Beer Review: Samuel Smith's Organic Apricot

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.1 percent

Appearance: Samuel Smith's Organic Apricot glistened with a chroma of orange and golden hues. It was quite an attractive mix of the two. The body had a tinge of haze (which seemed to distort any presence of carbonation) to it and the head was a vivid white and very explosive. On an impressive note, the head rose very quick and had the notion to stop almost at the rim of the glass. It also gave way to some thick and web-like lacing.

Smell: Surprisingly, this was a little peppery and spicy. Very intriguing. The apricot aroma was slight, but complimented by a healthy yeast aroma. That provided that crust-esque combination I really enjoy in beer. The apricot aroma grew more impressive as the beer was able to warm-up.

Taste: The apricot was an amazing fruity sensation on the tongue. Especially as the beer got closer to warm temperature. The apricot was sweet, but more into the tart spectrum which I loved. The yeast provided that crusty backbone which reminded me of a cobbler or pie. I have to say that it was obvious that the fruit and the yeast were the focus of this beer. There was also a light hop bite on the back to punctuate things. A little touch of alcohol warmth peaked through as drink went on.

Overall Rating: 

An excellent fruit beer. Possibly one of the best apricot brews I've ever come across. It was very evident that the fruit and yeast were the two main characters in this play and I loved every second of it. Head was nice and foamy and provided some fluffiness and texture on every sip. It was actually kind of depressing once this bottle was gone. Luckily, I know where to get another one!

Beer Review: Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout is a fairly dark beer. It's very bubbly as there is plenty of carbonation. The head is somewhere in between a white and a tan. So, let's just say that it's a beautiful shade of beige. It doesn't leave much lacing, but you will have a thin layer of it all of the way down.

Smell: This beer gives you a potent scent of chocolate, coffee and oats. My dad even took a whiff of this beer and proclaimed that he had never come across an oatmeal stout that emanated such a scent of oats as this beer did. I enjoyed taking an extra sniff as I took each gulp of this.

Taste: The coffee and chocolate mix well and almost taste creamy. The oats give this beer a fascinating taste on the finish. I didn't even want to swallow this beer. I much rather would have just let it sit in my mouth so I can savor that awesome combination of flavors.

Overall Rating:    

The first oatmeal stout I ever had tasted very sour to me. It took someone explaining to me that it most likely was a batch of beer gone bad. So, I obviously gave the style another chance. The results were obviously a positive. By the way, I love the gold foil over the bottle cap.

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