Advantages: A good basic pint
Disadvantages: Perhaps a little too basic?

...There's nothing that is innately special about John Smith's Bitter. Don’t get me wrong. I am not being critical of this beer. Because I am not saying that there's anything wrong with it. Far from it, it is a perfectly acceptable pint, but if you are looking for a more complicated depth of flavour of –for example- Hobgoblin, or Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, then you might be disappointed. However, John Smith’s Bitter is a nice, clear pint with a good, acceptable colour. It has a faintly metallic taste, which is not unpleasant and adds to the refreshing quality of this simple but honest pint. But there is an incredibly “morish” and very pleasing surprising hoppy aftertaste which makes this beer perhaps even more tempting than it would otherwise be. This beer is available canned, but the ideal way to drink this particular beer is, in my... Read review

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Advantages: Reliable Easy to Find Not Too Expensive
Disadvantages: Not the Best

...I did not know anything at all about John Smith's bitter until I moved to Yorkshire in 1969. It was there that I came across countless pubs,especially in East and South Yorkshire,that stocked this particular brew from Tadcaster. John Smith's Bitter has been brewed at Tadcaster since 1847 and the Smith's knew a thing or two about the science-or is it the art of brewing ?I was always told by Yorkshireman that value for money was important,neigh,very important and John Smith's,along with Hull Brewery beers and Teley's bitter,were all judged to be in that category. It most certainly was always an enjoyable and refreshing pint and was a good deal cheaper than the "guest beers" then just beginning to appear in the local pubs. These days John Smith's Bitter-the Pride of Tadcasster-is owned by Britain's biggest brewing group, Scottish Courage... Read review

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Advantages: It ain't lager . . .
Disadvantages: . . . but it ain't proper bitter either

...I first encountered John Smith's bitter in the late Seventies, when it was a decent, middle of the road pint at a reasonable price. That same beer (or something reasonably similar to it) can still be found in some, more traditional, boozers where it is now sold as John Smith's Cask Bitter. Sadly more and more pubs seem to be dropping the cask version and promoting its illegitimate offspring, John Smith's Smooth Bitter. Don't get me wrong. I don't wear sandals and a high fibre cardigan, I'm clean-shaven, and if people want to drink imitation lager and alcopops they have a perfect right to do so. But it grieves me to see our traditional beers being consigned to the slop tray of history just because an increasing number of landlords are too lazy and incompetent to look after draught bitter properly. The move to the "Smooth" version... Read review

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Advantages: good imagery and few good songs
Disadvantages: Lies about Pocahontas

...This is a Disney film which has been recieving a lot of bad press, most of it i agree with. They have Pocahontas a fully grown pretty woman who falls in love with John Smith, whereas in real life Pocahontas was 12 Powhatan girl when she first met John Smith and he was a middle aged man. She first met John Smith around 1607 but he was sent home injured after a gunpowder accident, she was told he was dead. She was held captive by the Englishmen for a ransom, and thats when she fell in love with John Rolfe, a tobacco planter. They married in 1614 only if she converted to Christianity, which she did. Anyway before i get carried away blabbing on about something totally irrelevant i'll tell you about the movie. PLOT Pocahontas is a daughter to a native chief, where everything is going fine until the settlers arrive. John Smith, alongside... Read review

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Advantages: Taste
Disadvantages: No disadvantages

...OK I couldn't wait, I have been thinking about what topic I could write about for my next op, food, travel, sport...I considered the lot, but as a drinker I thought to write about a more tasty Op, and then it cam to me...my favourite brew John Smiths , the can that always feels cool even in a heatwave.. I cast my mind back to those exotic holidays I've taken these past few years and the one thing that was missing was my beloved can of smoothflow, yes I know it doesn't look too cool in the Bahamas, or in Florida ( where you can buy some John Smith brands), however..... .....I drift off into my dream world, I am in my hammock on a dusky Bahamian island golden beach , blue sea, blue sky, sun at its highest and there on the table next to me, my can of John Smiths with the condensation slowly trickling down the side of the glass...I lean... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, easy to drink
Disadvantages: Not the best or most unique flavour

...anything for a different flavour. John Smith's is a bit of a "mainstream" drink though, in that its a well recognised bitter that's sold nationally. The Extra Smooth variety is, erm, smoother than the normal John Smith's and is similar to Worthington's Creamflow or Marston's Smooth. In that way, the drink itself isn't especially unique - it has a nice creamy flavour and is very easy to drink, but it isn't particularly memorable taste wise. However, you have to take into account that Extra Smooth is often sold as one of the "cheaper" Bitters. Often you can get things like Boddington's or Tetley's really cheap, usually a pound a pint in most student places. However, there's a reason for it - they're absolutely awful. When you go a lot further up to something like Caffrey's, which can be well over £2 a pint, y