John Smiths Bitter / Extra Smooth

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

On draught at the original Hard Rock Cafe in London of all places. Pours a dark amber color with a thin light beige head. Thin lacing. Mellow malt aroma. Very smooth drinking, with flavors of malt, brown sugar, sweet fruit and hops. The finish is lightly bitter but does not last very long. Decent overall, but could be better.

Canned. Said Pub draught Ale on the can but I am assuming this is the right one. Golden colour with extra thick nitro head. Lager nose (this is common in British ales...they smell like lagers!). Slight roasty malt, rather sharp, with light hops. The bitterness carries welll though. Light body for an ale.

Poured a chesnut brown body with a very fluffy and thick off-white head. I can detect almost no aromas at all, but I am getting a very faint amount of malt in the aroma. Taste is actually almost non-existant, and I am lacking words that can describe it. Nice mouth feel though, and I imagine that due to its low alcohol, you could put a few of these away with no problems.

A guilty pleasure. This is a creamy amber brew that's not really long on flavor, but has a nice mouthfeel. If I was still living in the UK I wouldn't bother, but being back in Canada, this beer brings back fond memories. Nice for session drinking.

Faint hops in the aroma. Dark honey/caramel colour with a creamy head that lasted the distance. Touch of bitterness but not much else in the taste department. Could drink plenty of these but one was enough.

Can Absolutely no aroma. Nice chestnut colour, low creamy head. Could not detect any flavor either - weak beer. Med body - anonymous finish.
Earlier Rating: 10/8/2002 Total Score: 2.2
nitrokeg tap. Dark golden amber color. Very very lightly malt taste. Slightly acidic aroma. Boring watery aftertaste.

Canned. Creamy head (because of the little ball inside the can!). Strange mouldy aroma with some roasted malt. Not good!! Mild taste with a little fruit. This is the worst of the English bitters I had on my trip to London. Only good thing about this bitter is the smoothness....

Canned. John Smith’s Original bitter. Sadly, I had about twenty of these on Friday night. Amber / brass coloured body with a full cream head. Biscuity malt flavour. Thin bodied easily quaffable.
Earlier Rating: 12/14/2003 Total Score: 2.2
Draught. at Ha Ha’s, the West End. London.
Not really a lot of rating to be had at this place. I just has this as joke really. Just the one. Tawny amber coloured body, masses and masses of cream that field the glass. Tastes like bitter water. Thin on the palate, most forgettable.