Samuel Smith Old Brewery, popularly known as Samuel Smith's or Sam Smith's, is an independent
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...
and pub owner based in
Tadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, east of the Great North Road, north-east of Leeds, and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the ...
,
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
, England. It is Yorkshire's oldest brewery, founded in 1758,
and one of three breweries in the town. Samuel Smith's, which is an
unlimited family-owned company, produces a range including
bitter
Bitter may refer to:
Common uses
* Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience
* Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes
Books
* '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...
s,
stout
Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout.
The first known use of the word ''stout'' for beer, in a document dated 1677 found in the Egerton Manuscript ...
s,
porter
Porter may refer to:
Companies
* Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto
* Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets
* Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer
* H.K. Porter, Inc., ...
s,
lager
Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage" ...
s, and
fruit beer
Fruit beer is beer made with fruit added as an adjunct or flavouring.
Fruit beer is a beer made from malt-scented strawberries, plums, raspberries, and cherries. It's an additive- or flavoring-containing form. Initially manufactured in Belgium, f ...
s, and is known as a highly traditional and somewhat eccentric operator of around 200 pubs due to its continued use of
dray horses, bans on music and mobile devices, and low beer prices.
History
Tadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, east of the Great North Road, north-east of Leeds, and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the ...
,
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
, has produced beer since the 14th century owing to the quality and accessibility of the local water supply, which is rich in lime sulphate after being pumped up from an underground lake of limestone water; it became second only to
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011, it had a ...
,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
as an English brewing centre.
Two of Tadcaster's three surviving breweries were founded by members of the Smith family.
The Old Brewery was established as the Backhouse & Hartley Brewery in 1758.
In 1847,
John Smith purchased the small brewery with funding provided by his father,
a successful butcher and cattle dealer from
Meanwood
Meanwood is a suburb and former village in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
The area sits in the Moortown ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.
Origins and history
The name Meanwood goes back t ...
,
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, but soon built his own new brewery
John Smith's
John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s.
The majority of John Smith's sales are of the nitrogenated Extra Smooth ...
, close by. John Smith's brother William, who ran the business after John's death in 1879, left the Old Brewery to his young nephew Samuel in 1886. However, Samuel inherited an empty building and its well, with all equipment having been moved to the New Brewery. Nevertheless, he was enabled by the buoyant beer industry to open Samuel Smith's Brewery under his own name and was able to compete with the established John Smith's Brewery.
Samuel Smith beers in bottled form were a major influence on American craft brewers
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
such as Goose Island and Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn Brewery is a brewery in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It was started in 1988 by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter.
History
Hindy learned to brew beer during a six-year stay in various Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia and Ku ...
in the late 1970s and early 1980s, helped popularise classic British beer styles.
The Old Brewery
The Old Brewery is both the oldest brewery in Yorkshire and the only surviving independent brewery in Tadcaster. The smallest of the three modern-day Tadcaster breweries, Samuel Smith's is one of the few remaining British breweries to employ the traditional Yorkshire Square
Beer is produced through steeping a sugar source (commonly Malted cereal grains) in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was ...
system, a method of fermentation developed in the 19th century to cleanse beer of yeast. Most modern squares are made of stainless steel but Smith’s prefers Welsh slate, which they feel helps keep natural carbonation entrained in the beer, imparting a creamier texture.
Brewing water for ale
Ale is a Type of beer, type of beer brewed using a Warm fermentation, warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops.
As with most beers, ale typicall ...
s and stout
Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout.
The first known use of the word ''stout'' for beer, in a document dated 1677 found in the Egerton Manuscript ...
s is still drawn from the original well, sunk when the site was established in 1758, and the yeast used in the fermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
process is of a strain that has been used continuously since approximately 1900—one of the oldest unchanged strains in the country. In keeping with this sense of history and tradition, the brewery keeps a small team of dapple-grey shire horse
The Shire is a British breed of draught horse. It is usually black, bay, or grey. It is a tall breed, and Shires have at various times held world records both for the largest horse and for the tallest horse. The Shire has a great capacity for ...
s. Rather than being show horses, they are among the last active dray horse
Dray may refer to:
* Cart, also called dray in Australia and New Zealand
* Dray horse, a horse that pulls a dray, also called a draft horse
* Dray (name)
* Dray Prescot series, science fiction novels by Kenneth Bulmer under the pseudonym Alan Bur ...
s in the world; they deliver beer around the town of Tadcaster five days a week. The brewery site has expanded over the years and is divided by Centre Lane. New Street separates it from the adjacent John Smith's Brewery.
