Samuel Smith's Organic Strawberry Fruit Beer

Brewed By: Melbourn Brothers (Samuel Smith) in Tadcaster, England

Purchased: Single large bottle (1 pint, 2.7oz) from Jewel in IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Fruit Beer, 5.1%

I like organic things and I like fruit. It was inevitable that I would try one of Samuel Smith's organic beers. I always see these things lining the shelves, so I finally broke down and grabbed their Organic Strawberry Ale; strawberries are my favorite.

The Tadcaster brewery was founded in 1758, and is Yorkshire's oldest brewery. According to the Merchant Duvin website, Samuel Smith is one of the last remaining independent breweries in England, and one of the last to ferment their beer in stone squares. If you pick up a bottle of Samuel Smith beer, you usually get some information on the ingredients and brew process. The website states that the hops are hand-weighed, and the water used in the beer comes from a well sunk over 200 years ago. Samuel Smith has a lengthy history as a brewer, and they are well known for their Oatmeal Stout, which is quite delicious. In addition to all this great history and beer, Samuel Smith's beers are vegan products. So...fuck yes, vegetarians?  

Today's beer, the Organic Strawberry Ale is brewed at the Melbourn Bros. Brewery in Stamford. This is supposed to be a beer with subtle strawberry flavors. This beer clocks in at 5.1% ABV and packs 14 IBUs.  

This is a lovely pouring beer. The body of this beer is a wonderful hazy orange color. This is a very bubbly and effervescent beer, with tons of bubble. I got 5-fingers worth of huge, thick, slightly orange/white head. The head is thick and creamy, foamy, bubbly, and leaving some lacing. This is a semi-transparent beer, with a good haze preventing you from seeing all the way through. 

Samuel Smith's Organic Strawberry Fruit Beer

The aroma on this beer is all strawberries. I'm smelling huge strawberry jam; Smuckers strawberry jam, homemade strawberry jam. I'm smelling earthy and fresh strawberries: strawberry juice, fresh strawberries. I'm smelling hints of mint, strawberry tea; I'm also picking up similar berry profiles like raspberry. There is also a rounded malt quality on the nose: maybe caramel or something else sweet. 

Yummy. This tastes really good, with a ton of strawberries in various waves of sweet and fresh. There is also a solid malt roundness, infusing the beer with some "roundness" and "heaviness" in the form of sugar, caramel, and even toffee. I'm tasting a lot of creamy head, cream, caramel, hints of grain or bread, fresh strawberries, strawberry jam, strawberry soda, mint, strawberry tea, and strawberry juice. The strawberry is dominant, but in a subtle way.

Rating: Above-Average  

Score: 83%

This is stellar stuff. Smooth, creamy, fresh, refreshing. I could drink this all day long. Samuel Smith has yet to steer me in the wrong direction, so props to another excellent beer. This is a creamy, well-carbonated, crisp and refreshing beer. It drinkings medium-light, or light-heavy. The palate depth is awesome, and the mouthfeel is great. This has medium complexity. The front is creamy carbonation, smooth malts, burgeoning strawberry; the middle is a wash of strawberry, tea, herbal, mint, freshness; the back is rounded out malts, lingering strawberry and sweetness. The finish is crisp, a touch dry, and strawberries. 

If you like strawberries or fruity beers, I highly recommend this beer. There is a nice balance of strawberries and rounded malts, and this beer is crisp and delicious. This reminds me of a Cider...only with strawberries. This is good stuff. Not something I would drink all the time, but if I had a strawberry craving? Definitely.