Now I’ll admit that in mid-January I’m aching for some warm weather and perhaps even a few warm weather beers, but most aren’t available year-round. Fortunately for me I found a great year-round beer that just has summer written all over. As if that’s not fun enough, I decided to roll out that same ale in not one but two flavors.
The Samuel Smith brewery has operated in Tadcaster since 1758, and everything from the well dating back to 1758 to the barrels used to ferment many of their beers, it’s all original AND all still in use today. Traditions continue at the old brewery as coopers are on staff to build & repair their barrels and the original “Shire Horses” still live in stables behind the brewery…and yes these horses still make local beer deliveries 5 days a week!
Samuel Smith Organic Fruit beers take the tradition one step further. These beer start out at the old All Saints Samuel Smith brewery in Stamford where they are milled and brewed using the original hand-operated brewing equipment….so old that the mill & mash rakes are operated by steam power. Samuel Smith Organic Fruit beers go through primary & secondary fermentation (with 2 different yeast strains) at Stamford before returning to Tadcaster where organic fruit juice is added and the brew is aged. 
Samuel Smith Organic Apricot & Cherry fruit beers are wonderfully complex brews that not only use organic fruit, but also organic barley & wheat malts. Don’t let the simplicity of these beers fool you, underneath the fruit flavors are a wealth of complex malt and yeast-driven flavors that show up late in the palate. Also take the time to sample more than one flavor. While we did Apricot & Cherry on the show today, they also brew Strawberry & Raspberry as well.
Don’t be fooled by the fruit involved in today’s brews or the fact that they are organic….these are wonderful beers with a rich brewing tradition from not one, but two historic breweries. Try them for yourself and see what I mean.
T
hank you to Nancy, John & Joe for yet another
fun Friday.
The Friday BeerBuzz…bringing good beers and good people together. As always you can check out the video on-line at the WILK Friday BeerBuzz page by clicking HERE.
I believe it was Jim Nabors who said 'To dream-m-m-m, the impossible dream-m-m-m...'...
ReplyDelete...but he also said 'Surprise, surprise, surprise!'
Usually when I see the words organic AND fruit in connection to beer, well, let's just say that's not the first beer I'm reaching for.
And so I was pleasantly surprised when we had the chance to try Samuel Smith's Organic Fruit Beers today.
Both were good though I preferred the apricot, had a bit more of a tang to it for my liking. And both were tasty, very drinkable.
See? Ya live, ya learn! lol
Thanks to Bill from MyBeerBuzz.com as usual, another fun and informative show.
And thanks to you for listening!
Best,
John
webster@wilknewsradio.com
sounds nasty
ReplyDeleteIt's actually a very good beverage. If you're looking for a traditional beery-flavor it's not there, but I actually like both flavors myself and I would order it....so not nasty anon!
ReplyDeleteI heard you guys talking before the show started!
ReplyDeleteJen
We were caught playing with the rubber gloves as we went live today....sorry. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Flower Power notice. I would have missed that and after the way you and John talk about it I have to try it. See you ate Krugels!
ReplyDeleteArp
Let us know Arp. I really like Flower Power.
ReplyDeleteHey whey the code I have to enter to comment now?
ReplyDeleteAmy
Sorry Amy...we get SO much spam that I can barely wade through the notification e-Mail messages let alone find all of the real comments in the mix. As an example, last week we had 30+ "real" comments from listeners and 212 spam comments. It's been taking me HOURS to plow through all the spam on Friday, not to mention all week long so I have activated the captcha requirement to prove you're a human and not a spam-bot. I regret having to do it because I know some listeners may not take the time to enter it and stop commenting, but until the spam settles down, I don't have much choice.
ReplyDeleteI don;t like fruit beers and I don;t think they should be called a beer at all. Call it a wine cooler like it is and not a beer. Mark
ReplyDeleteMark it's actually a good beer. It may not be for everyone because they are fairly sweet, but in the end they are malt-based not fruit/grape based so they are a beer. Samuel Smith fruit beers actually start with a really nice ale before the fruit juice is added. Not for everyone but I suspect some people will like them.
ReplyDeleteThe Strawberry was weird but I liked the raspberry because it's less sweet. Ron
ReplyDeleteYes Ron...the apricot and raspberry are more tart, the strawberry is more sweet and the cherry is in between with a dark sweetness. Try them for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI'll stick to the hoppy beer but you guys are always right. Does Krugels sell this? I'll be down for Flower Power so you never know. Chris
ReplyDeleteYes Chris. Krugels has the Samuel Smith 550ml bottles for $7.99
ReplyDeleteSory buzzers. I just don't like the fruity beers. I had a Shandy and hated it. No to this one from me. marcus
ReplyDeleteIf a beer is too sweet I agree that I may not like it, but it is still a beer. Maybe my wife will like it? Ryan W
ReplyDeleteThese may not be for everyone, but it is a likeable and drinkable beer for any gender so try it out and decide for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI don;t think I'd be able to drink a lot of this, but I would try it. I don't usually like sweet beer. Jason
ReplyDeleteI actually DO like these beers, but I would agree that the sweetness, like with any other beverage may ultimately limit how much I can drink. Think of this as a desert beer. It's not a beer you'd sit down and drink all night anyway. Again try it for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI like sweet beer but malty sweet not fruit in my beer. keep it out. agree with mark call it something else, it's too far away at that point from beer and can be misleading. Where do you draw the line put some beer in a soup you are making and call it a beer?
ReplyDeleteWhat would you call it?? It's malt-based, it's brewed as a beer on traditional beer brewing equipment, yes fruit is added at the end but do keep in mind that "fruit beer" IS an official GABF and BJCP category....actually I believe it's "fruit and vegetable beer." I guess you can call it what you like, but I'd be curious what you'd call it. And adding beer to food to make soup is still soup in my opinion although I do like it.
ReplyDelete