Smithwicks Pale Ale

Sky King

I was in a pub on a job yesterday and they had two display bottles of Smithwicks Pale Ale on the shelf behind the counter.

Never seen these before anywhere. Anyone here tried it or know where it's for sale?

You'd think I could get it here in Kilkenny (it being Smithwicks and all) but no, it seems not.

Anyone got any insight?

I do like pale ale but in many pubs in Kilkenny I just have to drink what's on offer - which is usually plain old smithwicks - be nice to have a bit of variety on draught if it takes off.

BeerNut

It's new. The grand roll-out is happening over the next couple of weeks. 350 pubs, says the press release they sent me.

One of the Beoir guys tried it here.

Sky King wrote: »

be nice to have a bit of variety on draught

It sure would. Though something from an Irish-owned brewery would be even nicer

irish_goat

This is good news, if only because there's an utter lack of pale ale in most places and at least if a macro manages to get pale ale on pub shelves then they might be more likely to then get craft ones in after.

Is it good business for Diageo though? Surely introducing their customers to "craft" beer is more likely to get them to start exploring other beers. If anything, the last thing they want to create is more craft drinkers given that, on a whole craft drinks tend to have very little loyalty to any one particular company.

Sky King

I see what you mean goat - i suppose they are trying to get accross the fact that 'craft' beers are not just for bearded woolen jumper wearing rollie smokers or whatever your favourite stereotype is - they are pitching this at joe blogs down the local

I'd like to see this get popular. Pale Ale is lovely - never understood why is wasn't more popular here.

I wouldn't see this as a bad thing for the little guys - exposing thousands of people to something other than the generic shite they drink every day can only be good for the industry as a whole

*Edit - I wonder what the advised serving temperature will be? I would imagine it should be around 8 degrees yeah?

Technocentral

I suppose its because of the big amount of new irish microbreweries that they want to get in on the act, anyway I'll give it a go even a half decent pale ale would be a welcome addition to the usual lack of choice in the majority of pubs. I still like to buy Irish micro ales but if I'm in a pub where it this or Heinken etc it could be a decent alternative.

edit: i wonder if there will be a big tv and poster campaign or if it will be low key.

LaBaguette

I'd be a bit stupid for them to lauch a high profile campaign while playing on the "craft beer" side. But then again...

Technocentral

LaBaguette wrote: »

I'd be a bit stupid for them to lauch a high profile campaign while playing on the "craft beer" side. But then again...

Have never known Diagio to be subtle and too low key with there marketing, but we'll see. Surely its all about the money a brewery has to spend on a campaign, I'm sure O'haras and Galway Hooker would have TV ads and billboards all around if they had multi millions to spend.

BeerNut

Technocentral wrote: »

Have never known Diagio to be subtle and too low key with there marketing

When did you last see an ad for Guinness Foreign Extra, Macardles or Satzenbrau?

Technocentral

BeerNut wrote: »

When did you last see an ad for Guinness Foreign Extra, Macardles or Satzenbrau?

Foreign Extra was always going to a bit more niche and not of interest to general drinkers but I'm sure there were loads of ads for the other two when they were firstly on the market? But I'll defer to your greater knowledge on the subject.

_blank_

Satz is a woman's drink

Technocentral

Des wrote: »

Satz is a woman's drink

Not as much as Coors Lite and I've heard loads of blokes ordering that at bars!

emmet the rover

Des wrote: »

Satz is a woman's drink

no such thing as a womans drink. a drink is a drink and a bad drink is a bad drink

i hope this will actually help irish micros as it may encourage people to try a diffrent style of beer.

Technocentral

emmet the rover wrote: »

no such thing as a womans drink. a drink is a drink and a bad drink is a bad drink

i hope this will actually help irish micros as it may encourage people to try a diffrent style of beer.

I was jesting, people should drink whatever the hell they want as long as its from a microbrewery.

emmet the rover

Technocentral wrote: »

I was jesting, people should drink whatever the hell they want as long as its from a microbrewery.

of course :cool:

redalan

Is it on draught and/or in a bottle?
I was on the Smithwicks website and no mention of it (from what I could see).

coconutpie

Brady's of Castleknock (in Blanchardstown) are the 1st pub with it on tap.
Tastes very like Porterhouse's Temple Brau to my uneducated taste buds.
Very nice and a lovely alternative to the usual stuff :-)

Martyn1989

Is this available anywhere in dublin city centre yet, I work in a very busy north dublin suburban pub and weve heard f**k all about it

odin_ie

Pump House in Kilkenny has it on tap too. Not too bad, but...it lacks the bite I would have expected from a pale ale. Not too bad all the same.

Heroditas

Horseshow House in Ballsbridge also has it apparently.

redalan

O'Neill's of Suffolk Street had it too. Along with an impressive array of beers on tap.

The Smithwicks Pale Ale is nice without being spectacular but might act as a 'gateway' beer in to the wonderous world of Pale Ales for drinkers.

calvin_zola

I drank this in the Uluru in Waterford on Friday evening. I love pale ale and was delighted to find this on tap.

Its not a terrible drink by any means, yet not over inspiring, I like the level of carbonation but it isn't as hoppy/fruity as I'd like. Nonetheless it was a welcome alternative to the lagers on tap.

I agree that Diageo haven't done alot to get this product out there. I bought 4 pints of this stuff and on the first occasion the barman didn't know what I was on about, 2nd occasion I was given a pint of Smithwicks ale, 3rd occasion I had to point the tap out to a different bar man so it doesn't really get the product out there if the staff don't realize its available.

I do agree that this will act as a gateway product and hopefully get people sampling the other pale ales available.

Sky King

Tried it in The Pump House in Kilkenny last night. It wasn't bad at all, but I had had a few pints of the regular smithwicks by that stage so the transition to the pale meant it tasted a bit too sweet by comparison!

I am going to try it again for my first pint in there to establish a definitive opinion for myself.

Mo14

Also had my first pint of this stuff in the Pumphouse recently, it wasn't bad to be honest, can't hold a candle to other pale ale I've had, but it definitively tastes like a pale ale, and has a lot more flavour than the usuals have, I'd like to see this in more pubs alright.

schemingbohemia

Martyn1989 wrote: »

Is this available anywhere in dublin city centre yet, I work in a very busy north dublin suburban pub and weve heard f**k all about it

Not city centre but had a few pints in the Leeson Lounge, first pint was alright but it was a bit of an ersatz pale ale, a hint of hops but not enough to entice me to drink it instead of O'Hara's IPA, Galway Hooker etc but was probably the only real option for me in the Leeson Lounge.

ould_jim

Pale ale is on sale in the following outlets in Kilkenny initially: Cleere's & Pump House on Parliment St. Kytelers, Syd Harkins, The Blue Bar, Left Bank, Langtons and Matt the Millers.

Initial sales are promising. Draft is tasting very nice. 'm sure it will be available in all outlets if sales go well.

adamski8

I can't wait to order a SPA

TheWarrior

adamski8 wrote: »

I can't wait to order a SPA

Any one know if it has hit Limerick yet? Either on draft or in bottles anywhere- curiosity is getting the better of me.

BenShermin

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

One_More_Mile

Seen on facebook:

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One_More_Mile

Must add that I was in Fine wines Corbally tonight & they never heard of it!

the beer revolu

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.

Abbot's ale house, Devonshire St. have bottles of it.

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.