Smithwick's - Guinness Ltd.

womencantsail

California

3.1/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: The pour is dark amber in color, perhaps mahogany, with a tan head sitting on top.

S: A fairly bland nose, but what is there smells mostly like burnt toast. Some toffee and caramel sweetness is there, almost no hops, and a mild roast aroma.

T: The flavor isn't really much of an improvement at all. The same bitter, burnt toast character is there and just isn't enjoyable at all. Some toffee and mild roast, perhaps a little bit of red apple.

M: Light to medium in body with a moderate level of carbonation.

O: Wasn't a fan of this one at all. The burnt toast thing was really off-putting.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2011 23:28:57 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Reviewed from notes.

Pours a moderate darkened amber color with a bit of an off white head. The nose brings forward a bit of roasted and toasted malt as well as some slight hop characteristics. The taste is quite bready with some roast and a bit of hops. Moderate feel with good carbonation. Drinks fairly well and is a decent alternative at some bars, but nothing I'd really come back to.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2010 23:59:33 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.63/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

I recently received a coupon for a few bucks off either Harp, Guinness, or Smithwick's in the mail. Coordinating with a sale at the local grocery store, I opted for Smithwick's. Let's give it a go in the bottle.

Appearance: Pours the same crystal clear, mahogany-hued head with a tall, expansive, ivory-colored foam head.

Smell: Smells of toasted bread with the edges ever so slightly burnt and dried herbs akin to getting a quick sniff of a basic tea bag.

Taste: Moderately toasted, caramel-hinting maltiness with a light sweetness and a very, very, very fine hint of roasted grain. Modest fruitiness. Light, lightly leafy hops with not an ounce more bitterness than is needed to balance things out. Finishes dry albeit malty, with a lingering hint of nuts and decaffeinated Irish Breakfast tea.

Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Medium-light carbonation. Quite light, but no coming up watery.

Drinkability: I'm preferring this revisit in the bottle over my prior near-tasteless on-tap tastings. Sure, it's still kind of simple and forgettable, but a $3.99 six-pack was a deal this cheap jerk couldn't pass up.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2010 17:47:24 | More by ChainGangGuy

brentk56

North Carolina

3.53/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a clear amber color with a two finger head that leaves a few shards of lace

Smell: Vague grainy aroma

Taste: Grainy opening, with a growing biscuity flavor that blends together by mid-palate; after the swallow, the mslty flavors dominate slightly through the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate to high carbonation

Drinkability: I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised; not inspiring but accessible and acceptable

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2009 23:02:48 | More by brentk56

UCLABrewN84

California

3.53/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear amber color with a 2 inch off-white head that fades to a puffy small cap. Nice rings of lace form all down the glass on the drink down. Smells of caramel malt and maybe some fruity aromas. There is also a distinct herbal/hoppy smell as well. Taste is of caramel malt, bread, and a bitter herbal/hop finish. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a smooth and clean mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer and my first of this style.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2011 03:09:27 | More by UCLABrewN84

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.63/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

It's an honor to now sit down with a glass of this classy Irish Red Ale, now brewed under the Guinness umbrella.

A dark amber color gives a glow of red, crimson, or ruby with medium brown low lights. Great clarity shows off the colors and give the impression of cleanliness. A soft creamy head forms an eggshell topping on the beer, retains well, and laces equally.

Classic butterscotch aromas fill the olfactories first, but with a blend of toffee/caramel, bread crust, buttered toast, lightly kilned grain, and subtle fruitiness.

Moderate through and through, the flavors of caramel turns to butterscotch and complex malt flavors for the bulk of taste. Where the flavors of toffee and caramel are present, there's only a timid sweetness beyond. Non-descript fruitiness from dark grains accompany the toffee richness for interest and intrique. Richly kilned grains, fresh baked bread, and deep caramelization give extra flavors to keep the sweetness from becomming one-dimensional. Low on bitterness, the beer relies on malt complexity to carry it from nose to finish.

Creamy and moderate in mouthfeel, yet taking a moderate oily feel at mid palate and carries through to the finish. Where it hurts the crispness and cleanliness, it accentuates the fullness and 'fatty' portion of the taste. This becommes nearly as much of a deterrant as it is a benefit.

