| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1758 |
| Founder(s) | Samuel Smith |
| Headquarters | Tadcaster, England |
| Products | Beer |
| Owner(s) | Humphrey Smith, Oliver Smith |
Samuel Smith's Old Brewery, popularly known as Samuel Smith's or Sam Smith's, is an independent brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. It is Yorkshire's oldest brewery, founded in 1758.[1]
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The Old Brewery in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, in the North of England, was established in 1758.[2] Samuel Smith, a successful butcher and cattle dealer from Meanwood, Leeds, funded his son John to buy it from the Hartley family in 1847. John Smith took over the brewery forming John Smith's Brewery, before leaving it to his young nephew Samuel.
Samuel Smith inherited the Old Brewery in 1886 and re-opened it under his own name, since the John Smith's business had been moved by his uncle William to a large new premises nextdoor. Samuel Smith's remains independent.
The Old Brewery at Tadcaster was founded in 1758 and bears the name of famous local brewer Samuel Smith.[2] It is both the oldest brewery in Yorkshire and the only surviving independent brewery in Tadcaster.
The smallest of the three modern-day Tadcaster breweries, Sam Smith's is one of the few remaining British breweries to employ the traditional Yorkshire Square system in the production of its beers.[3]
Brewing water for ales and stouts is still drawn from the original 85 foot well, sunk when the site was established in 1758, and the yeast used in the fermentation process is of a strain that has been used continuously since approximately 1900 - one of the oldest unchanged strains in the country.[4]
In keeping with this rich sense of history and tradition, the brewery keeps a small team of dapple-grey Shire Horses. Far from being simply show horses, these gentle giants are among the last active dray horses in the world. They deliver beer around the town of Tadcaster five days a week.[5]
Samuel Smith produces a wide range of beers. All of these, with the exception of the Old Brewery Bitter, are vegan. In addition, all beers, with the exception of Oatmeal Stout, Wheat Beer and Organic Cherry Fruit Beer, are brewed solely with malt, hops, yeast and water. The bottled beers are available in some off-licences in the UK.
In the United States, Samuel Smith's bottled beers are imported by Merchant du Vin. In Norway, the beers are imported by Strag AS. [1]. The beers are also sold in certain places in Northern Ireland.
Samuel Smith's also sell cider. 'Organic Cider' is available in bottles while 'Cider Reserve' is sold on draught solely in the UK.
The brewery also used to produce a super strong Barley Wine called 'Strong Golden' at 10.2%. This is sadly no longer available.
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 in a plastic box.
Ayingerbräu Lager gained a cult following in some parts of the UK and a beer drinking challenge is held annually. In 2006, Ayingerbräu Lager reverted to Alpine Lager, its original name in the 1960s.
On 16th July 2011 the World record for the Ayingerbrau challenge was set. This was 24 halfs of Alpine/Taddy lager in 24 pubs starting at The Earl Of Lonsdale in Notting Hill, finishing at the Chandos in Trafalgar Square. The record of 10 hours and 35 minutes beat the exsting record of 11 hours 10 mins held by a team from the Metropolitan Police. This has since been reduced to 7 hours 15 minutes, again starting at he Earl of Lonsdale and finishing at the Chandos [6]. Alpine Lager is currently served at King Cross CB&AC in Halifax and has developed a cult following. A tradition amongst club members has developed where members are set the task of drinking 10 pints in the quickest time, only 2 members have to date completed the challenge, both on two occasions namely Gavin Foster and Allen Gary Slingsby Junior. Following completion of the task Allen famously drink an 11th pint from a yard glass in 15 seconds.
In late 2005, Samuel Smith's ceased production of both the Ayingerbräu D Pils and Prinz Lager brands. These have been replaced by Samuel Smith's Pure Brewed Lager.
In September 2008, a small group of Alpine Lager enthusiasts working in offices in Soho Square began a twice-yearly pub crawl of the Samuel Smith's pubs in Soho and Fitzrovia, known as The Alpine Trail. Traditionally taking place on the evenings of the second Thursday in September and the Thursday before Easter (Good Thursday), The Alpine Trail involves seven pints of Alpine in seven different pubs, and has grown in participation numbers every year. 'Traillists' regard The Alpine Trail as 'a slalom around London in search of the Man-in-the-Box'.
The brewery operates over 300 pubs,[7][8] 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. Prices are kept minimal by only increasing in line with alcohol duty and inflation increases. In the year 2000, Samuel Smiths began phasing out the branding from their pubs[9] and in November 2004 the company took the decision to ban music in its pubs to save Performing Rights levy.
Samuel Smith still delivers multiple-trip (re-usable) bottles in beer crates.
In 2007 the company began to sell frozen meals made by Sarah Brownridge in their pubs. Then, in 2008, all franchise pubs were switched to 'company catering'. Now, all Samuel Smiths pubs that serve food, sell Sarah Brownridge frozen food.
Further to the company phasing out brands from their pubs, all pubs now sell Samuel Smiths branded crisps. These are made by Walkers.
Criticism from the GMB trade union has been levied on the company for its treatment of pub managers, resulting in a number of court cases. Humphrey Smith has also pursued a number of planning application objections at the cost of Selby district council[10][11] On 5 October 2010 it was reported that the brewery was taking legal action against another Yorkshire brewery over the use of the Yorkshire white rose. [12]