Samuel Smiths Organic Lager

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Pale Lager
Tadcaster, England

Pours out a clear golden colour with a nice frothy head. Scent is sweet. Taste is very lightly hopped at first and then quickly proceeds into a honey and malt combo which ends in mostly just the malt with a hint of sweetness on the palate. Above average character in comparision to alot of lagers I have thus encountered.

clear gold under a large frothy head. nothing unique about the aroma. mildly hopped. sweet and syrupy. some honey notes. you can tell its well made with fresh ingredients but unfortunately lagers are boring to me unless you break the mold.

Pours with a billowing, fluffy, initially three-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is brilliantly clear, through which you can see a persistent bubbles of carbonation wafting up through the full gold liquid. The aroma is a mix of toasted, lightly sweet malt and spicy, herbaceous hops as I pour this into my Tulip glass. Touches of lemon aromatics mix with notes of hay, light notes of sweet honey nectar and an underlying dry grain notes. The nose on this one is quite appealing, much better than I was expecting.

Soft and creamy up front, it transitions quickly to a light sharp note that is a mix of the light carbonation and a herbaceous hop bite. It finishes with a bitterness that started up front. The bitterness in the finish gives this a dry, lightly astringent aftertaste, which makes me want to take another sip so as to experience the malt and hop flavor. Sweet notes of malt and a light herb nectar hoppiness give this beer a light honey note.

This is quite a refreshingly tasty brew; I did not quite know what to expect from this beer, but am pleasantly surprised. I really like the light honey note that runs throughout this beer; it is a nice mix of organic malt and hops.

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Bottle 8/4/06 at Natalie’s in Camden Maine. Pours like a Pale Lager should. Smells lightly citrus, as is decently tasty for a lager. As I rarely drink lager anymore, this beer is light and refreshing. I think these days I’m lager prejudiced, so that said, this is worth a try.

Poured from the bottle to a golden yellow color, with medium thick white head, that lasted for most of the glass, and left good lacing. Aroma is very hoppy, with a hint of floral. Taste is more hops, with no real recognizable flavor jumping out. Palte is on the dry side, but not bad. I have tried several Samuel Smith beers, and while most are decent, I don’t find any to be outstanding, and this fits in that same mold.

Despite getting a Sam Smith’s Organic Lager when I actually ordered an Organic Ale (don’t know if I would have tried the lager otherwise), I was thrilled when I actually tasted this beer. Which says a lot-- I’ve never once before had a non-skunk Sam Smith. But this place (The Other Side Cafe) seems to know how to keep its beer, so I thought I’d give it another try. This beer poured a brilliant (and I mean totally sparkling clear) golden color with a small white head. Aroma was intriguingly malty and faintly hoppy. I’ve always found lagers to be too thin for my taste, and I’d simply determined that I wasn’t a fan of the style, but this makes me think twice. Huge malt flavor, sweet, full-bodied, and very clean-- no sulfur or other off-flavors, just malt and hops. Super pale! Carbonation was refreshing, and there was a faint noble hop flavor on the backend. Amazing, outstanding beer. I would probably go for this more often if it weren’t $6 a bottle in Boston. I know that this doesn’t taste like a typical lager, but as a BEER, I like it.

From the Bottle: Pale and smooth with a moderate head that dissipates surprisingly quickly. A light, sweet and smooth flavor was inviting but not superlative. Finishes is clean and smooth.

Bottle sampled. Pours pale orange\golden with a decent sized white head, that disappears before you can count to two. Aroma of sweet malts, corn, citrus, and hops. Flavor is weak, sweet malts, corn, and a little bitter bite, leaving a metallic aftertaste. Decent body, drinkable.