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Smithwick's Irish Ale

Smithwick's Irish Ale

Rated 3.599 by BeerPals

Brewed by Guinness Brewing

Dublin, Ireland

Style:  Irish Ale

5% Alcohol by Volume

Availability of this beer is unknown


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Ireland's Oldest Ale, since 1710. It is the most consumed ale in Ireland. Smithwick's brewery was founded in Kilkenny in 1710 by John Smithwick and run by the Smithwick family of Kilkenny until 1965 when it was acquired by Guinness, now part of Diageo. The Kilkenny brewery was shut down in 2013 and production of all Smithwick's and Kilkenny branded beers moved to Dublin; parts of the old brewery are now a tourist attraction.

ID: 9084 Last updated 1 month ago Added to database 21 years ago

Key Stats

96
percentile

5

Drunk

143

Reviews

0

Likes

4 Member Photos


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Most noted beer attributes

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Statistics

Overall Rank1981
Overall Percentile96.5
Style Rank2 of 307
Style Percentile99.3
Lowest Score1.3
Highest Score5.0
Average Score3.612
Weighted Score3.599
Standard Deviation0.681

Rating Distribution

Beer vs Style

143 Member Reviews

Recent | Card View | Table View
CYRENAICA 2418 reviews
rated 2.7 17 years ago

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

June 1, 1990
Woolwich Arms, The (Guelph, Ontario, Canada – 176 Woolwich Street)
500ml bottle
5.00%
$4.70
After going almost 20 years without sampling this, I recently tried it on tap at a local Toronto eatery and found it to be an alright brew. The colour was a translucent brownish-red colour, with an off-white head that didn't stay long. The aroma was slightly malty and sweet but weak. The flavour was slightly malty at the start but became better as I got closer to the bottom. Like other ales I have tried it was thick on the tongue with little carbonation. This is one of those brews that when provided a list on tap...if I've previously tried them all.....ocassionally I'll pick this one.

  • VIPINVELP 2001 reviews
    rated 3.2 8 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

    Clear dark ruby, light brown lasting, lacing foam head. Little bit sweet aroma and taste. Barley, some caramel notes. Nice, but not exceptional. Bit watery. (Belfast 201608)

  • STANG 237 reviews
    rated 3.5 9 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

    Pours a clear copper with a fiery hue topped by a finger or so of off-white frothy head. Retention is moderate, as is carbonation. Some chunky lacing is spotted. The nose is nutty and roasted malts with a herbal hops backbone. The taste is very nutty and roasted with the malts at the forefront. The hops do come through with a sharp and herbal features. Mouth feel is on the medium-low mark and the finish is ok. What makes this ale interesting are the roasted elements which are very satisfying. Cheers!

  • FISHINGFAST 685 reviews
    rated 2.9 10 years ago

    Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

    Pours a root beer brown color with a white root beer foamy three inch head. The only notable aroma is of barley. The mouth feel is smooth and refreshing. The flavor is very mild and plain.

  • AIRFORCE1 685 reviews
    rated 3.1 10 years ago

    Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

    Pours a dark, clear amber with a 2 finger white head that goes down fairly fast. Good amount of carbonation. Aroma is malty, sweet and ever so slightly skunked. Taste is metallic at first, malty and sweet. Feels a little thick. Finishes off typical of mass produced brews. It's alright.

  • MWISCOUNT 74 reviews
    rated 3.7 11 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

    I like this beer because it's a Guinness beer. Always nice Irish red color with a thin taupe foam ribbon. It's not as smooth as Guinness but I believe that makes it more refreshing and thirst quenching. This beer used to be the staple brew in my fridge years ago.

  • BWRII 9 reviews
    rated 4.4 12 years ago

    Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

    Beer rating is subjective, but I believe those who like Smithwick's would agree. This is a better tasting ale than Guiness, and I like Guiness. I just happen to love Smithwick. It is consistently good. No lingering bitter after taste, no "knock the nose off your face" aroma. The first sip is just as surprising as the last sip and I'll take it over any beer in the house. It goes well with dinner and you can have more than one and not worry about walking out under your own steam. Enjoy friends!

  • RICHSBEER 1967 reviews
    rated 3.1 12 years ago

    Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

    Pours dark red clear color, nice thick off white head that stayed around awhile, good lacing. The aroma has lots of malts some caramel. The taste is of malts, some hops, a little thin, sweet bitter finish. The mouthfeel is kinda chewy, goes down pretty smooth. not much carbonation

  • MARTINSANDERS 361 reviews
    rated 2.5 12 years ago

    Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

    Canned Irish Ale. Colour - clear, red, tan coloured cap. Aroma - grains, caramel, some hops. Mouthfeel - medium bodied. Flavour - malt, caramel, burnt sugar. Overall - easily forgettable

  • TRAPEZEMONK 71 reviews
    rated 3.4 14 years ago

    Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

    Poured red, not much of a head, looked like Killians red when poured, smelled like a Killians but seemed to have more of a punch. This was an expensive beer for what it was. Overall good beer.

  • SHREWS824 218 reviews
    rated 3.3 14 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

    Very nice clear amber/reddish color. Attractive white to off white fluffy head. Favorable retention and lacing. Looks pleasurable. Head settled to a film and stuck with the beer until it was gone. Sweet caramel malt and hints of a toffee butter in the aroma. Clean smelling. Grain comes to the forefront as the brew warms. Caramel malt with a splurge of graininess in the taste. A touch of hops come out in the flavor also, but not distracting or obstructing. Sweet toffee makes an appearance also. Medium mouthfeel. A little bit watery I thought. It is smooth and decently crisp. Some flavor blankets the palate, but not an over abundance. This is a pretty good beer. I could have a few of these. Nothing truly outstanding, but nowhere near horrible. Probably wouldn't want ot make this my dominant beer, but if this was all that was available, I could make do.

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