The Shocking State Of John Smith's Original Bitter & John Smith's Extra Smooth Under Heineken

[@limitedCompanyduo]

I love the smooth flow beers, makes them like real ale down the pub and not fizzy and gassy like alcopops.

[@lawrencebuckley4750]

It's a shame bitters have gone this way, I was a massive fan of Boddingtons when it was in Manchester, but once the were bought out.....it nose dived

[@tobiascox4607]

totally agree

[@AndrewSFTSN]

@@tobiascox4607 I think they're making a little bit of a comeback given what I've seen in the last few beer festivals, perhaps. Had some good mid to low strength bests.

[@orriblecunt]

My dad loved Boddingtons, i wondering why he stopped supping it

[@jayharper1894]

Great to see these beers being outed keep on educating 🙏🏾💪🏾

[@markfraser6777]

Totally agree with you. Heineken have done the same with this beer as they have with every beer company they have bought. As you have said in other reviews like Newcastle Brown Ale they have sacrificed the standard and quality for overly mass produced cheep beers. To me it looks like they are taking a standard beer and adding colouring and artificial flavours to try and replicate what was one a cracking beer. Unfortunately they have failed and failed big time and it is such a shame. Nice to hear your review and thank you for your honest thoughts. Keep up the good work. M

[@petefishrigsandtips]

Omg brown ale worst beer I've ever tasted

[@brianlayne9742]

Newcastle Brown Ale Lagunitas recreated that one.... hence there ran by Heineken don't get me wrong Heineken lager is a great drink ... its just hard to appreciate old beer brands today that have been changed for the worst..

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Beamish and Murphy’s from what I have read.

[@MaybuTron]

Unfortunately, it's nothing with their lack of Brewing knowledge, and everything to do with their profit margins! Glucose syrup is the cheaper option, so profits are increased!

[@NerdAdventurer85]

Wouldn't they make more profit if they made decent Beer though? 😂

[@GardenBirdWatch]

@@NerdAdventurer85 only a tiny fraction of any market's consumer base are connoisseurs, so no. Highest profits will always be in mass produced, mass consumed, type of stuff.

[@pauljackson5602]

You can fit a temperature controller to a standard perfect draft. It will cost about £5 in parts and let's you choose between 3⁰ and 10⁰.

[@Itchytriggerfinga]

This is one of the reasons Bitter has such a bad rap these days. I wish brewers would rebrand bitter so it appeals to today’s beer drinkers. It’s such a shame that so many brewers sold the land that their breweries were on to developers as most were purposely situated by a river so they could draw water to make the beer as along with the hops the water gave beer it’s unique taste.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

It is also why breweries used to be limited to certain beer styles. Guinness was limited to Porters and Stouts because of the Liffey water

[@Martin-lp4yg]

No need to rebrand...just put decent beer inside the cans...not watery 3.6% crap...rack it up to 4.5% and it will become a different decent ale...heineken obviously dont give a shit about J Smiths....just focusing on their own lager...

[@michaelannetts5839]

Sam Smith's holds up to modern breweries for me. Such a great selection of incredible beers at insane prices.

[@vojtechfryc994]

Sam Smith's extra stout is an amazing beer if its well kept. Like a far far improved guinness

[@philipskinner5236]

Shame about the owner being a top tw&t

[@WigsyDoesSimRacing]

even their organic lager and the wheat beers are amazing

[@OscarOSullivan]

Sam Smith’s chocolate stout is lovely

[@onemanin2pubs]

Not cheap anymore here in Yorkshire

[@gefthetalkingmongoose]

John Smith's isn't meant to be a crafty beer. If you think of Extra Smooth as a lightly alcoholic creamy iced tea it'll stone your crows all day long. Love it.

[@Nik2555]

Should do one on stones bitter. I had a pint in local pub in sheff and was expecting it to taste like shit but it was actually really enjoyable pint. Then I got the stones headache and my mate got the stones chronic shits 😂

[@garydyke1]

Glucose derived from a certain mash schedule , not syrup, can be desirable for certain strains of yeast , so they produce more banana esters (well in the case of hefeweizen). Here it's probably to boost gravity and reduce costs. Shocking .

