Aldi - O'Shea's Irish Ale

Webster29

Who makes O'Shea's Irish Ale/Stout for Aldi? Have a suspicion it's the Carlow Brewing Company - the fine makes of O'Hara's.

Seaneh

It is Carlow, think it says it on the labels.

Webster29

Thanks. Checked the label but only says it's produced in Ireland for Aldi. Interesting that the same company makes own brand beers for both Aldi and M&S.

bamboozle

its very tasty also

BaZmO*

Webster29 wrote: »

Thanks. Checked the label but only says it's produced in Ireland for Aldi. Interesting that the same company makes own brand beers for both Aldi and M&S.

There a quite a few companies that make own brand products for different companies. The companies just specify the recipe.

As for O'Sheas, it's made by Carlow alright. It used to be in a smaller 330ml bottle called Aldi Traditional Irish Ale with Seamus O'Hara's pic on the back. Then they re-badged it to O'Sheas. I spoke to Seamus at the All Irish Beerfest and he confirmed that it's the same recipe and just a different bottle. Beautiful beer it is too!

GLaDOS

How does the price compare to O'Hara's?

BaZmO*

ScienceNerd wrote: »

How does the price compare to O'Hara's?

I think (but I'm not a 100% sure) it's €1.79 a bottle. Which imo is fantastic value considering how good a beer it it.

GLaDOS

Sounds like good value, will check it out next time I'm in an aldi

Seaneh

Tesco and dunnes have done a price matvh and have O'Hara's Stout and Red for €1.78 each. Which is also fantastic value.

Colonel Sanders

Seaneh wrote: »

Tesco and dunnes have done a price matvh and have O'Hara's Stout and Red for €1.78 each. Which is also fantastic value.

Is the Stout Leann Follain or their other Irish Stout?

the beer revolu

Colonel Sanders wrote: »

Is the Stout Leann Follain or their other Irish Stout?

Oddly, Leann Follain tends to sell at the same price as their other beers.

BaZmO*

the beer revolu wrote: »

Oddly, Leann Follain tends to sell at the same price as their other beers.

That always surprises me. I thought price was generally related to %?


BEERNUT!!!?!?

irish_goat

BaZmO* wrote: »

That always surprises me. I thought price was generally related to %?


BEERNUT!!!?!?

It should, stronger beers require more ingredients to get the % up and then after that they get taxed more. I'd assume O'Hara's put a higher price on it but the supermarkets price alongside the rest of the range because they reckon Irish drinkers won't factor the higher alcohol content into the price.

BeerNut

Beer pricing is (no pun intended) a dark art and all sorts of things are factors. If a beer is expensive, and you point this out to the person selling it, they'll give you answers like it's the strength, or it's the distance it has to travel, but really there are loads of other factors at play, like how much people will pay for it and how the brand's perception is affected by even temporary changes in retail price.

I don't think it's really possible for someone outside the trade to take the price of any commodity and deconstruct it into its constituent elements.

the beer revolu

BaZmO* wrote: »

That always surprises me. I thought price was generally related to %?

It is usually, for the reasons IG stated but there is nothing to stop the producer/wholesaler/retailer from taking a hit on some of the stronger beers and making a bigger margin of the weaker beers.

BaZmO*

But I thought the duty/tax was calculated on a percentage basis?

the beer revolu

BaZmO* wrote: »

But I thought the duty/tax was calculated on a percentage basis?

It is - that's only one element of the price you pay.

BaZmO*

the beer revolu wrote: »

It is - that's only one element of the price you pay.

True. As Beernut says, unless you're the manufacturer there's now way to deduce what the costs are.

Ruben Remus

the beer revolu wrote: »

Oddly, Leann Follain tends to sell at the same price as their other beers.

Not in Tesco it doesn't. The 'regular' O'Hara's stout and red ale (4.3% ABV) are €1.79 each, the pale ale (5.2%) and Leann Follain (6%) are both €2.79, though they can sometimes be purchased in a 5 for €10 deal. I think it's the same in Dunnes.

the beer revolu

Ruben Remus wrote: »

Not in Tesco it doesn't. The 'regular' O'Hara's stout and red ale (4.3% ABV) are €1.79 each, the pale ale (5.2%) and Leann Follain (6%) are both €2.79, though they can sometimes be purchased in a 5 for €10 deal. I think it's the same in Dunnes.

Oh, I stand corrected.
I was going by seeing them all together in the 5 for €10 deal.
Bradley's in Cork also sell them all @ 4 for €10 - all the time

Seaneh

Colonel Sanders wrote: »

Is the Stout Leann Follain or their other Irish Stout?

