this one. Samuel Smith is my favorite all around brewery. Solid, straight-forward beers with great taste and feel. Never trying to be more, or push an envelope, or to claim that someone's not worthy, all of their beers are solidly in the middle of the style guidelines and conservative. Perfect outlook on brewing beer. I have no idea what a Stingo is, but I can't wait to find out.
Pours hazy amber, with a moderate head, but it almost never goes down. Moderate carbonation in tiny bubbles. Obviously bottle conditioned.
Definite oak barrel aged smell. Not as scotchy as most American oak aged beers that try to be bigger than they should, but it smells solid. Malty, slightly scotchy, but no real bitterness and no alcohol.
Damn. This is exactly what a barrel aged beer should be like. Smooth and oaky, with a rich feel and taste. Slightly sweet malt, moderate bitterness that has no independent flavor.
This is better than any Belgian to me. No weird off flavors, but every bit of the complexity that you would expect in one of those beers. Fantastic beer. Worth every penny of the $11.50 I paid for the bottle, and I will have to find more.
Pours hazy amber, with a moderate head, but it almost never goes down. Moderate carbonation in tiny bubbles. Obviously bottle conditioned.
Definite oak barrel aged smell. Not as scotchy as most American oak aged beers that try to be bigger than they should, but it smells solid. Malty, slightly scotchy, but no real bitterness and no alcohol.
Damn. This is exactly what a barrel aged beer should be like. Smooth and oaky, with a rich feel and taste. Slightly sweet malt, moderate bitterness that has no independent flavor.
This is better than any Belgian to me. No weird off flavors, but every bit of the complexity that you would expect in one of those beers. Fantastic beer. Worth every penny of the $11.50 I paid for the bottle, and I will have to find more.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout
I'm tired of hit and miss beers, so I went for a twofer with a second Samuel Smith.
This one pours opaque and black, but not as thick or slow as their RIS. Amber highlights at the edges with a big tan head that looks like tan cotton.
Vinous smell like all Sam Smith stouts, but not as vinous as their porter. This one is more grainy than the rest though, and you can smell that the malt has oats in it.
Good, smooth body for a stout, aided by the oatmeal. Still a little vinous, but less than in the smell. Solid roasted malt with the bready oats still coming out fairly strong.
This is another beer that isn't in your face, isn't extreme, and isn't over the top in ABV. It's just a good, solid, representation of the style that I'll buy over and over again because it's just flat-out good. Sam Smith's does it right, and American brewers would do well to follow suit. No more pissing matches that make stouts that taste like a Starbucks with alcohol, just stouts that taste like stouts.
This one pours opaque and black, but not as thick or slow as their RIS. Amber highlights at the edges with a big tan head that looks like tan cotton.
Vinous smell like all Sam Smith stouts, but not as vinous as their porter. This one is more grainy than the rest though, and you can smell that the malt has oats in it.
Good, smooth body for a stout, aided by the oatmeal. Still a little vinous, but less than in the smell. Solid roasted malt with the bready oats still coming out fairly strong.
This is another beer that isn't in your face, isn't extreme, and isn't over the top in ABV. It's just a good, solid, representation of the style that I'll buy over and over again because it's just flat-out good. Sam Smith's does it right, and American brewers would do well to follow suit. No more pissing matches that make stouts that taste like a Starbucks with alcohol, just stouts that taste like stouts.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Samuel Smith's Russian Imperial Stout
When it comes to solid beers from a solid brewery, Sam Smith is damn near unbeatable. Some of my favorites like Great Divide, Anchor, and others are good, but none really have such an impressive line up of beers that are just the way they should be.
This one pours slow and black with a deep reddish-tan cascading head that stays.
Substantial bready smell. Not overly-roasted, or overly hoppy. It's not a beer that is intended to be in your face like many American RIS's, and that's OK for them because I like many of them. It's just solid. It doesn't have an enormous ABV, because it focuses on taste more than alcohol. I wish more "extreme" beers in the US took that stance.
Smooth body that goes down evenly and slowly, with a great roasted coffee flavor that's fairly vinous. There are a lot of similarities between this and their Taddy Porter, another of their solid beers. Moderate bitterness that is quickly covered by the vinous coffee flavor.
This was the first RIS I ever had, and I still judge all others by it. Great beer. I used to keep it around at all times, and have no idea why I got out of the habit.
This one pours slow and black with a deep reddish-tan cascading head that stays.
Substantial bready smell. Not overly-roasted, or overly hoppy. It's not a beer that is intended to be in your face like many American RIS's, and that's OK for them because I like many of them. It's just solid. It doesn't have an enormous ABV, because it focuses on taste more than alcohol. I wish more "extreme" beers in the US took that stance.
Smooth body that goes down evenly and slowly, with a great roasted coffee flavor that's fairly vinous. There are a lot of similarities between this and their Taddy Porter, another of their solid beers. Moderate bitterness that is quickly covered by the vinous coffee flavor.
This was the first RIS I ever had, and I still judge all others by it. Great beer. I used to keep it around at all times, and have no idea why I got out of the habit.
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