[@richarddvdbaumber8518]

I am well into my craft beers now, in fact starting to review on my channel. But I still love a pint of John’s especially in a pub garden in sweltering weather

[@eugenecosentino392]

Lol!!!!! "I fear for my health" Lol lol lol... That's how i feel every time I have to choke down a miller, budwiser, or coors beer lol. Been a long time followed of your channel from across the pond. Hope you enjoy your next review a little better!

[@bonzillesgames]

Drinking a can just now as it's my B-Day John smith's extra smooth has always been one of my favorite Bitters. I remember being kind of intrigued to what a widget was so I cut a can in half to see what I would say resembled a ping pong ball. I was so disappointing. I don't know what I expected to find but I thought it was going to be a little more high tech.

[@HudsonAO8TQ1]

My dad did the same thing years ago to show me the widget in the can when I was about 10 years old, except it was a can of boddingtons

[@ridekernow]

Shocking as this beer is, I suspect it’s largely responsible for weaning us 40-somethings off the generic lagers and into bitter, in the late 80s and early 90s. Credit where it’s due - although that does add a bit of irony to the fact that it’s owned by Heineken!

[@Ngamer834]

Newcastle Brown ale is another one in Heineken's hands and that is awful these days.

[@rhyswoodbridge3914]

I like john smiths on draft, first bitter I drunk & been trying new ones ever since. But weirdly never had it from a can. It will always have a place on my tongue

[@darrenparker3633]

Totally agree. I now live in Australia and had a can of this a week ago. It now tastes like complete garbage and watered down flavourless piss

[@RobPattison91]

I've tried Magnet. Unfortunately it's very popular in the north. I think it's completely tasteless. You're not missing out on anything.

[@walboyfredo6025]

4:21 They call it ISOHOP - this is used in the big breweries to avoid additional sedimentation of hop leaves during the post fermentation/ malting process.

[@nsbmiller]

Just to point that John Smith and Sam Smith weren't brothers... John Smith took over an existing brewery in 1847 (the brewery that is now Sam Smith's) but soonafter built his own brewery in the town and left the original building empty. John had two brothers - William and Samuel (Senior). When he died in 1879 he left his assets to his brothers. William took on the John Smith's Brewery but the old brewery was left empty. In 1886 William himself died and left the empty building to his nephew Samuel Junior. It is that Samuel (the nephew) who re-equipped the Old Brewery and started brewing again in the late 1880s/early 1990s. So there was none of this "competition between the two" - they weren't brewing at the same time. John Smith died 7 years before Samuel (Jr) took on the old brewery. One assumes that William's children continued brewing at the John Smith's Brewery which was eventually sold to Courage in 1970.

[@WarrentheGunner]

What's is the beer do you recommend that is similar to Extra Smooth??

[@cd0u50c9]

UnderBridge Juice by Kidney Brewers

[@7quidstudio]

'I think I'd rather have a glass of water' 🤣🤣🤣

[@willsbrewery3518]

A lot of stouts are still served on gas with a mix of co2 and nitro though and for certain styles of beer for me the nitro is absolutely required.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Or a sparkler if on cask

[@alexanderjames6328]

It's grim! I used to love Ansells Mild... but that is long gone, such a shame what has happened in the UK.

[@tac2180]

Love a john smiths when I'm in England, you need to get a pint of heavy when in Scotland e.g Belhaven best , love it

[@duncanrobinson3200]

I seem to remember that the John Smith's Original in the 1980's and early 1990's was a reasonable tasting pint, but yes after making my own homebrewed craft beers from kits and the commercially available ones, JS Original tastes like piss water! They send it to the big supermarkets and some people just buy it out of habit even though it tastes crap. They maybe messed about with the receipe in the 90's sometime when Carlsberg too it over? at the same time the ABV was dropped. And you can get still get at least half reasonable canned beers of only 3.2% like Daniel Thwaites Dark Mild - but John Smiths is very watery I find. A similar thing has happened to 'Boddington's Bitter' once brewed down the road from me in Manchester and it was an easy drinking albeit not spectacular session beer - but the Strangeways (Boddies) Brewery was closed in the 1990's and the production moved elsewhere in the country (I think it is now sold in cans and brewed in Luton by InBev?) and it is truly awful and watery like JS. They also dropped the ABV of Boddingtons Bitter - it is available locally to me around the Manchester area on draught but tastes equally as awful as in the cans!

