What is it? Samuel Smith’s fruit beers are brewed and fermented on antique equipment at the Melbourn Bros’ All Saints Brewery in Stamford, Lincolnshire – the English county is a fruit hotspot – rather than in the brewer’s North Yorkshire home (although it is conditioned, aged and packaged there). Aside from this certified organic strawberry number, there are also cherry, apricot and raspberry ales.
How does it taste? The fruit credentials are solid, as are the beer’s – the brewery began operations in 1758 – and it results in a malty, complex and characterful brew that is complemented rather than overwhelmed by the flavour of ripe strawberry. Balanced and a great example for some of the less traditional experiments coming to market.