John Smiths: Extra Smooth Ale

John Smith's Brewery was an English brewing company based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. The brewery site is still used to manufacture beer, and John Smith's has been the highest selling ale brand in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s.

The majority of John Smith's sales are of the nitrogenated Extra Smooth product, although a cask conditioned variant is available nationally. A stronger variant called Magnet is also available in the North East of England. John Smith's Cask and Magnet are produced under licence by Cameron's in Hartlepool.

John Smith acquired the Backhouse & Hartley brewery in 1852. Following a series of acquisitions in the post-World War II period, the company became one of the largest regional brewers in the country, operating over 1,800 licensed premises. The company was taken over by Courage in 1970 who extended distribution of the brewery's products into the South of England. Courage was acquired by Scottish & Newcastle in 1995, and the operations were purchased by Heineken in 2008.