Samuel Smith’s Alcohol-Free Beers

Samuel Smith’s is a family-owned brewery, according to Wikipedia, at the Old Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, which it dates to 1758. It ferments in stone Yorkshire squares, runs its own pubs, and makes one alcohol-free beer, Sam’s Brown Ale.

Who are Samuel Smith’s?

The brewery calls itself “Yorkshire’s Oldest Brewery – Est. 1758”. According to Wikipedia, the site began in 1758 as the Backhouse & Hartley brewery. John Smith bought the Old Brewery in 1847, and the John Smith’s brewery was later built next door; in 1886 the Old Brewery passed to Samuel Smith, who refitted and reopened it, and the two have run separately since. The Brewery History Society gives slightly different dates: founded in 1757, with John Smith’s new brewery in 1884.

Wikipedia calls it a “family owned independent” brewery, pub and hotel operator. Companies House lists Oliver Smith and Samuel Smith among its directors, but we couldn’t read its register of people with significant control, so we can’t give shareholdings. It became an unlimited company around 1982 and so doesn’t publish accounts, Wikipedia says, citing The Guardian. We found no drinks group involved, so we list it as independent.

How Samuel Smith’s brews

It uses “stone Yorkshire squares, made of solid blocks of slate, to ferment all its ales and stouts”, the brewery says, apart from Sovereign and Extra Stout. On a visit in June 2024 the Brewery History Society noted “the 60+ Yorkshire Squares made from Welsh slate”, and its US importer, Merchant du Vin, calls it “the last to utilize the classic Yorkshire Square system of fermentation solely in stone Yorkshire squares”. The brewery says “the original well at the Old Brewery, sunk in 1758, is still in use”, with the hard water “drawn from 85 feet underground”.

The age of its yeast depends on who you ask: the brewery says “the same yeast strain has been used since the 1800s”, while Merchant du Vin says it “dates from the early 1900s”. The brewery has a cooperage “where all Samuel Smith’s oak casks are made and repaired”, says some of its casks “date back more than a century”, and uses shire horses for “local deliveries in and around Tadcaster five days a week”. The Brewery History Society’s notes from its 2024 visit name Gavin Scoreby as head brewer.

What Samuel Smith’s brews

Its bottled range includes Taddy Porter, Oatmeal Stout and Nut Brown Ale, each 5%, and Yorkshire Stingo, 8–9%, matured in oak casks in the brewery’s cellars, alongside Pure Organic Lager, Organic Pale Ale, India Ale, Imperial Stout, cider and perry, the brewery says. Old Brewery Bitter is its only cask beer, according to Wikipedia.

Its organic fruit beers, cherry, strawberry, raspberry and apricot, are full strength: the raspberry and cherry are 5%. They’re brewed at Melbourn Bros’ All Saints Brewery in Stamford, which the brewery says was established in 1825, and blended with organic fruit juices. We found no awards for any of its current beers, alcohol-free or not, from the brewery or competition organisers.

How big is Samuel Smith’s?

It publishes no accounts, so we couldn’t find its output, staff or turnover. Its pubs run “from Edinburgh to Cardiff and Carlisle to London”, though “Most are small pubs situated in the north of England serving the local community”, the brewery says; Wikipedia counts over 200, about 20 of them in central London, and nine hotels. “Our pubs only stock Samuel Smith’s products”, it says, and “there are no TVs or background music”. Its pubs page doesn’t say whether they serve the alcohol-free ale.

“Samuel Smith was the first brewery Merchant du Vin imported beer from”, the US importer says, calling the Old Brewery “one of the few remaining independent exporting breweries in England”.

Samuel Smith’s alcohol-free beer

Sam’s Brown Ale is the only alcohol-free beer on the brewery’s site. It’s “dark brown in colour with mahogany highlights and a lingering tight ecru head”, the brewery says: “The nose is malt forward and the beer is dry and satisfying.” It suggests it with spicy food, “Best served at about 55°F (13°C)”, and says the label is based on a Samuel Smith’s advertising poster from the 1950s. The ingredients are water, malted barley, hops and yeast.

The strength depends on the page. The brewery’s product page says “less than 0.5% alcohol by volume”, its shop page “Less than 0.4% ABV”, and the UK shops list 0.5%. A Dutch shop, alcoholvrijbierhuis.nl, lists it at 0.4% in a 33cl bottle; that’s that shop’s claim only. The brewery sells 550ml bottles, and The Alcohol Free Co and Beergonzo also give 550ml; Wise Bartender says 500ml.

It’s “Registered with The Vegan Society; suitable for vegans and vegetarians”, the brewery says, and its site shows a vegan certificate for 2025–2028. The brewery gives 21 kcal per 100g, with 4.3g of carbohydrate and 2.4g of sugars; it quotes per 100g rather than per 100ml, so a 550ml bottle comes to about 115 kcal (our approximation). It isn’t gluten-free: it’s brewed with barley.

The brewery doesn’t say how it keeps the alcohol low, or when the beer launched. A review on free-beer.co.uk calls it “their first alcohol-free beer” and says it’s “still produced using water from their hard water well originally sunk in 1758”, but the brewery doesn’t say either. It isn’t on Merchant du Vin’s US list, and we found no awards for it.

How Sam’s Brown Ale compares

Dark alcohol-free beers from UK brewers in our directory. Calories as published (Samuel Smith’s per 100g); checked 31 October 2026. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

The Samuel Smith’s beer in our directory

Checked October 2026. Calories are from Samuel Smith’s website, which gives them per 100g. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

Where to buy Sam’s Brown Ale

On 29 October 2026 The Alcohol Free Co had six for £20.10, Dry Drinker six for £19.61 and Wise Bartender single bottles at £3.90; those are affiliate links. Samuel Smith’s own shop sells cases of 12 for £37.20, and Beergonzo lists it too. Don’t look in the supermarkets: “We do not supply any supermarket chains in the UK, however we supply a number of independent retailers,” the brewery says. For more dark beers, see our guide to the best alcohol-free stouts.

Facts checked against Samuel Smith’s own website, Companies House, the Brewery History Society, Merchant du Vin, Wikipedia, free-beer.co.uk, alcoholvrijbierhuis.nl, Beergonzo, The Alcohol Free Co, Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender, 31 October 2026.