Samuel Smith's Organic Apricot Ale | Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
Brewed by:
Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
England, United Kingdom
samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk
Style: Fruit / Vegetable Beer
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.10%
Availability: Rotating
Notes / Commercial Description:
Handcrafted in Melbourne Bros' tiny 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 apricot fruit juice and a previously cellared organic brew -- creating an unparalleled fruit ale. The smooth distinctive character of the matured ale serves as the perfect counterpoint to the pure organic fruit juice.
Added by minterro on 03-19-2012
Ratings: 393 | Reviews: 102
3.53/5 rDev -9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Decanted from an 18.7 oz (550 ml) bottle into a tulip pint glass; no production information.
A: Pours a hazy golden, orange tinged color with a foamy, one inch white head.
S: Slightly sour fragrance with apricot, peach, and orange notes predominating.
T: Pitted fruit (apricot and peach) dominant; sourness extending beyond flavors to the finish.
M: Feels full bodied; pleasantly effervescent.
O: Fruit beer not really my style, but enjoyable.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Decanted from an 18.7 oz (550 ml) bottle into a tulip pint glass; no production information.
A: Pours a hazy golden, orange tinged color with a foamy, one inch white head.
S: Slightly sour fragrance with apricot, peach, and orange notes predominating.
T: Pitted fruit (apricot and peach) dominant; sourness extending beyond flavors to the finish.
M: Feels full bodied; pleasantly effervescent.
O: Fruit beer not really my style, but enjoyable.
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4.35/5 rDev +11.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.29/5 rDev +10%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
This beer pours a hazy amber color. The head was 2 finger, and fairly long lasting with lots of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. The nose is very strong with the apricot. The taste of this beer is well, a carbonated apricot juice. There's a slight hops bite on the backside, but the fruit is front and center. Very light and refreshing feeling. It's a very delicious beer, and I'm glad I bought it.
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look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
This beer pours a hazy amber color. The head was 2 finger, and fairly long lasting with lots of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. The nose is very strong with the apricot. The taste of this beer is well, a carbonated apricot juice. There's a slight hops bite on the backside, but the fruit is front and center. Very light and refreshing feeling. It's a very delicious beer, and I'm glad I bought it.
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4/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
500 (?) ml bottle.
Hazy golden body with a durable white head, Decent lacing.
Nice aroma of ripe apricots and baked bread.
Flavor; sweet up front, then tart-sweet through the finish; tart and mildly bitter in the aftertaste, Plenty fruity wih very ripe apricot flavor,
Excellent mouthfeel; smooth, medium body with near perfect, lively carbonation.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
500 (?) ml bottle.
Hazy golden body with a durable white head, Decent lacing.
Nice aroma of ripe apricots and baked bread.
Flavor; sweet up front, then tart-sweet through the finish; tart and mildly bitter in the aftertaste, Plenty fruity wih very ripe apricot flavor,
Excellent mouthfeel; smooth, medium body with near perfect, lively carbonation.
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2.92/5 rDev -25.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
I'm honestly not the type to rate a beer on its appearance or smell or feel. I've had a lot of fruit beers in my lifetime; many miss the mark, many play it safe, and some hit the nail on the head for the perfect balance of fruit and beer.
This one missed the mark. The flavor was fine, but the sweetness of this beer overpowered me about halfway through my glass, which was only about 1/4 of the full bottle. It didn't take long for my enjoyment of this to turn into disappointment as I slowly came to the conclusion that I didn't want to finish even the glass I had in front of me. The aftertaste was even sweeter and reminiscent of the aftertaste of ice wine.
I give the taste a solid 2.5 to account for both my initial enjoyment and, soon thereafter, my inability to finish the glass.
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look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
I'm honestly not the type to rate a beer on its appearance or smell or feel. I've had a lot of fruit beers in my lifetime; many miss the mark, many play it safe, and some hit the nail on the head for the perfect balance of fruit and beer.
This one missed the mark. The flavor was fine, but the sweetness of this beer overpowered me about halfway through my glass, which was only about 1/4 of the full bottle. It didn't take long for my enjoyment of this to turn into disappointment as I slowly came to the conclusion that I didn't want to finish even the glass I had in front of me. The aftertaste was even sweeter and reminiscent of the aftertaste of ice wine.
I give the taste a solid 2.5 to account for both my initial enjoyment and, soon thereafter, my inability to finish the glass.