Smithwick's is the classic Irish Red Ale and is largely responsible for defining the style. Where the diacetyl is acceptable, and celebrated in this beer, it still provides an ill-concieved distraction for me.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2010 17:12:29 | More by BEERchitect

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Not unlike Guinness which now owns Smithwick's, there are several versions - at least 5 to be sure:
- Irish draught with an original gravity of just 9 Plato
- export to Canada (Smithwick's Export) with an OG of 12 and 5% abv
- an Italian version at 13 Plato
- and a slightly bigger Italian version starting at 15 Plato (Kilkenny Strong)
- the bottled version that's now being sold in the US at 4.5% abv which is brewed by Guinness in Dublin.

The US version is dark with a rich mahogany color and deep amber highlights. The head is creamy and ivory in color. The head retention is quite good, and it leaves some very nice rings of lace about the glass.

The nose is limited, but a whiff of dull roasty malt and some delicate yeasty fruitiness can be discerned. It's clean, and that differs from the slightly buttery version that comes out of the abbey brewery in Kilkenny because it's different yeast. I much prefer the "English" character of the former.

It's light-medium bodied and remarkably smooth and creamy - note, this beer really needs to be enjoyed at, or just below, cellar temperature.

The flavor is a bit fuller than the nose implies with a nice combination of scortched caramel (it's not particularly sweet), lightly toasty malt, and dull roastiness. A thin thread of yeasty fruitiness floats about in there, and some earthy and leafy hop flavors give it ballast; as does the limited (@ 28 IBU's), but very firm, bitterness. A touch of toasty and nutty malt appears in the finish but immediately vanishes, followed by some more leafy hops and a dull, lingering bitterness.

It makes a great session ale, but there's really not much more going on. If I were out at the pub I'd have one or two of these and then switch up to Guinness. Some of the other versions, however, offer more character.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2006 15:57:47 | More by NeroFiddled

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served in a shaker pint glass at Finn McCool's.

Another Quizzo beer. We came in second this week (couldn't repeat, dammit...). It pours a darkish amber-copper topped by finger or so of ecru micro-foam. The nose comprises orange peel, light caramel, and light flowers. The taste is nearly identical to the smell, though ever-so-slightly caramelier. Not by much, though. The body is a light medium, with a light carbonation and a fairly dry finish. Overall, a nice brew (I've been drinkin' 'em for years, now), nothing overtly special and nothing very emblematic of Irish reds in general, but a tasty- and drinkable-enough brew to enjoy while rockin' fools at pub trivia.

Serving type: on-tap

09-16-2010 06:43:20 | More by TMoney2591

WesWes

New York

3.53/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a beautiful amber/red color with a thick frothy off-white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a dry, caramel/roasted malt nose with little to no hop aroma. It's light with a stiff dryness. The taste is the same. It has a very drinkable pilsner malt flavor with a touch of caramel malt sweetness and a faint roasted feel. It's light and easily quaffable; a fine session ale. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a low/medium bodied beer with good carbonation. This isn't the most complex around, but these brews generally aren't. It's an accessible beer that most can enjoy.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2010 18:17:48 | More by WesWes

drabmuh

Maryland

3.2/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into an imperial pint glass. This is a popular beer and I'm not exactly sure why. I guess because its so unoffensive and bland that people like it the same way they like mayonnaise.

Beer is brown and clear, forms an off white head that's thick. The head falls away leaving lacing behind on the glass and the carbonation is steady and moderate of medium sized bubbles. This is a red ale? Looks like an English brown. Other than the color the beer looks fine.

Aroma is weak but I can detect a slight roast. I'm going to ignore that this beer is a classified as a red ale from now one.

Almost no flavor at all. Some sweetness up front, no roast, no bitter no alcohol nothing. Blank. Its like drinking colored water. Oh well.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2010 18:38:34 | More by drabmuh

zeff80

Missouri

3.78/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A - Poured out an orange/amber color with a white, two-finger head. Leaves a little lacing.

S - It smelled of malt and some grassy-like aromas.

T - It tasted malty and with a slight bitter hoppiness.

M - It was crisp and light to medium-bodied.