The Irish Stout and Red ale only.

Seaneh

In Dunnes and Tesco the Irish Red and Irish Stout are price matched to Aldi's O'Shea's Red and Stout, so unless Aldi up their prices Dunnes and Tesco will always match it I imagine.

Which means you can always get 5 bottles of the Irish Stout or Red for €8.95 in any Tesco, Dunnes or Aldi (although Aldi is a different recipe).

Happy days.

BenEadir

Just discovered O'Shea's Irish Pale Ale and Red Ale in Aldi and I'm very very happy to be drinking something which has real flavour and isn't imported!!

Haven't tried the stout yet but will do so in a few days.

Ben

king size mars bar

O Hara's, the best thing to come out of Carlow, keep up the good work!

poitinstill

" Just discovered O'Shea's Irish Pale Ale and Red Ale in Aldi and I'm very very happy to be drinking something which has real flavour and isn't imported!!

Haven't tried the stout yet but will do so in a few days "

all 3 are very good and last i checked were sub 2 euro a pop? tesco /dunnes can struggle to hav 5 for 10. ( on a larger range granted) but for permenant prices brilliant. good one is dunnes is kaiserdom 6 for 7.
k.

adamski8

O sheas ipa is a different recipe altogether to oharas says seamus ohara himself. Still all brewed by them though

huskerdu

I, too am a fan of the O'Sheas Irish Pale Ale. My minor whinge for the day, is that it is hard to get a lot of the time.
The three O'Shea beers ( Stout, red ale, pale ale) are packed in mixed cases, with 4 of each in each case.

In all 3 of my local Aldis, the Pale Ale sell much better than the other 2 beers. The shelves will be full of Red ale and Stout
and the staff are often reluctant to open another box for me to get some Pale Ale when the shelves are full.

I have asked staff why they cant get more and I have not got any response.

I know I should make a proper complaint / comment to Aldi management some day soon,

Anyway, that is my first world problem today.

BenEadir

Hi all,

My local Aldi (Sandyford) hasn't had either of the O'Sheas ales or stout for almost two weeks. "Temporarily out of stock" is what the sign says over the shelf.

Anyone know if these wonderful ales are soon to disappear all together? It's not like Aldi to stay out of stock of a well selling product for long. Is all not well between Aldi and O'Hara's???

Ben

BeerNut

The stout won a Blas na hÉireann award at the weekend so I'd be surprised if it was suddenly taken off.

Ravelleman

I've found Aldi to be inconsistent in stocking the O'Shea's beers. It must sell quite quickly - something I'd be inclined to believe.

earlytobed

adamski8 wrote: »

O sheas ipa is a different recipe altogether to oharas says seamus ohara himself. Still all brewed by them though

Is it the same recipe or not? BAZ reckons Seamus O Hara told him it is the same recipe

BaZmO*

earlytobed wrote: »

Is it the same recipe or not? BAZ reckons Seamus O Hara told him it is the same recipe

Not quite what I said.

BaZmO* wrote: »

As for O'Sheas, it's made by Carlow alright. It used to be in a smaller 330ml bottle called Aldi Traditional Irish Ale with Seamus O'Hara's pic on the back. Then they re-badged it to O'Sheas. I spoke to Seamus at the All Irish Beerfest and he confirmed that it's the same recipe and just a different bottle. Beautiful beer it is too!

earlytobed

BaZmO* wrote: »

There a quite a few companies that make own brand products for different companies. The companies just specify the recipe.

As for O'Sheas, it's made by Carlow alright. It used to be in a smaller 330ml bottle called Aldi Traditional Irish Ale with Seamus O'Hara's pic on the back. Then they re-badged it to O'Sheas. I spoke to Seamus at the All Irish Beerfest and he confirmed that it's the same recipe and just a different bottle. Beautiful beer it is too!

Sorry, here's the quote. Its the complete opposite to what adamski8 posted.

Just curious, thats all

BaZmO*

earlytobed wrote: »

Sorry, here's the quote. Its the complete opposite to what adamski8 posted.

Just curious, thats all

Are you purposely not getting it?

drumswan

BaZmO* wrote: »

Are you purposely not getting it?

I dont get it either, did he tell you its the same recipe or not?

None in Aldi Belgard yesterday either btw.

BaZmO*

O'Sheas is made by Carlow alright. However, it used to be in a smaller 330ml bottle called Aldi Traditional Irish Ale with Seamus O'Hara's pic on the back. Then they re-badged it to O'Sheas. I spoke to Seamus at the All Irish Beerfest and he confirmed that the O'Sheas is the same recipe as the previously called Aldi Traditional Irish Ale and just a different bottle.