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3.49/5 rDev -10.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
4.72/5 rDev +21%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
3.81/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.41/5 rDev +13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Very good. Aroma’s fresh, ripe apricots, yeast, and a hint of malt. Flavor’s similar to nose, mostly sweet offset with a bit of tart and just right carbonation. Slightly chewy. Excellent finish. Goes great with an aged cheddar.
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look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Very good. Aroma’s fresh, ripe apricots, yeast, and a hint of malt. Flavor’s similar to nose, mostly sweet offset with a bit of tart and just right carbonation. Slightly chewy. Excellent finish. Goes great with an aged cheddar.
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3.85/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Summer 2016. Cloudy light and golden, lots of bubbles, but little head. Reminds me of a weissbeer or tripel. Looking forward to it.
Smell is muted I was expecting way more and only got faint fruit notes, even as the beer warms up can't figure out what that faint smell is. Fruity for sure.
Taste and Feel I am so conflicted here. Obvious apricot (jam) notes and very sweet, and there are wheat and cereal notes to make it seem like beer, but.... is it juice or beer half the time? I knew what I was getting into when I saw "Apricot beer," but am maybe wishing for a bit more in the way of bitterness/hops instead of fruit? It's tasty and refreshing, and am very glad that in spite of its sweetness it does not linger too much or feel syrupy (helped by carbonation here). This would be great for the girls.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Summer 2016. Cloudy light and golden, lots of bubbles, but little head. Reminds me of a weissbeer or tripel. Looking forward to it.
Smell is muted I was expecting way more and only got faint fruit notes, even as the beer warms up can't figure out what that faint smell is. Fruity for sure.
Taste and Feel I am so conflicted here. Obvious apricot (jam) notes and very sweet, and there are wheat and cereal notes to make it seem like beer, but.... is it juice or beer half the time? I knew what I was getting into when I saw "Apricot beer," but am maybe wishing for a bit more in the way of bitterness/hops instead of fruit? It's tasty and refreshing, and am very glad that in spite of its sweetness it does not linger too much or feel syrupy (helped by carbonation here). This would be great for the girls.
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3.98/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
L:
-pours a hazy golden with a medium,frothy,white head
-medium carbonation visible
S:
-tangerines,apricot,acidic,lemon,lime,wheaty,almost lambic-like barnyard
T:
-Follows the nose plus grassy
-light to medium sourness
F:
-medium carbonation
-light to medium body
O:
A great fruit Beer without too much sweetness
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
L:
-pours a hazy golden with a medium,frothy,white head
-medium carbonation visible
S:
-tangerines,apricot,acidic,lemon,lime,wheaty,almost lambic-like barnyard
T:
-Follows the nose plus grassy
-light to medium sourness
F:
-medium carbonation
-light to medium body
O:
A great fruit Beer without too much sweetness
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3.85/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.67/5 rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
From notes taken 06/23/16:
Served in Samuel Smith pint glass. British beer while watching the Brexit results, seems appropriate, even for a Yank. Mostly clear golden ale with fruity orange twinge. Delicate off-white foamy head. Strong fruity aroma, apricot I suppose, but really not a far cry from the strawberry fruit ale smell. It does taste a little more overtly like apricot, at least. Light hopping noticed as it settles, but fruity throughout. Unlike the strawberry ale, I think the fact it is not extremely malt-forward makes this a good, rather than mediocre beer. Medium to full in body. Mellow carbonation, a refreshing beverage.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
From notes taken 06/23/16:
Served in Samuel Smith pint glass. British beer while watching the Brexit results, seems appropriate, even for a Yank. Mostly clear golden ale with fruity orange twinge. Delicate off-white foamy head. Strong fruity aroma, apricot I suppose, but really not a far cry from the strawberry fruit ale smell. It does taste a little more overtly like apricot, at least. Light hopping noticed as it settles, but fruity throughout. Unlike the strawberry ale, I think the fact it is not extremely malt-forward makes this a good, rather than mediocre beer. Medium to full in body. Mellow carbonation, a refreshing beverage.
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2.87/5 rDev -26.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.75
Appearance: Poured with a thumb of head that didn't lacke but did stick around. The bodly a a cloudy yellow with green notes and low carbonation.
Smell: As expected, the overwhelming presence of Apricots dominates the nose. Warmning doesn't really help or harm it, but only the barest notes of malt can be detected from this one.
Taste: It starts with a pleasent mild fruity apricot taste which is nice, but then when you expect the beer elements to make some form of presence, it's like someone poured concentrated sour apricots and lemon juice over my mouth. It's incredibly tart and sour, honestly to the beer's detriment. This drinks more like cider then beer and next to no malt and certainly no hop presence can be found.
