Smithwicks Pale Ale

deRanged

BenShermin wrote: »

Any corkonians know if this is on sale anywhere in the real capital? I'm on my way down there in the morning.

Fine Wines offie near the old Kino has it. I picked one up in there during the week.

the beer revolu

Had a few pints of this in Counihans, Cork last night.
Pretty much as expected - not very exciting and rather bland.
To be honest, I think in the same limited choice situation, I'd drink regular Smithwick's over it in the future.

slayerking

They have this on draught in O'Neills on Suffolk st.

I just couldn't bring myself to try a pint of it, especially when they have Galway Hooker, Howling Gale, Belfast Blonde etc.... on draught beside it.

the beer revolu

slayerking wrote: »

They have this on draught in O'Neills on Suffolk st.

I just couldn't bring myself to try a pint of it, especially when they have Galway Hooker, Howling Gale, Belfast Blonde etc.... on draught beside it.

Yeah, I'd been looking at the bottles in The Abbot's for a while but was unwilling to actually buy one. I had to be in a pub with no choice to drink it.

grenache

Picked a bottle up last night. A nothing beer, no hop character, just bland. Didn't expect anything more from a Diageo product. I had to laugh at the "craft beer" bit on the label :rolleyes:

Will be sticking to Goose Island.

the beer revolu

grenache wrote: »

Picked a bottle up last night. A nothing beer, no hop character, just bland. Didn't expect anything more from a Diageo product. I had to laugh at the "craft beer" bit on the label :rolleyes:

Will be sticking to Goose Island.

Craft brewed for extra blandness!

yknaa

Had a few pints in the Long Valley in Cork and liked it.

redlead

grenache wrote: »

Picked a bottle up last night. A nothing beer, no hop character, just bland. Didn't expect anything more from a Diageo product. I had to laugh at the "craft beer" bit on the label :rolleyes:

Will be sticking to Goose Island.

I haven't tried this yet so can't comment on it but in Diageo's defence, Guinness is still a lovely drink. Fair enough it's not as nice as O'Hara's or wrasslers xxxx on draught but it's unfair to call it a bland drink imo. I would imagine it would be very hard to produce something the same quality as O'Hara's when mass producing on a scale the size of Guinness.

Trevster

Tried one pint of it in Waterford last Saturday and ended up drinking it for the day. Great stuff for €3.70 a pint! Nice to have an alternative to Guinness. I can see it doing very well and Guinness drinkers moving to it during the summer months. Have to laugh at ye rabbiting on about overly priced beers and having a go at Diageo for 'mass producing' beers. Everything you have eaten, drank and worn TODAY was probably mass produced. Doesn't mean it isn't good quality. Toe up the hole required

oblivious

Trevster wrote: »

Have to laugh at ye rabbiting on about overly priced beers and having a go at Diageo for 'mass producing' beers. Everything you have eaten, drank and worn TODAY was probably mass produced. Doesn't mean it isn't good quality. Toe up the hole required

Well if your perception of quality is to produce a range of bland products the yes!

Trevster

Bland in your opinion. If Smithwicks wasn't mass produced you'd be all over it extolling its virtues. I'd have to listen to you and Fiachra in the jacks banging on about what off-licences in Portmarnock sell it. ;-)

_blank_

Trevster wrote: »

Bland in your opinion. If Smithwicks wasn't mass produced you'd be all over it extolling its virtues. I'd have to listen to you and Fiachra in the jacks banging on about what off-licences in Portmarnock sell it. ;-)

Reel in the tone of your posts please.

oblivious

Trevster wrote: »

Bland in your opinion. If Smithwicks wasn't mass produced you'd be all over it extolling its virtues. I'd have to listen to you and Fiachra in the jacks banging on about what off-licences in Portmarnock sell it. ;-)

Not true I much preferred bottle Guinness over draft , difference serving it on nitro makes the beer bland, but its something marketing likes as it make it "more approachable"

Sarky

It's ok, actually tastes kind of ale-ish. Felt a bit, I don't know... Yeasty? after a second pint.

I'd choose it over Guinness/Budweiser/Miller, but I'd kick it to the curb in an instant if I thought the bar had Helvick Gold.

