John Smiths Original Bitter / Extra Smooth

Pasteurised Keg and Can. Extra Smooth is served with nitrogen. There’s also an Extra Cold - the same beer, but at a lower temperature.
Previously 4.0%, 3.8%

"John Smiths is Britains biggest-selling bitter with more than 15% of the total UK standard bitter market."

2.5

697 reviews

Tadcaster, England

Community reviews

2.8 440ml Can from Morrison's, Birtley, Gateshead. Amber coloured with a thin white head of foam. It has a toffee and bitter fruity flavour with earthy notes on the smooth slightly thin finish. Ok.

1.7 *Extra Smooth* Thus we have a drink that is far far from anything that can be considered good, but aside from the weak malty and bitter flavour, there are some positives… It looks good aesthetically, the head felt good in my mouth, and it smeared residue everywhere which I also liked. Unfortunately that level of stimulant isn’t enough to justify the bad qualities. Read the full review here: https://beerwithus2.wordpress.com/2021/01/06/john-smiths-extra-smooth/

2.8 Lata 500ml Color ambar oscura,espuma blanca,cremosa,alta,resistente.Aroma malta,caramelo,notas florales.Sabor suave amargor con un toque dulce,malta,caramelo,floral,muy ligera,algo acuosa.

3.0 Smooth on the pallet. Tasteless. Pours dark brown. No carbonate. Drinkable bitter.

2.9 (can 0,5l from Levné potraviny) (as Extra Smooth, with nitro widget) Overall: Average bitter, some harsh. Aroma: Light toasty/caramel, sweet. Appearance: Clear dark amber. All time, creamy, off-white head. Taste: Light sweet, light toasty/caramel, light bitter, some harsh. Palate: Light-medium body. Long sharp bitter finish.

2.7 Half pint. Dark amber with lasting creamy head. Aroma of roasted malts. Very smooth texture which is the best part. Almost no carbonation. Taste is very weak of toasted malts. Deliberately flavourless but perfectly drinkable beer.

2.5 3.6% can. Nice creamy head, smooth (but thin, as the foam dies down). Flavour is toffee malt, brown bread, nutty, slightly fruity hops. And metallic copper. Very bland. Not great

1.9 John Smiths Extra Smooth 3.6%. Reddish bronze, muted nutty aroma, full bodied, biscuit malt, vegetal, metallic finish. Unpleasant nitrogen beer from Tadcaster, Yorkshire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

3.1 500ml can from Malta. Very nice beer with really creamy head, light brown colour. Its taste is a little simple: smoke, caramel, light hop.

0.8 En av de värsta upplevelser jag haft inom min öl-resa. ”Kroppen” är den av en nyfödd bebis, lenare än vatten. Smaken påminner om ciggarett fimp...

1.9 Color naranja oscuro, casi granate, sin turbiedad, transparente. Espuma blanca, muy cremosa, de un dedo de espesor e infinita retención. Aroma muy ligero a cereal, galleta y caramelo, leves notas lácticas que las nitrogenadas me suelen recordar. Sabor más leve si cabe a cereal, final de ligero amargor tostado. Textura acuosa. Carbonatación baja. Tiene más sabor la espuma que la propia cerveza, para olvidar.

2.8 Indeed very smooth but it doesn’t make it a good beer. Slightly malty. Boring but drinkable.

2.5 Extra smooth moet blijkbaar uitgelegd worden als extra flauw. Dit bier heeft weinig smaak. 3,6% alcohol. Gebrouwen in North Yorkshire Engeland.

3.6 Chestnut color, clear, creamy head. Some caramel, tea, medium body, smooth, not bad.

3.6 Extra Smooth nitrogen can, brewed in UK. Creamy smooth nitrogen-style large head. Faint aroma of roasted malt (more roast than malt). Classic dark, brown amber colour. Extra smooth creamy mouthfeel with almost no carbonation. Taste is a one-note somewhat burnt malt flavour. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Very little flavour, but what's there is pleasant enough. This one's all about the texture. Light, easy-drinking beer; reflected in the 3.6% ABV. Designed to be utterly inoffensive to all except those who demand flavour from their beer! As a result, I can't rate it especially highly, even though it's exceptionally drinkable. Ideal to cool you down on a hot day, especially if you've been working.

0.5 Yuk!

2.9 They should up the Alc vol to alteast 4% . It's ok just ok though better on cask

2.6 Transparent copper color with creamy saturated foam. Nose: Caramel malt with a hint of floral-grassy hops. Taste. The body is light, watery. On the palate is a malt caramel base with hop bitterness.

2.8 Make no mistake, this is not a great beer. That said, it's cheap, it's available everywhere and it evokes a Pavlovian "pub feeling" in the comfort of your own home. Plus you can have a fourpack while watching a game without worrying about getting buzzed. Oh and they stock it in the kind of shit small town pub that otherwise has Fosters, Carling and 1664 on tap. Aroma virtually non-existent, head is nitro consistent and creamy, body is weak but again, nitro smooth. Goes down easy, leaves a pleasant malty aftertaste. Nothing complex going on here; caramel, grain, a little dried fruit. Fundamentally pleasant. DIPAs are exciting, but sometimes you just want the Wetherspoons experience.

2.6 I ordered this in a Scotting pub following the lead of a middle-aged man in a kilt with a strong accent. It was decent, but I didn't go back for another.

1.5 good beer has in bottle would buy again had cold poured into glass good taste nice appearence

3.1 Piękna piana i ciemnobursztynowy kolor, aromat dość słaby, w smaku kremowe, lekko kwaśne, rozwodnione. Obiektywnie takie sobie, ocena wyższa bo pita w UK i była to dla mnie w smaku duża ciekawostka ;)

2.7 440ml can. Amber colour with white head. Sweet malt, stale bready, light artificial sweetness (glucose syrup added), watery, light watery stone fruit, light cardboard, light artificial caramel. Bit muted + dull, probably because of the nitrogen. I've heard that this was better before Heineken bought the brewery as well. Not terrible but there are much better examples of the style for sure.

3.2 A very soft and tasteful beer. Very good taste. This is a beer I will recommend.

0.0 Bloody awful nothing describes it except scrotes beer

1.3 0,5 l can. served as advertised around 4 degrees C. Pours clear amber with a minimal head. A: distinctive almost baby poo, then bit caramelly T: low saturation, thin body, light bitterness, stale, bit caramelly, watery, definitely not easy-drinking - still struggling to finish it.

1.8 This is pretty bad. It basically tastes like sparkling water with some grain and malt chucked in.

1.6 Does the totally superfluous nitrogen ruin this one? Who knows and who cares?

2.5 John Smiths Extra Smooth Aroma: Light malts, burnt vanilla. Appearance: Amber with a long lasting white head Taste: Lightly malted, mild vanilla notes, toasted cereal, creamy, light bitterness. This is one of the two macro-bitters that I somewhat enjoy(?) to drink. It's not flavoursome, it's not going to be your first choice, but it's something that you can easily drink with a hot curry and it not be disappointing. It has it's place in the market, regardless of how much the elitists complain.

2.3 Aroma 4. Appearance 4. Taste 4. Palate 2. Overall 9. A mild beer with malt aroma, and malt with a hint of bitterness taste.