Samuel Smith's Organic Strawberry Fruit Beer
I'll have to be honest here, I don't know how much I am going to like this beer. I absolutely love strawberries, but I have never had a strawberry anything that I liked and this goes for Ice Cream, soda, you name it. So with that said, take my review with a grain of salt. Let's give this beer a go. Appearance: Pours a mostly clear pinkish orange color with a small 1/4" head of white foam that may have had a subtle pink hue to it. The bubbles were small and stuck around for about 30 seconds before ending up as a small ring where the beer meets the glass. There is no lacing left on the glass after swirling or drinking. A small ring of foam consists on the edge of the glass. Aroma: The strawberries are the showcased element as all of the Sam Smith fruit beers seem to do, which isn't a bad thing. The strawberries in here are strong, but they aren't coming across as chemical or unnatural, which is my biggest turn-off on strawberry products. Taste: The strawberries are also the showcased element in the flavor, but they don't beat up your palate like some things do, so there is room left to drink beer too, which is nice. The balance is firmly toward the sweet, and I don't really notice any hops in the cold beer. There is a good bit of light caramel sweetness in this beer that is complimenting the strawberry nicely. There may be a tad of hops for balance in the finish, but the balance is toward the sweetness and the strawberries. Late after the sip, the strawberries slack off and let you taste the malt. The carbonation is adequate for what this beer is, so it keeps the mouthfeel from going watery and making this beer taste like a soda. Opinion: Well, I must say that for a strawberry product, Sam Smith did a good job with this one. It passes my test. That said, it is still a strawberry product, and I guess my body is just partial to eating the actual strawberries and picking the seeds out of my teeth. This is a good beer, and if strawberry is your thing, by all means, head to the store now. As for me, since I have now tried all three of Sammy's fruit beers, if I buy another one it would be the cherry.