John Smiths Bitter / Extra Smooth

Brewed by John Smiths (S&N, Heineken)
Style: Bitter
Tadcaster, England

Draft at Prince of Wales in London. Transparent, orange and uncarbonated body. Excellent lacing. Malty aroma and malty and lightly bitter flavor. Very smooth mouthfeel. Light bodied beer.

The DM & Hotstuff’s European Honeymoon trip beer number 18. This draft brew from the Princess of Wales pub in London poured a small sized head of foamy finely sized long lasting off-white colored bubbles that left behind n uncarbonated transparent brown colored body and a excellent lacing. The aroma was almost non-existent and mildly malty if anything. It had a smooth mouth feel that was malt and contained no biting hops to note of. The flavor was smooth mild and slightly hopped.

Very smooth, but that’s about all there is to say about it. Doesn’t taste of much, not much aroma, watery. My heart sinks when I see this is the only ’draught’ bitter behind a bar.

Out of a can. The hops was let down by the lack of malt complexity - a little too watery. Low aroma - because of the creamy nitrogen head. Lacks the flavours of a real bitter.

Ohhh. This is a smooth, silky, soft smooth. Not the most exciting ale, but at least it is smooth. One could easily quaff lots of this ale, and at 4% abv, you won’t get really drunk either. A nice drink when you want to discuss the state of the world all night with your friends. When I pour the beer from the nitro-can to a glass, at first it looks like a glass of yellowish foam that slowly transforms into a clear, brass coloured liquid with a head that looks and feels like smoothly whipped cream. Those nitro cans are an impressive packaging for the right beer The smell is really quite weak. But when I sniffed hard enough, I found flavours of caramel and crisp bread. Carbon dioxide is very light and… Creamy. The taste is also on the delicate side. On the other hand: It’s a smooth, it should be mild! However, there is a burned tone with hints of caramel, thick cream and a passing bitterness. The aftertaste is very gentle with some hints of rye bread and (somewhere in the background) mild hops.

Nitro head, copper colour, thin body. Citrus and fruit flavour. Very typical and not really worth the trouble.

Tap at the Old Cock in London. Medium tan head. The miniscule bubbles are densly packed. Is this a nitro keg? Aroma is hoppy and nutty with faint spice and caramel. Taste is hopped but but seems light on the malts and has a minimal spice character. Creamy body and well carbonated. Finish is hoppy with a slight malt flavoring coming through. Not too bad.

Bitter? Ale? Which? Better than the cask, but not that great. It is smooth with a sweet, bitter, taste. There are better.