John Smith's Bitter > Reviews

Advantages: Reliable Easy to Find Not Too Expensive
Disadvantages: Not the Best

...know anything at all about John Smith's bitter until I moved to Yorkshire in 1969. It was there that I came across countless pubs,especially in East and South Yorkshire,that stocked this particular brew from Tadcaster. John Smith's Bitter has been brewed at Tadcaster since 1847 and the Smith's knew a thing or two about the science-or is it the art of brewing ?I was always told by Yorkshireman that value for money was important,neigh,very important ... Read review

Advantages: A good basic pint
Disadvantages: Perhaps a little too basic?

...is innately special about John Smith's Bitter. Don’t get me wrong. I am not being critical of this beer. Because I am not saying that there's anything wrong with it. Far from it, it is a perfectly acceptable pint, but if you are looking for a more complicated depth of flavour of –for example- Hobgoblin, or Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, then you might be disappointed. However, John Smith’s Bitter is a nice, clear pint with a good, acceptable colour. ... Read review

Advantages: It ain't lager . . .
Disadvantages: . . . but it ain't proper bitter either

I first encountered John Smith's bitter in the late Seventies, when it was a decent, middle of the road pint at a reasonable price. That same beer (or something reasonably similar to it) can still be found in some, more traditional, boozers where it is now sold as John Smith's Cask Bitter. Sadly more and more pubs seem to be dropping the cask version and promoting its illegitimate offspring, John Smith's Smooth Bitter. Don't get me wrong. I don't ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap, consistant
Disadvantages: consistanly bland, super chilled, you get what you pay for

...it that draws people to John Smiths? I myself used to be a drinker; I put it down to the availablilty, price and marketing. There is nothing else that sells the beer. It is a nitrogen assisted keg beer, which means that after brewing the beer is pasturised, killing off all the yeast and stopping it from being a live product. The landlord benefits from lower wastage from off beer, the drinker suffers from loss of taste and mouth feel. The nitrogen ... Read review

Advantages: Funny ads, good beer, and far better than lager
Disadvantages: No great taste

This'll focus more on the beer than the ads, I reckon. John Smith's is a pleasing drink. It is certainly very smooth, to the point of being sanitised, you might say. Compared to the likes of Marstons, Adnams, Theakstons, Banks, IPA and Flower it certainly is. However, for a mainstream beer, it ranks very highly, and has the advantage of being on sale in most pubs across the country. The taste is rather faded, with no fullness or aftertaste. ... Read review