Be one who drinks the finest of ales.
Every day without fail.
Even when you have drank enough,
Remember that ale is wonderful stuff.
Ireland is a land of several treasures – be it history, culture, natural splendor, literature or music, there’s so much on offer you sometimes don’t know how to take it all in. I made an attempt in one of my earlier posts to uncover some quirky Irish facts & lay bare some common myths [Read: 11 Irish Facts & Myth Busters]. The one thing that really stole my heart in this land of merry, boisterous men was the countless number of lip-smacking beers, ales & stouts it produced.
A substantial portion of the market is dominated by the usual suspects in the form of multinational conglomerate brands such as Guinness, Beamish & Murphy’s; but there indeed is a swift undercurrent of demand for local brews & craft beer. I stumbled upon some of the yummiest brews I’ve ever tasted, sometimes at a craft beer powerhorse like PorterHouse Brewing Co. in Dublin and sometimes a rundown little shed that doubled up as a brewery in an obscure town in Co. Kerry.
Truth be told – if you are willing to look past the customary Guinness (which has sadly become symbolic of Irish beer), you’ll find plenty that will literally blow your mind. It really doesn’t get any better for a beer connoisseur than this – amazing beer, coupled with friendly fellow men & women and every night out at the local pub feels like the world’s best party.
It was no mean task to select my fab6 (I know it’s fab5, but I couldn’t get myself to excluding any of these awesome brews) from amongst the countless brews I tasted – some I couldn’t include quite simply because they didn’t as much as have a name! While these 6 are amongst the best I found, I’d recommend that you always try the local brew wherever you find yourself at in Ireland – you’d be pleasantly surprised by what you find 🙂
Click to Begin A Virtual Beer-Tasting!
Begin The Virtual Beer Tasting!
Smithwick’s Irish Ale – The Least Settlement!
Type: Red Ale
One of the more commonly found Irish beers, Smithwick’s Red Ale was my go-to drink in the rare case I found the local brew not up to my palate. The other benefit with Smithwick’s is that it is one of the only brews on this list available at supermarkets, which makes it easier to indulge in (and cheaper)!
Smithwick’s Irish Ale
Smithwick’s is a red ale from Kilkenny – it is a clear beer with a ruby red color and a creamy head! The aroma is somewhere midway between sweet toffee to chocolate/caramel nuttiness. The flavor has a creamy smooth malt character – fairly sweet with a touch of mild hops for balance. The carbonation is rather mild resulting in a creamy smooth texture. Not too spectacular, not too bland – as a brew, it stands well for the working Irishman and is rather symbolic too (what with its red color and all – trust me, you will get over the obsession with red-hair pretty quickly when in Ireland – at least as soon as you realize it’s nothing but an over-rated myth)
Discovered at: O’Neill’s Pub, Butlerstown, Co. Cork
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Harp’s Irish Lager – For the Hippie-Hoppies!
Type: Lager
Rejoice those that love a beer with strong texture and a bitterness that makes you reminiscent of your happiest days. Presenting to you Harp’s Irish Lager – produced by none other than the same company that brews Guinness (in fact it was first brewed by the Arthur Guinness’ brewery in Dublin).
Harp’s Lager – A Watery, Hoppy Delight!
The crisp, fizzy brew is a very summery drink and reminds you of sunny days (always a privilege in Ireland). Poured usually in a pint glass, Harp is also known to be served in a pilsner glass. It comes with a light head on pour, which dissipates rather quickly. The aroma has pleasant aromatic hops and light malt. Its flavor has a good balance of sweet, light malts with mellow leafy and floral hops. The carbonation is rather average and comes with a light to medium body. What I’d really recommend this for is its wet and grainy texture. Though quite bitter at first taste, it leaves a rather smooth aftertaste in your mouth. Once again, nothing overtly spectacular – but a clean, fizzy, good-looking lager to enjoy on a sunny day 🙂
Discovered At: Dick Mack’s, Dingle Town, Co. Kerry
Overall Rating: 3.25/5
Tom Crean’s Fresh Irish Lager – A Touch of Adventure!
Type: Lager
Brewed by the very efficient Dingle Brewing Company and named after the Antarctic explorer from Annascaul, Tom Crean’s Fresh Irish Lager is a brew that reeks of sheer class!
Tom Crean’s Premium Lager – Just look at the head on that one! mmmmmm…
It is a crystal clear gold colored lager with a light amount of carbonation. Pours with a dense head that settles down slowly to leave a collar of bubbles around the edges! The aroma has a tinge of grainy malts that also lingers on to first taste. The bitterness is just around the edge but not overpowering whatsoever. Laced with a floral hoppy flavor just around the surface, it offers a real good texture. It is mild-bodied and very clean/smooth on the palate. It goes very well with any kind of meal – ranging from pub grub, burgers to the most amazing seafood available.
