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"Diablo":2dt0ie86 wrote: what did you think of it ?[/quote:2dt0ie86]It was OK. I think I might have trouble telling it apart from some of the craft-brewed pale ales in a blind tasting.

"TheBeerNut":22szjlap wrote: It was OK. I think I might have trouble telling it apart from some of the craft-brewed pale ales in a blind tasting.[/quote:22szjlap]

Do I spy another Beoir blind taste test in the near future? Irish Pale Ale Part II: The Macros Strike Back

/Diageo shill alert: watch out for the swirly eyes

Just back from a meeting with Diageo's Head of Global Something Something Quality Something and their PR/branding folk, done strictly in a personal capacity and not as an officer of Beoir.

I can tell you that I have been told that Smithwicks Pale Ale:
- uses the normal, Irish-grown, Smithwicks pale malt and no specialty malt
- is hopped with all US-grown Amarillo (pellets), including dry hopping.
- aims for an OG of 1.043 (hitting 1.040 - 1.045 in practice)
- uses the normal Smithwicks yeast and water profile
- is not high-gravity brewed
- is fined with isinglass
- does not use any other ingredients
- has a brew length (what the big boys call a batch size) of 250hl -- smaller than that for normal Smithwicks
- is all brewed on the normal full-size kit in Kilkenny
- is hand-bottled (!) at the James's Gate pilot plant
- is being pitched at the age 30+ lager market, and priced in the "premium lager" bracket, with the off licence RRP being €2.50
- is being launched in 250 pubs and 100 offies
- is (as Brian said in the OP) the first in a series of new Smithwicks ales
- is unlikely to be appearing on cask <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D --> <!-- s:( --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_sad.gif" alt="" title="Sad" /><!-- s:( -->

&amp;quot;TheBeerNut&amp;quot;:2k0hqxfl wrote: - is hopped with all US-grown Amarillo (pellets), including dry hopping.[/quote:2k0hqxfl]
That's an interesting choice.

Must see can I get a bottle to compair to my all Amarillo IPA <!-- s:wink: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s:wink: -->

For the more curious of ye, had a bottle of the new Smithwick's pale ale in Whelan's on Wexford street last night. Not half bad, but was rushed drinking it as it was last orders.