An Extra Smooth Point of View (John Smiths Extra Smooth)

Member Name: Zmugzy

Product:	John Smiths Extra Smooth
Date:	30/05/09 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A smooth and light bitter

Disadvantages: You need someone to clean up all the empty cans in the corner.

John Smiths Extra Smooth is a premium bitter and you'll find the cans in packs of four, ten or fifteen located on the premium bitter cans shelf of the major supermarkets. Shop around and you should still be able to find a pack of 15 for a tenner - at least I did yesterday at my local Tesco.

As far as bitters are concerned Boddingtons is the brew from the can that in recent years I've tended to fully appreciate usually on a Sunday afternoon. However, John Smiths Extra Smooth has always been a decent competitor with its darker tone, fruitier taste and creamier textures, but still quite light for a bitter. What's more, unlike Boddies, it rarely leaves me with a splitting headache after one or four cans.

The Extra Smooth canned brew is a touch stronger than the draught at 4% alcohol content - well under the level required to blow your head off... unless you drink a crate. It's unusual for me to prefer a canned lager or bitter from a can over the draught version but John Smiths Extra is a rare exception - I actually think it has a fuller tastier flavour from the can when compared to the draught (although that didn't stop me drinking nine pints of draught at the recent Grand National event).

Cans of John Smiths Extra Smooth contain widgets and therefore it is important to serve them chilled although ice cold is not necessary in my opinion. The beer is best served poured slowly into a tall glass. Patience is required as the micro bubbles rise through the dense toffee coloured liquid to the surface where a thick creamy head forms in slow motion. Extra Smooth means the fizz is minimal; this is not a gassy concoction. One thing guaranteed is that the creamy smooth consistency of this bitter ensures it will always go down nicely, though beware this brings with it certain risk factors. For as you swig the smooth brew and cast aside the empty cans into the corner of the room (or behind the couch depending on the arrangements of your interior décor) there's always the risk of an impending panic when you're watching ther match and at the half-time interval you suddenly realise there's only one four-pack left in the fridge.

An acquaintance once told me that JSES lacked flavour. After looking at him with restrained disgust I told him that he was an imbecile and knew nothing about life. The fact that he was holding a bottle of Budweiser merely proved my point.

Summary: A smooth bitter for people who have lived a bit.