[@AndyGT1907]

You’re here slating John Smiths and the state of it. But you will always be remembered for bottling it when it came to giving an honest review of Greene King when stood face to face with them. I bet you would do the same and bottle it, if stood face to face with John Smiths.

[@johncurtis8341]

AndyGT1907 sorry mate- care to fill me in on what happened?

[@shezermetalbanter2902]

@@johncurtis8341 basically he went to the greene king brewery and was nice to them, even though their beer is awful

[@antonysandersonfromenglandshef]

Do they still make magnet

[@stallebrass]

I love all the different styles of craft beers you mention, and maybe its controversial but I quite like a John Smiths Extra Smooth. It's nothing like a craft beer and I don't think it's trying to be to anything like a craft beer... to compare them is a bit dumb IMO.

[@Dobbsauthor]

It's not a bad pint..the extra is smooth but Wothy creamflow is better. Still I don't find it as bad as you say but it's not as good as even the most basic craft ale

[@joffhall81]

John Smiths Bitter was originally a drink for the masses when there was massive industry in Yorkshire and was there to slay a thirst after hard days shift. It was always an average drink for the average man. In here in the north East we got and still do get Magnet and it was a staple in social/working men’s clubs. Magnet is a better beer but only slightly as again it’s an average beer produced for the average man. During the 90’s lots of beers were bastardised with the “smooth” craze but all it did was ruin the mass, average beers we had. I’ll admit I used to drink johns smiths bitter 20 years ago but once the nitro craze hit I started drinking Magnet or if not available Newcastle brown ale in bottle (that’s a long time ago lol). Even today when I go to my local social club (which is not very often) I will still drink Magnet and although it’s not a patch on any decent craft beers it’s still ok and drinkable for a mass produced average mans beer. John Smiths smooth is absolutely vile and the best description of it I’ve ever head was “a pint of volcano water” !! The biggest problem with John Smiths now is that beer drinkers tastes have progressed and moved on to more complex and flavourful beers. John Smiths on the other hand was an old fashioned industrial thirst quencher British beer 20 years ago and now it’s owned by Heineken they are producing this old fashioned beer down to a price with artificial ingredients and additives. Heineken have done a similar thing with Newcastle brown and it’s not even a shadow of its former self which is sad as these beer in their heyday were some of the best tasing beers of their time. I’m not sure they would cut in it today’s craft beer world but the original recipes would taste a hell of a lot better than these chemical added brown drinks that are being passed of as beer by big mass production breweries. Joff 👍👊🍺🍺

[@chrish12345]

there are still millions of people who do a proper day's shift thanks, and need to slay a thirst, life is still hard for most people when it comes to making a living

[@joffhall81]

chrish12345 I never said there wasn’t mate !! My point was that our taste palettes have changed so the beer that the masses drank years ago doesn’t taste anywhere near as good as we people thought back then. My post wasn’t about work ethnic it was about the changing tastes of beers. I know 20 years ago I drank my fair share of John Smiths Magnet but now it wouldn’t even feature on my to drink list unless there was no other option. If you took work ethic from it then you clearly missed the point of my comment !!

[@OscarOSullivan]

Even the independent regional brewers can be argued to make such beers

[@CarlTSpeak]

The smooth is a marvellous beer if you really don't want to taste anything. It's quite funny watching this. I was at Northern Monk a few days ago, had a couple of drinks and picked up some cans including the fantastic Even More Death. Beers like this are cheap but aren't any kind of value for money. Most of it's tax anyway so you're way better off spending a little more for something with flavour. Spend 70p a can more, which won't even buy you a chocolate bar and a packet of crisps, and enjoy the experience.

[@ELGlueckert]

Isn't John Smith's and Samuel Smith's from the same family? *Edit, Never mind that. Also which brewery do you prefer?

[@james-fw9wh]

John smiths isn't supposed to be a craft beer. It does exactly whats expected. Smooth creamy easy drinking bitter with very mild taste and no after taste. You can neck this stuff all day long. Its an easy drinking classic.

[@TheJimmyboy38]

Also sorry have to say you the bier hooligan and deans reviews are the best you tubers doing this . So much passion so much honesty as a fellow beer lover I have to say carry on the good work . I will be telling all my fellow beer lovers to subscribe to all 3 immediately great stuff!

