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John Smith’s cask beer brewed in Tad again
10:15am Wednesday 19th September 2007
Comments (10)JOHN Smith's cask beer is being brewed again in Tadcaster - for now.
The beer came under fire from drinkers and publicans in York after production was switched from Tadcaster to Warrington.
They claimed the beer was tangy and that it quickly lost its head.
But Scottish & Newcastle, which brews the beer, today confirmed it was again being produced in Tadcaster.
A spokesman for the company said: "In order to gain a better understanding of the recent product quality issues experienced by some stockists of cask John Smith's we have been producing supplementary brews at our Tadcaster brewery.
"We can confirm that this beer has been delivered to trade customers alongside the Burtonwood brewed product."
Although Scottish & Newcastle was unable to confirm for how long the beer would be brewed in Tadcaster, it said the move had no bearing on its decision to transfer production.
It said: "We are pleased to report that we have made significant progress in our work with Thomas Hardy Burtonwood to eradicate earlier product quality issues."
But Gary Penrose, owner of the Cue Ball Club snooker hall, off Lawrence Street, York, who believes the cask John Smith's he has been selling to customers was brewed in Tadcaster, described it as "brilliant."
"It had dipped off, we'd been having problems, but since we put this brew on just over a week ago, it's been brilliant," he said.
"Our customers are well pleased. I hope the brewing is brought back to Tadcaster - we've had umpteen problems, with customers walking out and refusing to drink it but it's been fantastic."
Steve Bradley, who tasted the John Smith's at the club, claimed it tasted different to the Warrington-brewed beer: "It was magnificent and so smooth on the palate that I was forced to test several further pints to check it was no fluke. I implore the brewery to bring production back to Tadcaster. If they don't I'll stick to my cider."
A spokesman for Scottish & Newcastle said that it was difficult to tell where a particular beer had been made.
But he said the company was aiming to make all John Smith's beer taste as good as its loyal drinkers remembered.
Your Say YourYork Press
Axe Man Jack, York says...
11:59am Wed 19 Sep 07
Maggie Moo, York says...
12:04pm Wed 19 Sep 07
Rubbish, products like this will have to have to kind of traceability. They just don't want to confirm that the Burtonwood beer was trash.
Kramer, York says...
12:17pm Wed 19 Sep 07
Once the air was ringing with your constant singing of John Smiths being one of the finest ales in the shire. Now you openly acknowledge it's bog standardness.
Metaltype, York says...
2:01pm Wed 19 Sep 07
Thanks S&N!
Dachande07, York says...
2:33pm Wed 19 Sep 07
A spokesman for Scottish & Newcastle said that it was difficult to tell where a particular beer had been made.
Rubbish, when Tetleys smooth changed brewing locations the customers at the pub I work at knew straight away.
Perhaps some of them read of the change of location so there opinions were automatically bias, but not all of them.
The real change is if its brewed in a hard of soft water environment, and some would even argue the types and shapes of cylinders in which said ale is brewed in makes a difference.
jt, walmgate says...
4:48pm Wed 19 Sep 07
Dachande07 wrote:
A spokesman for Scottish & Newcastle said that it was difficult to tell where a particular beer had been made.Rubbish, when Tetleys smooth changed brewing locations the customers at the pub I work at knew straight away. Perhaps some of them read of the change of location so there opinions were automatically bias, but not all of them. The real change is if its brewed in a hard of soft water environment, and some would even argue the types and shapes of cylinders in which said ale is brewed in makes a difference.
A spokesman for Scottish & Newcastle said that it was difficult to tell where a particular beer had been made.
I'm told it's as difficult as reading the label on the barrel.
For over a hundred years John Smith's have been telling us the secret of their brewing was the artesian well water beneath Tadcaster, now they're saying it doesn't matter. They can't have it both ways.
Thought John Smith's would have learned from their experience in the seventies, when they tried to tell customers they no longer wanted cask conditioned beer and stopped brewing it. This created the opening for hundreds of small brewers who listened to their customers and gave them what they wanted.
b811wt1, Walkington says...
8:17pm Wed 19 Sep 07
W D Toulman Walkington
eguin, York says...
12:12am Thu 20 Sep 07
North Wales Yorkie, Bangor, North Wales, UK says...
11:57am Fri 21 Dec 07
A worker by a brewing tun at the John Smith's brewery at Tadcaster
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Noddy1, York says...
11:45am Wed 19 Sep 07