Mouthfeel: Well the aftertaste is expected, apricots so that's nice, but that's where this one ends. This beer doesn't ease you into it's sour element, but hits you like a sack of bricks. The carbonation is low so it doesn't really accent any part of the beer, it comes off as a little bit acidic feeling and I'm left asking where are the hops to reign in some of this?
Drinkability: That acidic note is really doing this beer no favours here. Well is does settle down well, it doesn't come across and refreshing, crisp or even desert like. More, like that you are eating liquidfied fuzzy peach candy.
Final Thoughts: I have no doubt this beer appeals to someone, and indeed someone else may find it superb, but that person is not me. It drinks far more like apricot cider then beer. There's no malt, no bitterness, no anything but sour alcholized apricots. It is to the point where I almost suspect a bad bottle. Regardless, I'll be sticking to St-Ambroise for my Apricot fix, because this is a pass to me. What a shame, my first bad beer from Samuel Smith's, but given this is my 12th beer reviewed from them before hitting something less appealing, I'd say that ain't bad at all. So whatever you do, don't let this poor review in any way influence you to avoid a normally spectacular brewer.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.75
Appearance: Poured with a thumb of head that didn't lacke but did stick around. The bodly a a cloudy yellow with green notes and low carbonation.
Smell: As expected, the overwhelming presence of Apricots dominates the nose. Warmning doesn't really help or harm it, but only the barest notes of malt can be detected from this one.
Taste: It starts with a pleasent mild fruity apricot taste which is nice, but then when you expect the beer elements to make some form of presence, it's like someone poured concentrated sour apricots and lemon juice over my mouth. It's incredibly tart and sour, honestly to the beer's detriment. This drinks more like cider then beer and next to no malt and certainly no hop presence can be found.
Mouthfeel: Well the aftertaste is expected, apricots so that's nice, but that's where this one ends. This beer doesn't ease you into it's sour element, but hits you like a sack of bricks. The carbonation is low so it doesn't really accent any part of the beer, it comes off as a little bit acidic feeling and I'm left asking where are the hops to reign in some of this?
Drinkability: That acidic note is really doing this beer no favours here. Well is does settle down well, it doesn't come across and refreshing, crisp or even desert like. More, like that you are eating liquidfied fuzzy peach candy.
Final Thoughts: I have no doubt this beer appeals to someone, and indeed someone else may find it superb, but that person is not me. It drinks far more like apricot cider then beer. There's no malt, no bitterness, no anything but sour alcholized apricots. It is to the point where I almost suspect a bad bottle. Regardless, I'll be sticking to St-Ambroise for my Apricot fix, because this is a pass to me. What a shame, my first bad beer from Samuel Smith's, but given this is my 12th beer reviewed from them before hitting something less appealing, I'd say that ain't bad at all. So whatever you do, don't let this poor review in any way influence you to avoid a normally spectacular brewer.
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4.24/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.34/5 rDev +11.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Look: darker shade of yellow, but not too dark. Good head, with not much retention
Smell: Fully of apricot, very good smell, very lovely.
Taste: A lot of apricot taste up front, very sweet. Some maltiness creeps up at the end and dampen the apricot taste a bit, but not much.
An extremely thirst-quenching drink. Very lovely. Will recommend and buy it again.
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look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Look: darker shade of yellow, but not too dark. Good head, with not much retention
Smell: Fully of apricot, very good smell, very lovely.
Taste: A lot of apricot taste up front, very sweet. Some maltiness creeps up at the end and dampen the apricot taste a bit, but not much.
An extremely thirst-quenching drink. Very lovely. Will recommend and buy it again.
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3.4/5 rDev -12.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Samuel Smith's Organic Apricot Ale from Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
3.9
out of 5
based on 393 ratings.
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The appearance was a light somewhat hazy yet transparent golden yellow to almost orange color. There is a one finger white foamy head that steadies itself for a good minute and a half before slowing concaving into the body and ends up leaving a nice clingy foamy lacing. The smell is basically a good authentic smelling apricot, exactly as Samuel Smith calls for. There isn’t much else going on in the smell. The taste was basically sweet through the apricot notes but ends up giving a tad of a decent sour flavoring in it. The aftertaste is basically sweet apricot and ends up leading to a sweet dry finish. On the palate, it sits very light on the body and shows an extremely nice sessionable aspect well worth consuming on a mid May day. The carbonation is smooth and tends to hit the spot refreshing-like. Overall, I say this is a good apricot beer as it does everything one asks for from Samuel Smith, well worthy of having again and well worthy of having as a dessert beer on a nice Summer’s evening.
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