Last weekends Patriots / Rams game in London got me thinking. How ironic is it that a team named after the colonial men that fought for freedom from England played a game and were cheered for in London?! Our obsession with the royal family that we broke away from goes hand in hand with England's new found obsession for America's sport. Amazing how far we've come in a few hundred years. The game probably wasn't much to watch for the fans in London, the Patriots blew out the Rams 45-7. Good for my fantasy football team, bad for trying to create an atmosphere of competition. I guess the NFL feels like anything is better then an "exciting" 1-0 soccer match...snooze.
All of this got me thinking about all of the beers I've ever tried from England. Boddington's is very popular and very good; Newcastle Brown Ale, a very commercial brew, but also from England; and Hobgoblin, one of my new found favorites, are the only beers I've ever enjoyed from the English Isle. I decided it was time to again expand my taste mates and try another English brew.
This weeks new brew hales from Tadcaster, N. Yorkshire, England. Samuel Smith's India Ale caught my eye this evening at my local beer store. It was only sold in individual 550 ml bottles, so I decided to pick one up and give it a go. Mainly because it's brewed in England and in the town of Tadcaster, which sounds a little like Lancaster, where I used to live. I was a little leery because the bottle states that the beer is brewed from well water from the original well sunk in 1758. I spent a lot of time on my grandparents farm as a kid and if you don't know well water is not the greatest thing in the world. But I figured it's 2012 and it can't be that bad for you, might even be better then some of the "purified" water of today.
The bottle has a bright gold seal at the top, reminding of a Michelob I stole out of my grandmothers fridge at age 13. Getting the seal off was a bit of pain as well, but once opened it was well worth the trouble. The beer is amber in color and smelled of malts and caramel, with a brownish tinted head. It makes you think that this can't be an IPA it must be an amber beer. But a few sips later the hops showed up much to my delight. This is a very well made, very good beer. The hops are not overwhelming, but there with just enough of a hint. I was impressed overall with this brew.
Questions: Does this beer crack the top ten? I can't place this in my top ten only because in my opinion it just doesn't beat out any beer I currently have in there. This is a very good beer that I will definitely enjoy again, but I can't put it in my top tan. Was it worth the price? No question here. I paid $3.99 for the bottle and I would say it was well worth it. I got a little over a pint and half out of it, so not quite two beers, but it was just enough to sit down and enjoy on a Friday night.
My overall rating would be a 3.5 out of 5. Quite an enjoyable beer with plenty of flavor to get you through a calm evening. If interested please check out www.samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk and I would highly recommend giving this beer a try if and when you can find it at your local store. I don't think you'll be disappointed at all.
Long Live the Queen!
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