John Smiths Winners Tipple

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

50 cL bottle. Pours clear and golden amber/hazzlenut brown with a creamy tan head. Mild spiced and dry caramel malty, slight breadish too. Flavour is mild spiced to a medium dry breadish base flavour and light bitterness coming through. Light tobacco and mild spiced finish.

Bottled. Amber colour, mediumsized beige head. Aroma is caramel, grass and some dry wood. Flavour is dry wood, mild notes of dark chocolatelike stuff. Abrupt finish and mainly no aftertaste.

Clear amber beer. Weak aroma of malt and fruit. Sweet flavour ending very fast.

Clear amber with medium white head. Sweet caramellic flavor with fruity and alcohol notes.

pretty good. HAsa real Dark ale flavour which is pretty quick. Smell is average, nothig distinct. Looks great A really deep & brown amber looker

500ml bottle (Sainsbury’s)
I’ll fess up in advance that, being John Smiths/S&N/Heineken, I wanted this to be bad - however, I was pleasantly surprised. I suspect that others’ low ratings are based on the same prejudice that I initially had. Do a blind tasting, prove me wrong. Dark reddy brown, small off-white head. Sweet burnt caramelly aroma. Sweet caramelly taste, burnt, slightly astringent nuttiness. Sweetish burnt finish. Too caramelly.

Bottle. Brownish beer with a reasonable head. The aroma is lightly roasted, and the flavour is hopped, roasted, bitter and slightly creamy. Overall an average beer.

Chestnut amber with a large white head. Buttery caramel malt aroma develops eventually. Slightly roasted malty taste with overlying sourness. Bitter finish. It wasn’t that bad.