D - This is a pretty good Irish Red Ale. I've had it on tap before and it was much better, but it is still pretty good from a bottle.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2007 23:52:04 | More by zeff80

metter98

New York

3.53/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is clear dark amber in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a half-finger high off white head that quickly died down and consistently left a thin head covering the surface and some lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are light aromas of tea leaves in the nose along with notes of toasted malts.
T: Similar to the smell, the taste has flavors of tea leaves and toasted malts as well as a very slight amount of bitterness.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. The finish leaves your mouth a little dry.
O: There’s nothing overly special about this beer, but it’s a nice change of pace from just drinking Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s very easy to drink and I wouldn’t have a problem knocking back a few of these.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 14:57:42 | More by metter98

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.03/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A big “Thank you” goes out to Chris & Adam for providing this beer. 12oz. bottle poured into a pint glass.

A: The beer is a copper-brown color with slight red tint. It has a thick, tan head which takes a while to fade and leaves a decent lace on the glass.

S: There’s a pleasant smell, but it isn’t too strong. It’s mostly a smell of malt, with some caramel and little bit of hops. I would have scored this category higher if the smell were a little stronger.

T: You can certainly taste the malt right away and all throughout as you drink it. You can also tell that there’s some hops bitterness trying to poke its way through. Caramel stays behind in a syrupy but mild after-taste.

M: Very smooth with a rich, medium body and light carbonation. It goes down very easy.

D: The smoothness and sweetness makes it very easy to drink. It’s one of those beers that you can pound away without realizing how much you’re drinking. I had tried this beer previously and remember the taste being too strong and too bitter, which made me hesitant to try it again and made me question the hype that I had heard about it, but I’m thinking it might have been skunked that first time. Overall, I think this is a very good beer and would certainly recommend it, especially if you’re looking to try this style for the first time.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2006 21:00:38 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer is really nice to have from time to time. The beer poured out as a really nice red color, the beer is clean and clear looking. The smell of the beer had a good malt quality to it with a bit of earthiness as well. The taste of this brew is good in my opinion, it's got plenty of malt and just a touch of hops to bitter the finish of it. The mouthfeel is very smooth and easy to drink. Overall I like the beer quite a bit. Worth trying for sure.

Serving type: on-tap

07-07-2011 01:21:59 | More by Knapp85

Halcyondays

California

3.7/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12 oz. bottle

A: Amber-red color, almost cola like in appearance, with thick robust head.

S: Biscuity, toffee malts, hints of toastiness, British hops, and sulfur/minerals.

T: Slight taste of toasty malt, with floral hops and hard water, similar to an English pale ale.

M: Creamy, medium-bodied and smooth, may be a tad over-carbonated for the style, but overall very good.

D: Very good, low in alcohol and good taste makes this an easy drinker for a night at the pub, or an evening at home; you can stick with this one for the whole night.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2007 03:09:13 | More by Halcyondays

jwc215

New Jersey

3.35/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

An Irish steakhouse that I enjoy going to has this on tap. I tried it between guinnesses, so couldn't rate it before. On my way home from work, and before any other beers, I decided to go to the store and pick it up to give it a fair review. It has become quite popular in this area.
It had a dark, reddish color with a white head that didn't last too long before becoming a decent lacing. Its carbonation was light to moderate.
The smell was faint. Couldn't quite pinpoint it, but had faint tea-like malt aroma with slight hoppy scent. The scent was not bad, but very subtle.
The taste was not bad either. Nothing great though. Some hints at a sweet tea at first. Later it became slightly more bitter. This was what it should be for this type. However, it was a bit too watery. The taste was thinner than the appearance led me to believe. To improve, it should have a bit of a stonger scent and more malty thickness.
It was refreshing, lending to its drinkability, but could become boring.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2006 02:30:06 | More by jwc215

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A pint a the local Irish Pub.

This widely available ale saved me from the tyranny of the Irish Dry Stouts when I toured Ireland a few years ago. I was familiar with the bottled version available at home, but not particularly impressed by it. On draft, Smithwick's was, and is, a whole different story.

This beer arrives to the table a dark-ish amber hue, perfectly clear, with an ambitious finger or two of puffy, soapy white head, which leaves a nice webbed pattern of lace around the glass as it slowly seeps away.

It smells slightly of grainy malt, and a bit of earthy, leafy hops. The taste has a fairly sizable bit of floral hops, and slightly sweet grainy malt - simple, and verily workable.

The body has got some decent weight, the carbonation is very low, helping this to be a very smooth pub draft, and it finishes off-dry.

This is a stellar session ale, one I will continue to enjoy when in UK/Irish-theme pub land. It's also amusing/confounding to ask for this at the typical locations, in the manner in which the Irish pronounce it, and getting blank stares.