[@realaleguide]

Thanks James, lots of hard work but totally worth it. On the Doombar question, Sharp's used to brew a Connesuirs (cant spell that word`0 range of beers which they have now stopped to fully focus on Doomar, its not a great beer but better than Worthingtons which it replaced in a lot of pubs.

[@OscarOSullivan]

Worthingtons draught smooth is sold in Irish wetherspoons. Guinness Ireland got on in the 1990’s nitro bitter craze with a 3.7 percent ordinary bitter called Cherry’s a sad end for a name of a brewery in Waterford city (now distillery) that goes back to the 18th century

[@govinda102000]

My best memory of London 1987.

[@DCO-3447]

I reccomend Timothy Taylor's cook lane IPA. Absolutely fantastic

[@mrbeamer6374]

when i went back to the uk i drank that all the time i loved its delicious

[@pappathescooper]

YES MATE!!!! I always look for it when I go back but you have to go to the most random places to find it. God bless 🙏

[@mrbeamer6374]

@@pappathescooper yeah bro i got a 4 pack for £10 got smooth and normal its so expensive yeah and they want to do four packs so they can make more money. But bloody worth it i could drink 12 pack easily im salivating smooth is my fav. But i need to try john smiths magnet dad says its better but we could not find it 🤣🤪 its in Stockton and Middlesbrough where I’m from 🤭😏

[@richardmiller7887]

Had many JS Magnet in the Station Inn Redcar before it was turned into a Morrisons car park ...😢 .... the taps flowed freely all day ... a drinkers pub and the Magnet was ... well ... magnificent. Sorely missed ... 😢

[@lostincredulity5369]

Widget, it’s got a widget, it’s got a widget, it’s got a widget, a widget it has got. Will be in my head all day now!

[@peterthompson1989]

I've always liked John smiths and felt it probably got me onto other ales. I do think it is simple though so i can see why people may not like it

[@louisbeerreviews8964]

Peter Thompson I liked it

[@BLMeredith87]

I like watching reviews of beers I've already tried, it helps me find out *why* I like or dislike them. John Smith's Extra Smooth was actually one of my first experiences with beer, a cheeky sip from one of my dad's cans when I was a teen. And I never wanted to touch it again, "atrocious" is an appropriate word, and my next beer being Carling years later (which I notice gets mocked for being bland) was a somewhat pleasant step up lol

[@thegoodlife2937]

To me I find carling and a carlsburg tastes the same litrilly

[@metalthrashingmatt]

I’m all for big companies helping to facilitate craft brewery’s getting good beer out as far as they can...but they shouldn’t mess with brewing..leave the brewery to do what they do, people will pay for good beer so just make it easily available.

[@BrewOnABike]

Being 19, the only beer I've ever really drunk has been craft beer. I decided to buy this to see what was it was like and holy shit is this bad. Honesty just takes like water with a slight malt flavour.

[@bhante1345]

You just saved me €50, thank you.

[@chrism8705]

Our kid loves that JS smooth buys it every week ten bob a wagon load happy days 😄

[@stephenpeach6249]

honest and brutal assessment

[@jquill6]

I remember that now the caffreys and Kilkenny beers etc . That breo from Guinness also , rank

[@simon3824]

I’m glad you agree that John Smith bitter is so bad.. my taste notes .. like a cheap bar of soap! Ugh! 🤮

[@zyghom]

I love this beer, the one with nitrogen especially. But you know: de gustibus non est disputandum ;-)

[@jakepearson5857]

This review still makes me laugh. Such true words!!

[@FrLawRE]

yes Jake Pearson he's right. But why does he keep on drinking a beer that he has just called "atrocious"?

[@swigginstevesbargainbeerre1612]

Both cack beers, wasn't as harsh as you but still was particularly complimentary

[@jimjewell9438]

"I fear for my health"🤣

[@antonysandersonfromenglandshef]

It used be 4 percent alcohol

[@steve-bk1qd]

love those Welsh real ales..

[@kylereed9309]

Funny I live in leeds and have visited tadcaster many times with my grandad and even though John Smith's has the largest brewery in town virtually every single pub is owned by Sam Smith's and are great.