Discovered At: South Pole Inn, Annauscaul, Co. Kerry
Overall Rating: 3.75/5
The Galway Hooker – The Queen Bee of Irish Brews!
Type: Pale Ale
Obvious jokes apart, The Galway Hooker is an absolute winner! Named after the iconic local fishing boats, this fine ale was first brewed by cousins Ronan Brennan & Aidan Murphy. The beer was brewed to serve a purpose – providing a local beer for those not wanting a Guinness. It was a challenge; but the tasty pale ale has won many plaudits and most importantly, a fierce local following. Quoting the inventors, “There’s a love of good beer in this country, but a lack of variety. People are slow to change their drinking habits. We were careful which pubs we put it into – places where people are open-minded and it didn’t outlast its keg life”, claim the confident co-brewers!
The Absolutely Smashing Galway Hooker in all it’s splendor 🙂
Aided with a nice grainy, wheaty smell with a tinge of clove for balance, the Hooker opens really well with all the hoppy bitterness of a classic pale, combined with the solid drinkability of a good draught and a very curious citrusy aftertaste that simply makes you want to have more and more. The light to medium body with decent carbonation only adds to its overall value.
Ask for a Hooker at pubs across Galway (careful not to wink inappropriately – HA!); not only will you get yourself a superior brew, but also earn the approving nod of locals around and an express entry to their intimate social circles 🙂
Discovered At: Quay Street, Galway, Co. Galway
Overall Rating: 4.25/5
Sunburnt Irish Red Ale – Living up to Ireland’s Connection with Red!
Type: Red Ale
In the remote surfing town of Bundoran in Co. Donegal, I walked into this pub right on the surf and asked the bartender for his recommended brew! He said it was perhaps a little too cold a day for beer, but if I must, he’d recommend little above the Sunburnt Irish Red Ale – by the time I was through my 4th pint within the hour, I was heartily slapping the guy on the back, agreeing whole-heartedly with him 😛
Sunburnt Irish Ale – A Monstrous Yummy Treat!
Brewed by the Eight Degrees Brewing Company, the Sunburnt Irish Red Ale is rather unique. Pours a mahogany brown color (no, not really red) with a creamy, thick head that slowly fades to a thin layer. Very light carbonation with a mysterious wispy lacing, possibly attributable to its New Zealandish/Australian hops?
The aroma is a mixture of strong caramel maltiness and something raisiny with hints of nuttiness and toasted bread! The opening notes are a lot of caramel maltiness once again, and in line with its scent, ranges from light sweet nuttiness and a faint hint of nutmeg & cinnamon with an aftertaste of biscuitiness and some fig-based notes!
The medium bodied brew is nice & smooth on the palate – one you could never possibly get enough of! Once again, not very easily available in many parts of Ireland, but was found in Co. Donegal & Co. Cork 🙂
Discovered At: Maddens Bridge Bar & Restaurant, Bundoran, Co. Donegal
Overall Rating: 4.75/5
The Beal Ban – The King of Irish Beers
Type: Blonde Ale
By far my favorite Irish beer by quite some distance, I stumbled upon Beal Ban at the outstanding Marina Inn Pub in Ireland’s daintiest town – Dingle! Brewed ) at the neighborhood West Kerry Brewery (a.k.a Beoir Chorca Dhuibhne), Beal Ban was an instant winner!
Beal Ban – Hand’s down my favorite beer in the world!
The Beal Ban is available on tap by cask and bottle – pours a dark amber with a white head, and settles into a perfect gold colored blondie! 😉
Aroma hints at sweet caramel, slight yeast, honey and barley sugar – the smell itself made me swoon for a couple of moments before I took the first swig! First notes go in line with the aroma, with a tinge of caramel, barley, honey and a biscuity edge to very easily evident. With low, soft carbonation and a medium, sweetish malty body, this is the perfect brew for those that aren’t the biggest fans of the bitter beer! For me, what won me over hands down about this really well made beer was the amazing flavor – served chilled, with smoked salmon and crabmeat platter, I probably had the most blissful brunch of my life!
The Beal Ban is mainly available in Co. Kerry and I hardly saw it thereafter except for in a select few places in Dublin, so I’m guessing it’s a fairly regional brew, so make sure you have lots of it while you can 😉
So there it is then folks! So many wonderful Irish beers, one round each corner – all waiting to stump you and fall more and more in love with this lovely land of merryness 🙂
Discovered At: Marina Inn, Dingle, Co. Kerry
Overall Rating: 4.75/5
Do you love discovering new brews? Have you been to Ireland? Did you also stumble upon some amazing local Irish beer? I’d love to know it all!
Also Read:
Ireland: 50 Shades of Green, Blue & Beer