Sky King

Helvick gold is nice alright and it's less sweet. I would probably choose that over Smithwicks Pale Ale as well.

SPA is still nice though!

redlead

Sarky wrote: »

It's ok, actually tastes kind of ale-ish. Felt a bit, I don't know... Yeasty? after a second pint.

I'd choose it over Guinness/Budweiser/Miller, but I'd kick it to the curb in an instant if I thought the bar had Helvick Gold.

The Problem with all the Dungarvan beers, as great as they are, is that they cost a bomb in most places that have them. Charging over €5 for a drink even if it is a bottle is just behond my principles. I am then restricted to drinking it at home (still at a premium to O'Hara's although they are more crafty than O'Hara's). You can get it on cask for under a fiver of course but I'm not a huge cask fan unfortunately.

Heroditas

I'd been dying to try this and eventually got a chance on Saturday.
I wasn't impressed. Compared to other pale ales, it just tasted too much like a lager for my liking.
Terrible pity but I'd still drink it over the vast majority of drinks on offer in Irish bars.

my friend

grenache wrote: »

Picked a bottle up last night. A nothing beer, no hop character, just bland. Didn't expect anything more from a Diageo product. I had to laugh at the "craft beer" bit on the label :rolleyes:

Will be sticking to Goose Island.

Goose Island = Anheuser Busch !!

oblivious

my friend wrote: »

Goose Island = Anheuser Busch !!

its been run as a separate business, but more importantly the quality has not changed

Krusty_Clown

Had two pints of pale ale last night. The barman in Kehoes didn't believe he stocked it. They should really have those tap-labels readable on both the front and the rear! I thought it was very nice, and a big improvement on the standard pub fare. As others have opined, definitely my new 'go-to' beer where there are no craft beer alternatives.

Sarky

The novelty is fading for me. Couldn't finish a pint of it the other night. Might have been different conditions in a different pub, but meh.

youcancallmeal

I'm just tasting it for the first time right now. As far as pale ales go its fairly tame but for my friends I think it's a great introduction to the world beyond bud, ken, carlsberg, miller etc

Big Nasty

youcancallmeal wrote: »

I'm just tasting it for the first time right now. As far as pale ales go its fairly tame but for my friends I think it's a great introduction to the world beyond bud, ken, carlsberg, miller etc

Who?

youcancallmeal

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Who?

Heineken aka Ken, Heino, vitamin K, vitamin H, The Goalposts, Electro K....

It goes on, I kid you not

Technocentral

youcancallmeal wrote: »

Heineken aka Ken, Heino, vitamin K, vitamin H, The Goalposts, Electro K....

It goes on, I kid you not

Aka as piss

youcancallmeal

Technocentral wrote: »

Aka as piss

Exactly

Camilo

I was very excited to try this ale and was delighted when i walked into a random off-license in Galway and they happened to have it but i must say i was very, very disapointed.

I'm not the biggest fan of pale ales, i prefer my brown and red ales and IPA's, but i enjoy smithwicks and decided to keep an open mind for this one but it was simply ****e. Bland as bland can be and with a rather foul after taste. My first go was from a bottle from the shop but when i tried it again at the pub it was just as bad. I'm very disapointed but this is indeed a step in the right direction for the piss-poor choice of selection in most irish pubs.

Heroditas

It's definitely not something I could drink all night. After my third pint of it last week, I had to go onto Guinness.
I just thought it was a wee bit too acidic.

clancywigam

Its about time the big brewing companies realised that there are a lot of people out there who have had enough of those bland lagers that they sell in most pubs - Heineken, Bud, Carslberg etc.
If you check most off licences now you will find a selection of IPA beers - Trashy Blonde, 8 Degrees, O'Hara's IPA, Wyse Ale, Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam to name but a few. This means people are drinking them and appreciate that slightly bitter hoppy taste which you cannot find in most of the generic lagers.
I discovered IPA in the USA on a student visa 13 years ago and immediately lost interest in lagers.

Delighted Smithwicks have taken this first step, hopefully others will follow suit!

twerg_85

didn't like this drink at all. First taste was blandish and had a slightly dodgy aftertaste. Reminded me most of Stella.

F.