Samuel Smith

Why it matters

One of the last breweries using stone Yorkshire square fermenters, and a rare surviving example of a single house yeast defining an entire range.

Details

Reference beers

• Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale5% ABV

  The reference English brown ale — hazelnut, light caramel, dry finish — and the beer the style is usually described against.

• Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout5% ABV

  The beer that revived oatmeal stout as a category and remains its most widely cited reference example.

• Samuel Smith Taddy Porter5% ABV

  A traditional Yorkshire-fermented English porter, drier and more austere than most modern interpretations.

• Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout7% ABV

  A Yorkshire imperial stout fermented in stone squares, and one of the most widely available examples of the style.

• Samuel Smith’s Yorkshire Stingo8% ABV

  A strong ale matured in oak casks that have held the brewery’s own beer for decades, and one of the few living examples of how British beer was aged before stainless steel.

BeerHQ carries only the products that anchor something. This is not the brewery’s full range.

Styles it is associated with

• English brown ale — A malt-led brown ale with hazelnut and caramel character, moderate strength and a dry, clean finish.
• Oatmeal stout — A stout brewed with oats for a silky, full mouthfeel, balancing roast against smoothness rather than sweetness.
• English porter — The original dark British beer: chocolate and light coffee over a nutty malt base, restrained rather than aggressive.

Traditions

• British cask ale — Beer that completes its fermentation in the container it is served from and is dispensed without added gas, at cellar rather than fridge temperature.