Beers
Since discontinuing Museum Ale in the early 1990s, Samuel Smith's has brewed only one cask beer, Old Brewery Bitter (OBB). This is unusual in the British brewing industry, as most brewers will either produce a range of real ales or none at all.
The brewery also produces a range of brewery-conditioned beers. All its beers, with the exception of the Old Brewery Bitter and Yorkshire Stingo, are vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
.
In the United States, Samuel Smith's bottled beers are imported by Merchant du Vin. In Norway, the beers are imported by Strag AS. The beers are also sold in certain places in Northern Ireland. Samuel Smith's Organic Cider is available in bottles, while Cider Reserve is sold on draught solely in the UK. The brewery offers two draught milds, Dark Mild and Light Mild. Most pubs will offer only one variant. The brewery used to produce a super strength Barley Wine called Strong Golden at 10.2%. A range of bottled fruit beers are available, flavoured with cherry, apricot or raspberry.
In recent years, the brewery have altered their product line-up, dispensing with Tadcaster Bitter but introducing Best Bitter. Best Bitter and Sovereign are the brewery's only keg bitters. They introduced Double Four in late 2013, a 4% strength lager aimed at providing a standard strength lager to bridge the gap between Alpine (2.8%) and Taddy Lager (4.5%). A wheat beer has been added to the draught product range, although few pubs stock it. Until 2006 Samuel Smith's used the brand name Ayingerbräu for its lagers and wheat beers, using the name and logo of German brewery, Brauerei Aying. The brand was best known for its 'man-in-a-box' pump for Ayingerbräu Lager, which featured a model Bavarian man inside a plastic box.
Pubs
Samuel Smith's operates over 200 pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s - including rural, suburban, inner-city and city-centre ones, with over 20 pubs in central London - which are notable for their independence: the beers are all produced by the Tadcaster brewery and no large corporation spirits or soft drinks are available. Irrespective of the location, the pubs are maintained in a traditional manner. Most incorporate multiple bars and rooms, often with a spartan public bar and a more plush lounge. Samuel Smith's still delivers multiple-trip reusable bottles in beer crates.
In 2000, the "publicity-shy" company began removing the branding from its pubs and delivery vehicles, making it difficult to determine the exact number it operates. Samuel Smith's public houses are distinctive in their plain appearance with limited signage or artwork. In November 2004, the company took the decision to ban music and televisions in its pubs, saving it from paying Performing Rights
Performing rights are the right to perform music in public. It is part of copyright law and demands payment to the music's composer/lyricist and publisher (with the royalties generally split 50/50 between the two). Performances are considered "p ...
levy.
Though wet-led, food has been offered since 2007. The brewery's pubs now have centrally determined set menus from which individual pubs can select to create its menu. All portion sizes and serving practice are set by the brewery. Further to the company phasing out brands, all pubs now sell Samuel Smith's branded crisps, peanuts, pork scratchings and cheese biscuits.
In 2019, the brewery became further notorious for its prohibitions after introducing rules banning the use of mobile telephones, tablets, e-books and laptops within the indoor area of its pubs with the aim of removing activities that discouraged conversation. The ban also includes "pictures of sport".
File:Angel Inn, Leeds.jpg, The Angel Inn, Briggate
Briggate is a pedestrianised principal High Street, shopping street in Leeds city centre, England. Historically it was the main street, leading north from Leeds Bridge, and housed markets, merchant's houses and other business premises. It cont ...
, Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
File:Old Red Lion - Meadow Lane - geograph.org.uk - 609894.jpg, Old Red Lion, Leeds
File:Brown Hare - Harehills Lane - geograph.org.uk - 683768.jpg, Brown Hare, Harehills
Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north east of Leeds city centre. Harehills is situated between the A58 (towards Wetherby) and the A64 (towards York). It sits in the Gipton & Ha ...
, Leeds
File:Fitzroy Tavern - Fitzrovia - W1.jpg, Fitzroy Tavern
The Fitzroy Tavern is a public house situated at Charlotte Street in the Fitzrovia district of central London, England, owned by the Samuel Smith Brewery.
It became famous during a period spanning the 1920s to the mid-1950s as a meeting place ...
, London
File:Borough Bailiff, High Street, Knaresborough (19th March 2013) 002.JPG, Borough Bailiff (now the Commercial Hotel), Knaresborough
Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate.
History
Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
File:The Sun Inn at Long Maston.jpg, Sun Inn, Long Marston, North Yorkshire
File:Railway Inn, Spofforth (19th March 2013) 003.JPG, Railway Inn, Spofforth, North Yorkshire
File:Tankard Inn, Rufforth (12th June 2013) 002.JPG, Tankard Inn, Rufforth
Rufforth is a village in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England. It lies about west of York. The village is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book''[Wetherby
Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...]
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
File:Harewood Arms Hotel - Harewood - geograph.org.uk - 541268.jpg, Harewood Arms, Harewood, West Yorkshire
File:Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - geograph.org.uk - 650446.jpg, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is a Grade II listed public house at 145 Fleet Street, on Wine Office Court, City of London. Rebuilt shortly after the Great Fire of 1666, the pub is known for its literary associations, with its regular patrons havi ...
, City of London
Design of pubs
Most of the Samuel Smith's pubs are traditional in their layout and decoration. Many have multiple rooms, most have a lounge and a tap room. Most Samuel Smith's pubs have traditional frosted windows for privacy; many decorated with stained glass. The interiors are often characterised with having either brown or beige walls or elaborate wall paper. Some have notable furniture such as the Crown Inn in Wetherby
Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...
which has furniture by Robert Thompson Robert or Bob Thompson may refer to:
Entertainment
* Bobby Thompson (comedian) (1911–1988), English comedian
* Bob Thompson (musician) (1924–2013), American orchestra leader, arranger, composer
* Robert E. Thompson (screenwriter) (1924–2004 ...
or the Princess Louise in High Holborn
High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and Sou ...
with its unique booths around the bar.
File:A bar in the Old Star, a Sam Smiths pub in Clifford (geograph 2415038).jpg, Bar of the Old Star, Clifford, West Yorkshire
File:The Lounge in the White House (geograph 4100354).jpg, Lounge of the White House in Featherstone
Featherstone is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, two miles south-west of Pontefract. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 2011 ...
, West Yorkshire
File:The Tankard Inn, a Sam Smiths pub in Rufforth (geograph 2416532).jpg, Fire place and dartboard at the Tankard Inn, Rufforth, North Yorkshire
File:One of the bars at the Radcliffe Arms (geograph 2413348).jpg, Bar of the Radcliffe Arms, Follifoot
Follifoot is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the A658 road and south-east from the town centre of Harrogate.
History
The village name is derived from Old Norse translating ...
File:Princess Louise public house, High Holborn, London 03.JPG, One of the characteristic booths at the Princess Louise in High Holborn
File:The newly refurbished Angel and White Horse (geograph 3564248).jpg, Interior of the Angel and White Horse, Tadcaster
Controversies
The GMB trade union has criticised the company for its treatment and sudden dismissal of pub managers, resulting in numerous employment tribunals.
The brewery, under the direction of Humphrey Smith, is a major landowner within Tadcaster and a holder of many properties across England. Accusations of neglect to long-term empty properties were aired during a 2009 edition of '' BBC Inside Out Yorkshire & Lincolnshire''. It also explored Smith's local power and disputes with Selby District Council, the local authority for Tadcaster, such as his pursuit of a number of planning application objections to judicial review
Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompat ...
stage at the council's cost.
