Smithwicks Ale

I love this beer. Its nothing "special" or "spectacular" but the balance of the hops, barley and all the flavors is perfect. A beer I drink on a regular basis, either out of the bottle or on tap.

Tap, Dublin. Dark brown with good, not great, head. Flavor was lacking from what I had expected. All in all, a decent choice.

(Draught in Dublin on 2008-07-01) Deep amber. Clear. Quite dense medium-sized white head. Weak malty nose. Medium palate with some carbonation. Sweet malts, hops and bread in taste. Some fruitiness and liquorice, too.

Presentation: Served at Doc Sullivan’s, from tap and poured into a pint glass. It poured a dark reddish brown color with a thin white head that leaves nice rings of lace behind on the glass. The aroma has a sweet malty nose with some mild hop notes. Its flavor has a creamy smooth malt character that is fairly sweet with some caramel notes and mild hops for balance. The carbonation is very mild making the texture creamy smooth. It has a medium body with a thin balanced finish. Overall it’s a very drinkable beer with a good body and flavor although not quite as deep as I would like to see. Still it’s very drinkable.

Pours a ruby red with a small loosely-bubbled head with no retention. Aroma is stale and buttery. Tastes of light toast, diacetyl, banana esthers, digestive cookie, bland and boring. Tastes more like a dunkel than an Irish ale - the diacetyl is pretty bad. Carbonation is nearly nil, body is thin. Bo-ring.