A home-brew similar to John Smiths Smooth

[Bisonhead]

Hi All,
Was wondering what kind of home-brew kit would be similar to John Smiths Smooth? Not being a smooth drinker i don't have a clue what type of beer it is.

Was wanting to put a brew on for the Father in Law for the summer as it's his drink of choice. Of course thats hoping lock down is eased and we can at least sit in the garden.

Many thanks in advance
BH

 

[Clint]

Wean him off it with a steady drip of your best efforts...
I think JS has gone like the dreaded Boddingtons...not the beer it was.
You may be able to find a recipe for a JS beer but I might not be like the stuff in tins. I think it may be "smooth" from the gas it's poured with rather than it's expensive ingredients and artisan methods...
But...who am I to judge...each to his own!

 

[Pablosaurus]

Tricky! I'm not sure how you'd capture the tasteless watery metallic quality with a homebrew. Maybe one of the cheap-ass one-can kit brews?

(I apologise...couldn't resist!)

 

[obscure]

This is a bit of a difficult one, John Smooth Extra Smooth is to be blunt fairly bland, which Is more difficult to achieve than you might think but I admit when served ice cold in a pub beer garden can be rather pleasant

Realistically you are going to want to look for a low gravity ordinary bitter kit, the Youngs Yorkshire Bitter kit isn’t bad, theirs also the Ritchies Simply Bitter kits. Basically you want a low gravity, low ABV bitter, light on the hops, and serve cold, so you may want to up the priming sugar compared to what would be typical for an English bitter.

Also as @Clint says maybe try and encourage him onto something a tad more interesting, but at the end of the day if this is what he enjoys then who are we to judge.

 

[ChrisM]

The widget in the cans contains nitrogen, which forms smaller bubbles than CO2, hence the "smoothness". I'd follow the suggestions above and try your father in law with a Yorkshire bitter you also like ... and have some cans of JS in reserve.

 

[VW911]

Ashbeck do a good copy...

 

[Bisonhead]

Great thank you for the responses. So JS Smooth is a bitter?

My Son is gaging to brew some Geordie bitter, the can label is the same from when i was like 10. some nearly 40 years ago and all my pals Dads were brewing it.

What would yous recommend for me to try being a total newbie brewer.

Thanks
BH

 

[Bisonhead]

Ashbeck do a good copy...

Haha looked it up and its.........water

 

[obscure]

Great thank you for the responses. So JS Smooth is a bitter?

My Son is gaging to brew some Geordie bitter, the can label is the same from when i was like 10. some nearly 40 years ago and all my pals Dads were brewing it.

What would yous recommend for me to try being a total newbie brewer.

Thanks
BH

Just realised that they have removed the word Bitter from the name, (part of a trend it would seem of rebranding Bitter (often now referred to as Amber ale), but yes it’s a Yorkshire bitter, although not one with a great reputation, I hear the cask version is better. So look out for kits that call themselves Amber Ale it’s probably a Bitter.

While in all honesty the one can Yorkshire bitter kits are proably closer to John Smiths I would be tempted to suggest the Festival kits, the Landlord Bitter is good (this is almost certainly a clone of Timothy Taylor Landlord) the Father Hooks Bitter is also good.

 

[MmmBeer]

I agree with the negative comments about John Smiths, and thats from a bitter drinker. You could do worse than make a Wherry kit, its a very reliable kit and produces a pleasant smooth beer

 

[Bisonhead]

Excellent thanks for all the great advice.
Cheers
BH

 

[Slid]

Yes, Wherry is a pretty good beer for a kit.

 

[Clint]

I would add,from experience,that if someone thinks JS is great then trying them on something else could be difficult..
My mate thinks tinned Boddingtons is great and treats other stuff with suspicion and even though he drinks other beers I get the impression he doesn't like them much..

 

[obscure]

I would add,from experience,that if someone thinks JS is great then trying them on something else could be difficult..
My mate thinks tinned Boddingtons is great and treats other stuff with suspicion and even though he drinks other beers I get the impression he doesn't like them much..

I have a friend who only drinks commercial cider won’t even touch beer, I‘ve long since come to the conclusion that the easiest option when I am out for a drink with him and getting a round is just to buy him the damm strong bow and move on. When I buy or give someone a drink I want them to enjoy it even if personaly I think its swill not fit for man nor animal.

 

[Clint]

Yeah...you're right. Still it's a cheap round...well..cheap-ish!

 

[Bisonhead]

He does drink other beers when out and about, when that was allowed. Just when he is at ours he drinks John Smiths. So think he has a palate thats there for other things. Must add i only buy JS's for him, so it might be my fault haha.

 

[starseeker]

Yes, Wherry is a pretty good beer for a kit.

i will second that ,i would of thought that quite a few of us started with a wherry or two.

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

I'd say it's pretty impossible to clone John Smiths Smooth as for a start as someone else has mentioned, the gas aspect. You can't even brew something similar and pass it off.

So I'm afraid you're doomed to be pointed and laughed at in supermarkets by people from forums sneering at your father-in-law's 'poor' taste in beer.

 

[Stu123]

I reckon he is being polite a d just saying that he like JS so as not to offend!
I second aboves that say Festival or Woodfordes Wherry. for some very drinkable brews.

 

[Bisonhead]

He used to drink a variety of different stuff in years gone by. I think JS is basically the only thing left in most pubs that he recognises. So its a basic go to staple in an ever changing pub themes game.

I am making an order up now and have included the Woodfordes Wherry in the order.