Beer Blogging - Smithwick's Irish Ale
Sticking with the Irish beer theme of the last post, I just opened a bottle of Smithwick's Irish Ale, made by the same people who brew Guinness.
I don't know why, but I expected this beer to be a lot lighter in color than it is. This Irish ale poured with a deep amber color and a big, fluffy white head that dissipated (leaving a lot of lace behind) within two minutes. The aroma almost reminds me of a lager; it's a little sour and there's a lot of sweet malt. It actually surprised me at first with how sweet it was.
The taste: well, it tastes a lot like it smells. The initial taste is an almost coppery sweetness, which is followed by the rest of the flavor. The sour note is even more pronounced, which kind of gets in the way of the malts until the very end of the flavor. When the malts do show up, they taste like caramel and maybe butterscotch. The hops are not pronounced at all. For a second I didn't think there was any aftertaste, but then I got a random flash of butterscotch on the back of my tongue. That was kind of cool.
Rating: 5/10. Meh - if it wasn't so sour it'd be a lot better. It's possible that I just got a bad six-pack, so I'll probably try it again just to be sure. This rating is subject to change. Oh, and it's recommended for fans of lagers, especially the big American lagers, who wants something with just slightly more interesting flavors.
I don't know why, but I expected this beer to be a lot lighter in color than it is. This Irish ale poured with a deep amber color and a big, fluffy white head that dissipated (leaving a lot of lace behind) within two minutes. The aroma almost reminds me of a lager; it's a little sour and there's a lot of sweet malt. It actually surprised me at first with how sweet it was.
The taste: well, it tastes a lot like it smells. The initial taste is an almost coppery sweetness, which is followed by the rest of the flavor. The sour note is even more pronounced, which kind of gets in the way of the malts until the very end of the flavor. When the malts do show up, they taste like caramel and maybe butterscotch. The hops are not pronounced at all. For a second I didn't think there was any aftertaste, but then I got a random flash of butterscotch on the back of my tongue. That was kind of cool.
Rating: 5/10. Meh - if it wasn't so sour it'd be a lot better. It's possible that I just got a bad six-pack, so I'll probably try it again just to be sure. This rating is subject to change. Oh, and it's recommended for fans of lagers, especially the big American lagers, who wants something with just slightly more interesting flavors.
Labels: beer
posted by The Disgruntled Chemist at
5:47 PM
