on THE TAPHANDLE

Samuel Smith's Organically Produced Ale, A Bitter by Samuel Smith

18.7 ounce bottle. Samuel Smith's Organic poured blondish-orange, with a one-inch-thick champagne colored head. The aroma was of Honey Nut Cheerios, focused mostly on the cereal grain and the honey. There were also ephemeral pine and floral scents.

The taste was bitter undergirded by the slight sweetness of honey. A stream of flavor beneath the main flavor alternated between a faint grassiness and a faint fishiness. Perhaps that doesn't sound appealing, but it was pretty good. Every so often, a hint of caramel or resin peeked through the lightly bubbly ale.

I had Samuel Smith's Organic with spiced baked salmon, which brought forth the fish flavor of the ale. I imagine a steak would have brought forth the grass flavor. I would have preferred the latter.

Overall, this was a complex, but "unstable," ale. Food pulled it one direction or another, but not necessarily where I hoped to be headed.