Samuel Smith Underwhelming

I think that almost all of their beers are superior examples of their styles, especially the Oatmeal Stout & Taddy Porter.

 

They're completely off the radar in the UK. Never understood all the fuss on this site. The oatmeal stout is a very average beer indeed.

 

I really like most of their beers. No complaints from me. That being said, I don't buy them very often because we have so much great beer here. My consumption of imports is way down. Seems like I only buy Belgians, Aecht Schlenkerla and those from Samuel Smith.

 

I enjoy the subtly of British beers. They make good stuff.

 

And their milds are fucking aweful.

 

So what UK beers should we be paying more attention to?

 

I don't see them generating a lot of fuss on BA these days, but something that many of the younger beer drinkers don't understand is that they're one of those "legacy brands" that was available all over the country in the days before American craft beer was readily available. Many of us who've been drinking "good beer" for 20+ years have a soft spot for their beer because they were an oasis of tastiness in a sea of bullshit.

I don't drink them very often any more, but I have many fond memories of drinking "Oaties" in the parking lot before concerts, and I'd never turn down a bottle of their stuff if it was offered.

 

The only two I'm not a big fan of are the Imperial Stout and the Chocolate Stout. Both underwhelmed me a lot. BUT I also never buy them, I just try them when they're on demo at my store.
They may be average, but they do average well, in my opinion.

 

So what UK beers should we be paying more attention to? I am always up for trying new beers.

 

Well, I've really no idea what's available in the US, and the stuff I drink in pubs is not commonly available in bottles. St Austell's are pretty good if you can get your hands on any of their stuff.

 

They were loved many years ago because there were few like them on either side of the pond. And by those standards they were pretty tasty. Sadly, those days are long gone.

 

Their Imperial Stout is alright. Other than that, never understood why they get some much fanfare (and i'm a British expat).

 

I'm with you. No fuss to me made here. Actually, of all their beers, I like their organic lager best (which is a silly thought for an English brewer)

 

Oh, and British subtlety doesn't translate well into bottles unfortunately.

 

They are known here for having a very eccentric owner, treating their staff like shite, having average keg beer (although their pure brewed lager is quite good to be fair to them) and their only cask offering, their bitter, ranges from average to utterly awful as it's still served from wooden casks. But they are very cheap and have a lot of pubs in that old london place.


I think that their bottled beers that get raved about on here are pretty good to be honest, but the vast majority of beer should be drunk on draught really, at least to my mind. And they don;t do that well

 

I guess their popularity in the US then is down to relatively good distribution, the fact that their best beers are bottled (a rarity for british brewers) and tbf their bottles do look good in a Ye Olde way

 

Organic Chocolate Stout is one of my all time favorites. One of the easiest drinking beers out there in my opinion. I'd have it in my fridge all the time if it wasn't $10.99 a 4-pack in my area. I agree with the OP and think they are a good brewery.

This seems a bit counter to what the title of the post says. To me a good brewery is not underwhelming.
What similar beers have you had that make Sam Smith so "underwhelming"?

 

I agree, and this may be why they get less hype than they used to. Back in the day they were a solid example of several styles. But these days there are thousands of more potent (and interesting) flavors out there, making Samuel Smith seem a bit boring by comparison. Good on occasion, but there is so much variety out there to try that I don't have time for them any more.