The Old Brewery at Tadcaster was established in 1758.  It is both the oldest brewery in Yorkshire and the only surviving independent brewery in Tadcaster.

Traditional methods of brewing have been retained at The Old Brewery.  Samuel Smith’s Brewery  is one of the few remaining British breweries to use the traditional Yorkshire Square system of fermentation for all its ales and stouts (except draught Sovereign and Extra Stout) , which gives them a fuller bodied taste.

The brewery still has its own cooper making and repairing all its oak casks; all Samuel Smith’s naturally conditioned draught beer is handpulled from oak casks.

The original well at The Old Brewery, sunk in 1758, is still in use, with the brewing water being drawn from 85 feet underground.

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.

All Samuel Smith’s beers are brewed solely from authentic natural ingredients without any chemical additives, raw material adjuncts, artificial sweeteners, colourings, flavourings or preservatives.