Irish Red Ales

Let’s talk about styles baby…

The Irish Red Ale is a style of pale ale that gets it’s coloring from the use of kilned or toasted malts and barley. This is a beer with a malty charachter that pairs nicely with rich foods.

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Northfielder on Wikipedia

Irish red ale originated in Kilkenny, Ireland in the early 1700s. While there is evidence of ales being brewed in the city going back to the 14th century, Irish Red wasn’t noted until it was brewed at a brewery established in 1702. The area was prime for brewing and distiling due to a combination of the climate and the agricultural bounty of corn, wheat, and barley in the area. Additionally, nearby Castlecomer Plateau provided all the coal needed to fuel the brewing processes.

One of the defining brands, Smithwick’s, goes back to 1710, when John Smithwick established his brewery in St. Francis Abbey. As was common during this time of unstable politics and famine, the brewery was sold by the family. In 1827, the grandson of John Smithwick, Edmond Smithwick, bought back the brewery and expanded its operations. The only other dominant brewery in Kilkenny, Sullivan’s, fell upon hard times and was forced to sell their business in 1918, Leaving Smithwick’s as the lone dominant brand in that market.

Surprisingly, this style was only available in Ireland until the 1960s when Smithwick’s began pushing out to foreign markets. In 1965, the brand was bought by Guinness and relaunched with a slew of other brands which disappeared from the market. Guinness created an export only variation of Smithwick’s in 1987 which transformed into it’s own brand called Kilkenny. As the Smithwick’s brewery in Kilkenny closed in 2013 and moved to Dublin, the Sullivan’s brand was relaunched in 2016 by descendants of both the Smithwick and Sullivan families who also opened a new brewery to keep the tradition of Kilkenny brewing alive.

The Irish Red style will have a malt flavor along with a caramel or toffee sweetness. The aroma of an Irish red ale should have some maltiness with caramel notes in there too. And the mouthfeel should be medium-light to medium bodied with some carbonation mixed in there. You may also get a little bit of an alcohol warmth from this one.

• ABV: 3.8% to 6.0% (low to mid alcohol)

• IBU: 15-30 (low bitterness)

• Color: amber to a deep reddish copper color