[@dazpearce2096]

used to drink this in the late 1990s - along came the real ale renaissance. Sam Smith's have a pub up in Preston as it happens, must visit when the world goes back to normal.

[@OscarOSullivan]

Chances are it is not open

[@rael1999]

Think there's as many bad real ales out there to be honest. One of the best pints I've ever had was Tetley's back in the day (70's/80's). Just an amazing pint and so smooth and creamy. Trouble is it's no longer brewed in Leeds and has been bastardised by Carlsberg who can't even make a decent larger. Seems the art of great bitter making is vanishing although Holt's in Manchester and Sam Smith's in Taddy are still decent pints.

[@rael1999]

@Girls on film ....Lol...cold stewed tea....Yeah that sounds absolutely accurate and from someone who has a very balanced view about the different beers from back in the day.

[@OscarOSullivan]

Ron Pattinson used to drink Tetley’s mild

[@mattw4405]

I remember drinking the smooths in the early nineties! Greenalls,tetleys and worthy woosh😂 thought I was cool at the time, however compared to today’s beers it’s like comparing Man City in both periods! Sad,boring and you feel sorry for them to now stylish,enjoyable and at a times Stone the crows.

[@Cjbx11]

At one time I used to drink John Smiths occasionally in pubs and thought it was ok. I don’t know if it’s changed or I just got older and wiser but I’d never buy it now

[@adamjpd]

John smiths is good when you want a drink but are still a bit raw from the crippling stomach acid you get from the stronger ones.

[@paulstevenson200]

"I fear for my health." That's because of what you eat. This however, is a worthy review and well done for calling Heineken out. I was in a pub last week and the offer was Wainwright (dish water and disgusting) or John Smith's Smooth. I refuse to drink smooth from any brewery, it is vile, disgusting stuff. So I sat in a pub waiting for my comrades to finish their Wainwrights. Dear God. Sam Smiths is a wonderful beacon among the brewing industry. Damn fine piece of work.

[@lukaswint7067]

Used to drink this back when I was a wee boy.

[@kylereed9309]

John smiths magnet was a good beer it was 4.2% and i think their original main beer but they stopped producing it on mass in 2011. Now its only distribute to a handful of selected pubs in Yorkshire, if you find it you are lucky and should give it a try 😉

[@Martin-lp4yg]

I remember Magnet in the early 90's...im sure it was 4.5%...superb beer on tap....seriously drinkable beer!

[@louisbeerreviews8964]

I like john Smiths beers nice

[@fountainwell49man65]

Guinness Bitter RIP had a nice taste.

[@BionicRusty]

It absolutely did. Such a shame.

[@petetheofanous72]

Hey Real Ale Craft Beer , we can get the extra smooth here in Cyprus and that along with Guinness makes a refreshing change from the diabolical Keo & Carlsberg. Go in to Morrisons find Keo on the shelf and start laughing like i did. You got to try it first😆. No Craft beers here. I was thinking of trying John smiths in a mini keg pressured by co2.

[@boldyno1457]

Not seen Magnet before. John Smith's extra smooth is massive here in Cumbria with the older generation. My dad and his mates won't drink anything else.

[@tony1kenobi202]

Still find it amazing that Heineken bought a stake in Beavertown and left the beer untouched

[@alm5966]

John Smiths, Ruddles, GK IPA, Belhaven Best, Worthington's, Carling, Bierre Moretti and Peroni are the rankest excuses for beer I've ever tasted. Bleugh.

[@michaelmcfee49]

I love a pint of johnsmiths extra smooth

[@adamgreenhill110]

For me, the nitrogen is the ONLY redeeming quality of this beer. It's still awful, but drinkable. I couldn't imagine how the standard version tastes...

[@bazbuncher6948]

good for cleaning the patio with

[@alansinclair7659]

Samuel Smith was actually John Smith's nephew.

[@americasfavoritehoarder]

Those beers AREN'T beers. I'm with you, I rather have a stout!

[@deanmullen1422]

Can’t believe you tarnished the Doom Bar glass with that cack.....good vid though 👍

[@captainmeatsadventures7954]

The lowpoint of the Smooth beers was Carling Premier!!!!

[@davidwil58]

I think you’re wrong, they weren’t brothers … the Samuel Smith brewer was the son of Johns brother Sam, apparently?

