Wizard Smith's Ale
J. Boag & Son Brewing

Wizard Smith's AleWizard Smith's Ale
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
J. Boag & Son Brewing
 
Australia
Style:
English Pale Ale
ABV:
5%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.33 | pDev: 12.61%
Reviews:
14
Ratings:
19
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 03, 2021
Added:
Sep 01, 2007
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by laituegonflable:
Photo of laituegonflable
Reviewed by laituegonflable from Australia

2.95/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4
Pours a deep blood orange colour with steady but thickly dispersed bubbles. Head is thin and looks like someone's dribbled on the top of it. There is a bit of lacing, but it's the thin, uneventful type I would expect from a British-ale style beer which this looks like.

A subtle toffee hint on the nose, and an equally subtle touch of floral hops to match. Not much to it, but it's pleasant enough for what it is, if not complex.

Has a carbonated, cidery character to the front palate. Even though the carbonation isn't strong it comes through on the mouthfeel. There is a crescendo quality to the palate as well, it starts off with a slight sweet hit, dissipates very quickly, then slowly rises up again with a flavour that is something resembling oregano-sprinkled toffee. Although that sounds disgusting, it's not bad. The hoppy bitterness dominates, so the sweetness that is there is just lingering in the background. For all that though, it's not extremely complex and although the palate has an interesting topography, it's still quite simple and bland.

I'm drinking this as a cleansing ale though, and I must say, for this purpose it's FANTASTIC. Because it's pleasant drinking, simple, mostly watery and a nice dry, cleansing element on the back of the palate. In short, it's a very drinkable ale with a bit of lack of character to back it up.
May 09, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.14 by Daneve76 from Australia

Jun 03, 2021
Photo of Andrewharemza
Reviewed by Andrewharemza from Australia

3.75/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
bottle. Poured clear orange-amber with a creamy off-white head. Nice bready nose, sweat and malty. Creamy mouthfeel, average carbonation. Flavour of caramel and a nice hop presence.
Jun 08, 2015
Photo of chogm54
Reviewed by chogm54 from Australia

3.05/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
375ml bottle.

L- amber, clear, 1cm thick head.

S- breast malts, hints of caramel and dark fruity hops. Overpowering sweat smell.

T- earthy toasted malts, tangy bitterness, slightly sour & metallic taste found in Aussie lagers.

M- thin bodied, high carbonation, watery texture.

O- disappointing. Sure, its drinkable. But this is too similar to too many macrolagers.
Jan 04, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by magpieken from Australia

Jan 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by SouthCrescent from Pennsylvania

Dec 10, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by Bobhoya from Arizona

Oct 20, 2013
 
Rated: 2.5 by pin from Australia

May 22, 2013
Photo of lacqueredmouse
Reviewed by lacqueredmouse from Australia

2.76/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Pours a clear but subdued amber golden colour, with a fine head of white foam. Lacing is intense, falling in very pleasant sheets down the inside of the glass. Body is light, exemplified by the speed at which the carbonation rises through. Not bad though. The head is really nice, and the lacing is a proper English lace. Nice.

Minimal characters on the nose. Some grain notes, a bit of English malt, and a faintly earth note. Minimal hops, really minimal indeed, but it has a moderately decent English pale nose to it.

Taste is light and grainy for the most part, with a huge amount of crystal malt sweetness on the back, and minimal bitterness to match anything else. Very light feel, with a smoothness that almost adds to the cloying sweetness.

Not a great beer, by the end. It has more character than the average Aussie brew, especially one brewed by such a commercial operation, but it doesn't go outside the realms of bland lassitude. Eh.
Jan 20, 2011
Photo of WHROO
Reviewed by WHROO from Australia

3.92/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Enjoyed immensely...

Poured dark orange/copper, with good head & little lacing.

English Noble Hops very identifyable in both smell & flavour...loved the earthy floral notes, with same dark edges including roasted malts, little caramel toffee sweetness, finishing with little bitterness.

Mouthfeel was alive but creamy

Its the best Boags I've had so far...has character!
Nov 05, 2008
Photo of foles
Reviewed by foles from Australia

3.47/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This beer was a pleasant surprise.

A decent shot at an english pale ale. This reminded me of a less complex version of London Pride. I think it is the best beer available from Boags, and the only one where they use hops other than the local Pride of Ringwood (they use english noble hops).

There is a nice earthy aroma, with a fresh hop flavour, with very little bitterness (possibly to suit drinkers not familiar with the style).

Apparently (according to the brewery tour I did) it is the only "all malt" beer they brew. The use sugar as an adjunct in their other beers, which I guess is a little disappointing.
Jul 02, 2008
Photo of Dig
Reviewed by Dig from Canada (BC)

2.98/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A - Looks good initially, nice deep amber with a reddish blush. Excessive carbonation and over-use of tetra hop produces a ludicrous looking head that collapses into a speckled, beaten egg white sort of scum. Not very ale-like.

N - Shy, some faint hop notes.

T - OK, some pasteurised/vegetal flavours on top of dull hops and some hard, chewy toffee crystal malt characters.

MF - A little thin.

