Samuel Smiths Organic Cider

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Cider
Tadcaster, England

Got this by mistake... Found out that I actually liked the taste. I would suggest getting it if for nothing else but, a change.

Pale golden color. Aroma of champagne and slight cider. Taste apple and champagne. Has a champagne aftertaste.

Poured out a crystal clear bright gold brew with a large bright white bubbly / creamy head, spotty lacing and awesome retention. A quick swirl produces a revamped cap. Very nice aroma: big, juicy, sweet gala apples, light green grapes, a bit earthy and possibly... maybe a touch of cinnamon. Solid sweet (not overly) apple taste... more of an apple flavour that you’d find with bruised apples, light musty notes throughout that balance the taste well. It’s this mustiness that has captured my interest. Nice tartness that is not over the top, consistent sweetness with light grape and a bit of yeast. A bit tingly with carbonation but it’s effect is mild overall. Drying mouthfeel, long apple finish.

Bottle: Pours a clear apple-juicy color with a light head and a bit of retention [for a cider]. The nose is sharp with tannin and light crisp mustiness and tartness simultaneously. The flavor is very balanced, like a fresh pressed apple-cider; nice musky fruit, crisp tart skin and a sweetness in the finish. Perfect carbonation too with not too much yeast. Good for a fresh cider taste, but not if you’re comparing it to artisnal french ciders.

Tried a sample at Brewfest Tallahassee. A really nice entry into cider land. A great balance of sweetness, dryness, and tartness that is hard to find with all the super sweet ciders out there.

This is absolutely one of the best ciders I’ve ever had. It is unusually bweautiful for a cider, golden with a very large white head steadily dissipatin to a thin,. lasting head and elaving even a few hints of lace. Most ciders have only a thin, airy head and, regardless of the head size, no head retention whatsoever, much less lace. The aroma is full, ripe green apples. The taste is full and crisp. It has ripe green apples, slightly tart, along with ripe sweet red apples. It’s not too sweet and not too dry, with great balance and lasting flavur. A light yeatsy character builds to the finish, really adding to the apple in the lng aftertaste. It has unusually good complexity for a cider.

Bottle: I got an itch for a cider and behold this was the only one in town! Very clear golden pour with a small white head. Light aroma is sweet with apples and yes a little grape too. Taste is decent up front, sweet and fruity with a little tartness, but it loses it on the back end. Finished watery and bland, a little earthy. So so.

Sampled at Lundeen’s Brew Ha-Ha 2009. Pours a clear yellow with no head. Aroma is all apple with some mild yeasty notes and some light green grape presence. Flavor tastes exactly like watered down apple juice. Body is very light with no carbonation to boot. Nothing really there to offend.