2010
In October 2010, it was reported that the brewery was taking legal action against Cropton Brewery
The Great Yorkshire Brewery (founded as Cropton Brewery) is situated in the village of Cropton in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. Located within the North York Moors National Park, it is 2 miles north west of Pickering, North ...
over the use of the Yorkshire white rose design. Cropton Brewery released a beer named Yorkshire Warrior, celebrating the Yorkshire Regiment
The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence ...
. The proceeds of the beer's sales go directly to the regimental benevolent fund for wounded soldiers. In a decision from the court, Cropton was ordered to remove the white rose emblem from their Yorkshire Warrior brand, but the judge criticised both breweries for taking the case so far through the legal system and not settling the issue sooner.
2011
On New Year's Eve 2011, Humphrey Smith closed the Junction Inn in Royton
Royton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 21,284 in 2011. Close to the source of the River Irk, near undulating land at the foothills of the South Pennines, it is northwest of Old ...
because the landlords were dispensing too much beer in their pints and subsequently issued a retrospective surcharge of £10,733 for lost stock over a 12-year period.
In April 2011, a gay couple were ejected from the John Snow pub, owned by Samuel Smith's in London's "gay village" Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
. The pub was then targeted by hundreds of protestors in a "kiss-in".
2016
In January 2016, Samuel Smith's Old Brewery opposed the construction on its land of a temporary bridge over the River Wharfe, which would allow residents to cross the town, which was divided following the collapse of the 300-year-old bridge, claiming that, at a cost of £300,000, it was "a waste of public money".
2017
In July 2017, Samuel Smith's Brewery banned motorcyclists from one of their pubs. Initially, no explanation was offered for the ban. It was later reported that the ban was instituted to keep "undesirables" from patronising the establishment. Local, long-term customers who were refused entry because they owned motorcycles, were offended by the notion of being compared to criminal motorcycle gangs. The affected customers reportedly have no legal recourse as "bikers were not a 'protected group' under the Equality Act."
In October 2017, the brewery issued a chain-wide ban on the use of profanity in its pubs. The "zero-tolerance" policy calls for employees to cut off service to customers who use offensive language. It was reported that this policy, along with recent bans of groups identified as "undesirable" or potentially "rowdy" due to certain types of clothing worn, is part of a "traditional, "uncompromisingly Victorian" aesthetic" that the brewery tries to maintain in its pubs, which includes an absence of music and televisions.
2018
In 2018, both the brewery and Humphrey Smith were prosecuted and fined for failing to provide information regarding staff pension funds. Smith was accused of being "deliberately inflammatory" in his response to a request in 2015 from The Pensions Regulator
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is a non-departmental public body which regulates work-based pension schemes in the United Kingdom. Created under the Pensions Act 2004, the regulator replaced the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) fro ...
, calling their request for evidence of the brewery's fiscal responsibility to its staff pension fund "tiresome".
2020
The brewery was criticised by councillors in Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
for explicitly ordering pub staff not to implement a coronavirus test and trace system in its pubs. In August 2020, after the Cow and Calf in Sheffield failed to serve his favourite dessert, Humphrey Smith dismissed the pub's managers and shuttered the place.
2021
In 2021, following the Abbey pub in Darley Abbey
Darley Abbey is a former historic mill village, now a suburb of the city of Derby, England. It is located approximately north of the city centre, on the west bank of the River Derwent, and forms part of the Darley ward along with Little Ches ...
being left empty for over 2 years, the 15th century, Grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
was falling into disrepair. After repeated attempts at engagement with Sam Smith, local residents and politicians petitioned Sam Smith to protect the local landmark from further deterioration.
See also
* British regional breweries using wooden casks __NOTOC__
The Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood (SPBW), founded in 1963, is the oldest consumer-based group interested in stimulating the brewing of, increasing the awareness of, and encouraging the drinking of Cask ale, traditi ...
References
* Oliver, Garrett
'The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food.'
New York: HarperCollins, 2005. . Retrieved 10 December 2011.
External links
{{commonscat, Samuel Smiths Old Brewery
Official website
1758 establishments in England
Breweries in Yorkshire
Companies based in Selby
Food and drink companies established in 1758
Tadcaster
British companies established in 1758