Sam Smith's OBB

Sorry, I last drank SSOBB about 6 months ago - it was definitely sour at that time and even when it was on form it was just an OK drink. I've given up on it. A regular drinker claims it's an acquired taste and the sourness is a lactic tang which he finds refreshing - each to their own.

Is it just me, or has Sam's Old Brewery Bitter gone right down the pan in the past year? I don't drink it that often, but every pint this year has been cold and gassy, with a distinct sour note in the taste. This is across four or five different pubs.

I suspect but cannot prove that they're using blanket pressure these days. But that doesn't explain the sour taste.

(You may well ask why I keep drinking it. Such is the lot of the CAMRA activist, drinking bad beer so that others don't have to.)

-- Pat Ricroft, City of Salford, UK =============================== Where did you have some Pat? Last time I had some it was in the Shoulder in Bradford and it was OK.

Not had any in the Manchester area since they took it off at Sinclair's. I carried on going in Sinclair's drinking their pure brewed lager, which I quite like. then they took that off as well! strange company.

Most recently I've drunk OBB in the Malt Shovels, Altrincham; the Vine, Dunham Woodhouses; and the Windmill at Carrington. Distinctly off-putting in each and every one of these, and surprisingly so in the Malt Shovels, which is a big, busy pub and certainly used to shift a lot of beer in good nick. Whatever's going wrong is going wrong at the brewery, IMHO.

-- Pat Ricroft, City of Salford, UK ================================

My goodness, that doesn’t sound good. Maybe someone has got Sam and John mixed up?