Samuel Smith's Brewery Apricot Ale
What the brewers say
“A complex ale fermented with different yeasts and extended maturation and blended with pure organic apricot juice and more organic beer.”
What our panel thought
Aroma: “Dried apricot, red fruit, cherries, raspberry. Perfumy and floral with moderate apricot sweetness. It almost smells fuzzy. Maybe a bit of sweet breadiness in the background. Some sour notes.”
Flavor: “Apricot, peach, cherry, raspberry. Far sweeter than expected, without the tartness common to apricot beers. Finishes with a drying sensation and a touch of tartness, but the sweetness lingers at the back of the palate. Sweet apricot juice taste jumps out and overwhelms the underlying beer. Little hops bitterness or malt qualities make this straightforward.”
Overall: “The fruit character is nice, but the sweetness is confusing and makes me think that the beer was back-sweetened. The fruit balance is about right, but it is too close to being cloying to drink much of it. I miss the supporting beer qualities.”