D - Not bad. Better when they warm up and de-gas a little. Pour two, drink one and look at the other. Pour a third and drink the second. And so on.
Nov 12, 2007
Photo of rec
Reviewed by rec from Australia

3.41/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pouring a gorgeous copper with fantastic two finger head and sporting great retention, this looks to be a beautiful ale.

The smell is familiar, similar to that of many Australian "boutique" ales. Strong malt with some faint citrus are the only real distinctions I'm picking up right now.

The taste is a little bland, but pleasant enough. Better than your average Australian ale, that's for sure. Some extremely mild spice and cirtus get sent to the back burner while bitter hops present themselves with dominance, and finishes slightly sour.

The mouthfeel is fine enough, with nothing negative to note - perhaps a good thing given the downward spiral of this beer, from sensational pour to lack-lustre experience.

The drinkability is good however, due to a lack of any bold aroma, flavour or mouthfeel. The only thing that would get in the way of this being a session beer is the bitterness getting the best of some people.
Oct 29, 2007
Photo of Kulrak
Reviewed by Kulrak from Australia

3.88/5  rDev +16.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a deep orangey golden color with lots of foamy tan head that sticks around for a while, and clings to the glass. Smells spicy and a little citrusy, with hints of yeast. The taste is also spicy and a little citrusy, nice cascade type hoppy flavor. Also some roasty malt there in the background. Very nice. Finishes a little sour. Mouthfeel is heavy with some tingling on the tongue. Overall, it's very drinkable, a tasty brew. I'll be looking for this again.
Oct 10, 2007
Photo of joecast
Reviewed by joecast from Australia

2.76/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
tried this on tap and as less than impressed but picked this up to give it another chance.

one thing in its favour, it is a good looking beer. pours a clear deep amber color with a two finger off white head. the head settles leaving nice lacing. medium carbonation.

aroma leans heavily to sweet raw maltiness. i remember the brewery rep talking proudly of the hops used but they are hard to pick out in the finished product. also at the tasting the beer was served way too cold. i let this warm while i enjoyed a js golden ale. the boags pales in comparison in hop flavour and aroma.

taste is a bit of a let down. the most annoying part is some strange after taste that just doesnt sit right. and the more it warms, the more it tastes like one of boags fizzy lagers with a bit of crystal malt.

hmm, just another example of a "macro" brewery putting out a ber thats more style than substance? i think so.
surely the "wizard smith" deserves better than this?
Sep 29, 2007
Photo of jarmby1711
Reviewed by jarmby1711 from Australia

3.23/5  rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Wizard Smiths Ale offers the drinker a better than usual experience one expects from a large brewer like Boags.
Whilst far from a remarkable beer it has enough quality to drink a few.
It is qhite dark and is dominated by the malt characteristics.Touched with honey and a low level of bitterness it would benefit from fruitiness being apparent.
Worth a try but dont get too excited
Sep 25, 2007
Photo of willjansen
Reviewed by willjansen from Colorado

3.45/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance - Deep copper hue, medium head with a slow thick layer of head receding to a nice layer of lace floating on the surface. Very appealing...

Smell - Ultra-fruity nose with peach undertones. Hops are quite apparent and rather pleasant. Hints of sweet fruits and honey coming through. Excellent play between the ale yeast and and the Kent Goldings.

Taste - Much less fruity than expected with a more bitter contribution from the hops. Bitterness throughout, but grows more agressive towards the end. Acrid (metallic) bitterness in addtion to the hop bitterness that brings about an unpleasant imbalance. Perhaps a slightly more agressive malt presence would help? Somewhat of a disappointment considering the anticipation provided from the appearance and smell.

Mouthfeel - Watery, slightly drying without the slight oilyness expected. Decent for an English ale with appropriate levels of carbonation - wonder how this one would fare on cask?

Drinkability - Not a bad brew from Boags, but a few aspects of the taste take away from the enjoyment. Though less interesting than hoped, not a bad brew overall...
Sep 08, 2007
Photo of brendan13
Reviewed by brendan13 from Australia

3.41/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A - Pours a clear orange copper colour with a small but tight off white head that slowly falls to a thin whisp. Heavy on the lacing.
S - Sweet maltiness with some cooked vegie notes coming through. Some light floral and spice aromas are in the background.
T - Biscuit malt & floral flavours dominate. A gripping bitterness at the back.
M - Medium mouthfeel with a low carbonation.
D - Not that interesting but a tasty EPA nonetheless. Would happily drink again.
Sep 02, 2007
Photo of vancurly
Reviewed by vancurly from Australia

3.39/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
a: pours a beautifully clear orange/amber, with an off-white foamy head, that slowly bursts its bubbles down to a thin raft. Good lace hanging on.
s: marmalade toast, honeyish, slight blood/metal note. The blurbs talk about East Kent Goldings, but I reckon PoR's in there somewhwere... Slight funkiness
t: Chewy, malty ale, flavours of dried fruits, sugared orange rind, muesli. Floral hints from the Goldings, but there is still an "Aussie" metallic vegetal thread in there, PoR I expect. could use more grainy notes.
m: Medium body, full length, with a reasonable persistent bitterness.
d: I could put a few away, no doubt.
Sep 01, 2007
Wizard Smith's Ale from J. Boag & Son Brewing
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 19 ratings