Samuel Smith's part 1 - Nut Brown Ale

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale

So a few weeks back (obviously) I was doing some Christmas shopping at World Market and I happened to notice a Samuel Smith's beer pack.  It included three 16.9 oz. bottles, a Samuel Smith pint glass, and some coasters.  Now, I'm a sucker for any beer pack that includes custom glassware, and I know that Samuel Smith is a damn good brewery, so I had to put this in the basket as a Christmas gift to myself. 

A few days later I broke out the beer, starting with the Nut Brown Ale... the beer is a lighter brown color, creamy off-white head with great retention and lacing. Clear, so obviously filtered but a great looking beer nonetheless.

Smells of malts, caramel, definite nuttiness but it's hard to pick out the exact flavor. Still very good.  The taste follows up well on the smell... malt up front, a little bit of hops in there, the nutty flavors are more on the back end of each sip. Fairly light in body, really easy to drink, smooth going down and each sip leaves me waiting for the next one.  A fantastic English Brown Ale, in fact after checking out BeerAdvocate on this one it's rated as the best in the world of the style!

Check back soon for thoughts on the other two Samuel Smith beers in the pack, their Old Brewery Pale Ale and Oatmeal Stout!

Taste: A

Value: B+