Hope that clears it up!

St. Lupulin

I don't believe him.

I was pretty much addicted to the 330 ml stuff.

Didn't really like the re-badged version at all.

O'Shea's pale ale is quality though. I'd take it over most bottled Irish session beers.

BeerNut

I've yet to hear anyone agree that the two beers are the same. I remember the 330 ml one as being much drier than the O'Shea's Red.

BenEadir

The Pale Ale and Stout are back on the shelf in my local Aldi but no sign of the Red. Not a bad start to the weekend I guess

Ben

Lucena

Is this a beer they have all the time, or just now and again?

adamski8

Lucena wrote: »

Is this a beer they have all the time, or just now and again?

All the time but they are frequently out of stock

adamski8

Lucena wrote: »

Is this a beer they have all the time, or just now and again?

All the time but they are frequently out of stock

cython

adamski8 wrote: »

All the time but they are frequently out of stock

It's worth bearing in mind that if Aldi are out of stock, the O'Hara's red ale and "normal" stout are in Tesco for all of 6c more per bottle (€1.85), and aren't a bad alternative

BaZmO*

St. Lupulin wrote: »

I don't believe him.

I was pretty much addicted to the 330 ml stuff.

Didn't really like the re-badged version at all.

O'Shea's pale ale is quality though. I'd take it over most bottled Irish session beers.

BeerNut wrote: »

I've yet to hear anyone agree that the two beers are the same. I remember the 330 ml one as being much drier than the O'Shea's Red.

Tbh, I don't believe him either. I used to drink the original one all the time, and was devastated when they stopped doing the 330ml bottles, although I did stock up on lots of them when they were selling them off at a reduced price , but I just don't see how it's the same beer, I remember it being much sweeter with a roasted malt finish.

At the 2011 Beerfest I asked one of the girls pouring beers at the O'Hara's stand why they had discontinued the original beer and she said that it was just a renaming of the beer, I wasn't convinced, but she was quite adamant that it was the same recipe. It wasn't until the 2012 Beerfest that I got talking to Seamus and he said the same thing. It's hard to see why they'd be telling porkies though.

I'm actually sipping on a bottle of it now (all the talk of it made me go out and get some earlier!) and it's definitely not the same.

BenEadir

cython wrote: »

It's worth bearing in mind that if Aldi are out of stock, the O'Hara's red ale and "normal" stout are in Tesco for all of 6c more per bottle (€1.85), and aren't a bad alternative

Are they also 500ml bottles for €1.85?

Ben

earlytobed

BaZmO* wrote: »

O'Sheas is made by Carlow alright. However, it used to be in a smaller 330ml bottle called Aldi Traditional Irish Ale with Seamus O'Hara's pic on the back. Then they re-badged it to O'Sheas. I spoke to Seamus at the All Irish Beerfest and he confirmed that the O'Sheas is the same recipe as the previously called Aldi Traditional Irish Ale and just a different bottle.

Hope that clears it up!

Thanks! I Have it now:) O Sheas= Aldi Traditional Irish Ale
O Sheas not= OHaras
Apologies to BaZmo and adamski8:o

Ravelleman

BenThere wrote: »

Are they also 500ml bottles for €1.85?

Ben

Yep, they've been at that price for the best part of a year.

Ruben Remus

St. Lupulin wrote: »

I don't believe him.

I was pretty much addicted to the 330 ml stuff.

Didn't really like the re-badged version at all.

O'Shea's pale ale is quality though. I'd take it over most bottled Irish session beers.

I agree with every word of this.

Seaneh

BenThere wrote: »

Are they also 500ml bottles for €1.85?

Ben

Yup, bought 2 yesterday.

BenEadir

At the risk of being shunned by those of you passionate about craft beers what do people think about Smightwicks Pale Ale and Winter Spirit? I had some of the Pale Ale last night and purchased a couple of bottles of the Winter Spirit. I liked the Pale Ale but find the Winter Spirit pretty underwhelming.

Ben

dan1895

BenThere wrote: »

At the risk of being shunned by those of you passionate about craft beers what do people think about Smightwicks Pale Ale and Winter Spirit? I had some of the Pale Ale last night and purchased a couple of bottles of the Winter Spirit. I liked the Pale Ale but find the Winter Spirit pretty underwhelming.

Ben

If there is at least Smithwicks pale ale in the place I'm heading tonight then I'll be somewhat happy. It's not a bad drink in its own right.