The Beer Guy Review #11 – Samuel Smith’s India Ale

The Beer Guy
July 20, 2012

The Beer Guy

Occupation: Beer Taster & Reviewer
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Name of beer:  India Ale

Brewing Company: Samuel Smith Old Brewery

Brewing Location: Tadcaster, North Yorkshire – United Kingdom

Type of Beer: English India Pale Ale – ABV: 5.0% / IBU: 45

Beer Description: From bottle:

In the 19th Century there was a considerable trade in ale from Britain to India.  The land of spice was Britain’s major export market.  The heavy hop levels of these pale ales shipped on the long voyage to India naturally preserved the ale and complemented the flavourful and exotic cuisine of the East.  Samuel Smith’s India Ale is characterised by the colour of a golden sunset, a refined maltiness and an emphasis on the aroma flavour from Britain’s best hop gardens.

Brewed with well water (the original well at the Old Brewery, sunk in 1758, is still in use, with the hard well water being drawn from 85 feet underground); best malted barley and a generous amount of choicest aroma hops; fermented in ‘stone Yorkshire squares’ to create an exceptionally full-flavoured complex ale with an abundance of maltiness and fruity hop character.

The Beer Guy Review:  This review is dedicated to one of our newest Life of Dad members, Donovan Grant.  An IT business analyst and parenting & youth coach, Donovan has hit the ground running with Life of Dad.  In the past couple weeks, we’ve been graced with 2 great blog posts by Donovan: “A dad’s eye view on nurturing your child’s true potential” as well as “The Opening and Closing of Doors in Parenthood.”  As a thank you to Donovan, I thought I would go with a beer from his home country, the Samuel Smith’s India Ale.

Oh yeah, maybe I’m paying homage to the upcoming Summer Olympics there too (by the way, listen to “The Life of Dad Show” podcast this week, with an interview of Rick Raisman – the dad of US Olympian and gymnast, Aly Raisman).

So this is another first for The Beer Guy, the English India Pale Ale.  Out of all British beers in the United States, I find Samuel Smith’s quite often.  Whether it’s one of their stouts, pale ales, brown ales or porter, take a look around at your local beer specialty store and I’m sure you’ll find it, as I found the bomber bottle of India Ale sitting amongst the many other Samuel Smith’s varieties.

I ran out of pint glasses for this review, so I used my trusty Karbach Brewing taster glass this time around.  It provided for three full pours.  I noticed the lighter amber color and bubbliness upon pouring.  Due to the smaller glass, it’s hard to say how much foam this beer could have accumulated after pouring, but I think it would have been a medium frothy foam.  Nevertheless, it dissipated quickly.

Upon first whiff and taste, you can definitely detect the maltiness of the beer.  I found there to be a medium body, as I’ve grown accustomed to with British ales.  The carbonation I noted in the bubbles, upon pouring, continued through every pour.  The heavier, bitter front end of the beer ends with a lighter, refreshing taste.

As for The Beer Guy review, I give the Samuel Smith’s India Ale a:

So this is what an English India Pale Ale tastes like.  It’s not bad.  Surprisingly, for a 5.0% ABV beer, I found it to be quite potent.  The hoppy notes one can readily detect with an American IPA are not as present in the Samuel Smith’s India Ale.  Still, I found the beer tasty and satisfying.  And it has a pleasant aftertaste, in the mouth and on the lips.  Definitely a beer worth celebrating with after your home country wins gold, or you see a diver hit his head on the board before hitting the water…however which way you entertain yourself with the Summer Olympics, do it with a Samuel Smith’s India Ale.  Cheers!

So, what do you think?  Have you had this beer?  Do you like it?  Do you not like it?  Send me a note at The Beer Guy’s mailbag, TheBeerGuy@lifeofdad.com.  You can follow me on Twitter (@TheBeerGuyLOD), Facebook and LinkedIn as well.  Take care, happy (and safe) drinking, and enjoy your weekend

About The Beer Guy – A dad, husband, friend and drinker of beer. I review & blog about it all on LifeOfDad.com, the premiere social networking website for Dads.  The Beer Guy enjoys IPA’s and Pilsner’s, but will really try any kind of beer.  You may disagree on some of his opinions.  Let The Beer Guy know.  Reviews are published on Thursdays.  Blogging is done on Tuesdays.  Read more here to learn about The Beer Guy, who he is and his beer rating methodology.

The Beer Guy, and Life of Dad, promote responsible drinking.  Never drink and drive.

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