Beer of the Week: Samuel Smith India Ale

Beer score: 8.6

Company: Samuel Smith Brewery
ABV: 5.0
IBU: 46

I'm not a big fan of India Pale Ales in general, but this is one of the best ones around. It doesn't have the sometimes strong, grapefruity sharpness of many IPAs.

Pours a nice copper color while giving off scents of bread, earthiness, and fruit, perhaps bananas. If you pour this one too fast, it will leave plenty of foamy head, but practice makes perfect.

The taste is stronger than the scent, featuring a complexity unusual in most IPAs. Here the taste features that breadiness and fruitiness mentioned above, but it's stronger, and there are also balanced flavors of citrus, flowers, a touch of sweet maple, and more.

Fairly smooth, not too strong, balanced well.

As far as I'm concerned, Samuel Smith's doesn't make a bad beer. This one isn't one of my favorite Samuel Smith's brews, but look at the score I gave it. Not a favorite beer, but such a high score? That should tell you just how good Samuel Smith's beers are. Even one that isn't a favorite still scores pretty high.