Serving type: on-tap

02-02-2009 00:39:00 | More by biboergosum

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.43/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured a deep with a decent off white head. Nose was sweet, mild roasted malts, faint hops. Taste was slightly grassy hops, malts are sweet but a bit Creamy mouthfeel quickly thins out with a more astringent than bitter character. Nothing special but certainly drinkable.

Serving type: nitro-tap

08-10-2008 19:32:57 | More by barleywinefiend

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours dark amber/light brown; quite clear. Impressive three-finger head that recedes to a lumpy centered froth. Good lace.

Lots of crystal malt in the smell. Biscuity, sort of like graham crackers. Very mild hop background.

This beer reminds me of what I'd expect from a darker British mild. The hop is present but very subtle. Even the aftertaste has a fine blend of hop and malt. The malt is reminiscent of baked apples and toast. No sugar presence but this is not an overly dry beer. There's a chewiness to the body but the carbonation is adequate to compensate.

I would call this a "round" beer with lots of British characteristics. For a mass-produced beer, this is superior with an easy drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2008 20:35:11 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

3.1/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a clean/clear dark amber color, some carbonation, little fizzy off-white head, some tiny islands and sticky lacing left behind. The nose is mostly malts and caramel. The taste is malty with some caramel. Light body. Drinkable I guess, but I would not buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2008 03:06:49 | More by Wasatch

rhoadsrage

Illinois

3.05/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

(Served in an American pint glass)

A- This beer pours a dark reddish-brown body with a strong carbonation and a crystal clear body. The head is a thick dense light tan mass that has an iceberg shape as it sits above the glass.

S- The faint aroma of dry pale malt with a slight cooked corn sweetness in the background. Some faint noble hop bitterness finishes the smell

T- This beer has a light taste of pale malt with a faint dry lightly toasted malt in the background. There is a soft bitter noble hop finish but no hop flavor other than that.

M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with a fizz in the texture.

D- This is a very light flavored, average beer in a "importee" bottle. Not much character or depth.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2007 15:21:32 | More by rhoadsrage

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.3/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Nice frothy 2 finger head and very clear toasty amber orange brown color.

N: Toasty malty aroma. Some sweet dark malts, and just a hint of hops.

T: Raw malt flavor, some syrupy almost adjunct like flavors. Slight hop taste. Sweeted dark malt flavors. Rustic earthy malt and hop flavors.

M: Medium body, decent carbonation.

F: Finishes slightly bitter, a little spicy hop flavor, fading sweet malts, a little bit of that nagging not so tasty syrupy extract flavor. Finishes pretty clean otherwise.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2009 04:18:42 | More by jlindros

weeare138

Pennsylvania

3.28/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to globob3jen for this...
Appears a dense, dark, red toned mahogany color with a creamy, thick, light tan head that floats atop the brew and slowly dies out. Scattered bits of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is of mild sweetness with some crystal malt caramel standing out with a light metallic, wet coin-like smell buried in there mixed with grains.
Taste is a step up from the sub-par aromas. Decent amount of caramel and toffee right up front with the malt dominating with a sweetness.
Mouthfeel is a light-medium bodied with a sweet malt and breadiness that is overly dominant on the front the front of the tongue and in need of a bit of bitters and a more full mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2006 22:46:19 | More by weeare138

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

2.9/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Dark brown and red pour, head gets eviscerated quickly. Aroma was like that earthy dirt and stuff homebrewers use in their red ales.

Taste, hate to use the b word (boring) but this is just a beer with enough malt base to make it something more substantial and justifiable than a BMC beer, but its still a red ale that lacks any complexity or imagination. I mean jeez, even the reds that just hop it up at least taste better, even if they are far from innovative.

This is really just like Killians, but a little bit thicker.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2011 22:26:51 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

First had: on tap at Ri Ra Irish Pub, Burlington, VT

Pours a dark reddish-brown, with a nice finger of foamy off-white head. Grains and sweet malts in the aroma, with hints of herbs. More of the same in the taste, thick, sweet caramel malts, toasted bread, a bit leafy, with slight notes of dark fruits. Very little to speak of in the way of hops. Smooth, medium bodied, and very drinkable for a mainstream beer, and a preferred choice of mine for casual drinking.

Serving type: on-tap

06-20-2011 17:46:49 | More by Rifugium