[@johnholmes1122]

Cuando la probé, pensé, es cerveza? ...... y después pensé, con todo el respeto del mundo , ¿...y esta mierda le gusta a los ingleses...?

[@mattjackson9859]

I was waiting for the glug-glug-glug of it being poured down the sink...

[@glebe111]

Is John Smiths on draft any better??

[@gingashednomad6401]

Nope

[@realaleguide]

No it's still the same recipe.

[@robvickers2126]

No

[@thespencerarms2022]

It’s the worst beer of all time , and glad you thought the same 🙏🏻👌🏻😂🍺

[@davec4955]

I can't see the point of adding nitro to any beer including Guinness ! I remember the days when Guinness original was bottle conditioned. Carbon dioxide is perfectly natural in beer and produced as a by-product of fermentation ! True a lot of beers are pasteurized and then carbon dioxide added later. But a lot of craft brewers managed to keep the carbonation achieved during fermentation process !!

[@robinburn4974]

Bitter should be drunk from pumps, not cans

[@DanYule55]

FINALLY SOMEONE SAYS IT.

[@TOMLINBISH]

I've just read on the can that John Smith's Extra Smooth contains glucose syrup!! I will NEVER ever drink it again!

[@unknownerror8477]

All tastes the same when your pissed anyway🤣

[@markbrennan4693]

I worked at John smith's back in 1984 made decent beer then. Sam smith's much better though, even if the owner is a bit of a ladies front bottom !. Both breweries are literally side by side in Tadcaster.

[@sh4dowchas3r]

Back in the 90s when it was pretty much just Boddingtons and John Smiths available everywhere as a bitter/ale drinker it was an awful time. I should have turned into a Guiness drinker then at least it was reasonably consistent

[@OscarOSullivan]

Now awful consistency in the Uk

[@christine899]

Don't like beer in cans, always tastes metallic to me prefere in a bottle or on draft, I have always been a "bitter lady" since my first pint in 1962 at age 17, but I also like an old ale high strength (7.0)

[@matthewtodd3879]

Where I live in Spain the beer is all lager so when you get sick of it we only have horrible John Smiths smooth ,piss

[@neill392]

It's John Smith's Magnet That I miss.

[@spacetraveler834]

What a damning review. If I ever see this being sold in the States I will shriek in horror!

[@jcn639]

It's actually a really good beer.

[@lukewhelan5311]

And they weren't brothers, they were uncle and nephew.

[@jeffcollins8127]

You're both right. John Smith bought the brewery that is now Samuel Smiths, he then built a brewery next door, left the old brewery to his brother Sam, and the new one to his brother William. Sam's son, Sam Smith Jr stared up the brewery as it is now.

[@michaeldoyle1007]

Your pour technique is terrible and John Smith's extra smooth is absolutely beautiful. All I drank when I loved in the UK for 10years.

[@Orkel2]

A lot of these "nitrogen widget" beers are tasteless, they think the creamy smoothness from the nitrogen is enough to make up for the lack of flavour. Even Guinness is like toasted water.

[@nickkwatussi7080]

Had Guinness nitro in a can the other day, exactly how you described it , just utterly flavorless and watery

[@petefishrigsandtips]

People on minimum wage can't afford craft beers so expensive hey we buy smiths and to be honest I like it, and I've tasted a few craft beers which taste like crap so yes not all craft beers are nice either

[@petefishrigsandtips]

@Girls on film I do go out thanks but the bottled ones in shops and most pubs are expensive as you well know ,any beer is cheap in Wethers and to be honest i prefer a better class of pub

[@petefishrigsandtips]

@Girls on film yes I supose

[@michaeledwards5981]

Tried some of the nitro ones a few months ago wasn't for me gave the brother in law the other three cans he'll drink dishwater😳 wasn't impressed 🤪

[@smithcityproductreviews1689]

Wouldnt be about their brewing knowledge. All about profit. It's a brand people are very set in their ways. Mass produce something at its cheapest equals 💰💰💰

[@ollieb927]

Yeh its not a bad beer. In pubs it taste awful and very chemically. Its not mean to be a craft of real ale. I still have it in cheap pubs bars and clubs. Cheap and a drink.