Kinsale Irish Lager
Kinsale Brewing Company,

Kinsale Irish LagerKinsale Irish Lager
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Kinsale Brewing Company,
 
Ireland
Style:
European Pale Lager
ABV:
4.3%
Score:
73
Avg:
2.97 | pDev: 24.58%
Reviews:
30
Ratings:
31
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 24, 2012
Added:
May 13, 2001
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Pegasus:
Photo of Pegasus
Reviewed by Pegasus from Texas

1.86/5  rDev -37.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Appearance: Clear, pale golden color, with abundant lacing, a modest head, and slight carbonation.

Aroma: Sweet, with hints of light tropical fruits, and some honey notes.

Taste: Tart from start to finish, with a slight hop presence late in the taste with surge of metallic bitterness at the close.

Mouth feel: Thin and watery, with robust carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: Unremarkable, a poor example of the style.
Jun 15, 2007
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by kobeer from Texas

Jul 24, 2012
Photo of skillerified
Reviewed by skillerified from California

3.38/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Straw colored, very pale. Decent head, strong lacing all the way down the glass.

Scents are light. Some non-distinct fruity scents with a bready texture underneath. Some cooked veggies. Just a slight wisp of that intentional skunked scent that you get on some of these Euros.

Taste was fairly non-distinctive in the way of specific flavors, yet the flavor as a whole was fairly distinctive itself. Meaning, I've not quite had a Euro Pale Lager that tasted like this before. I think it's the first one that I've actually liked. Just not one of my favorite styles. The flavors were slightly fruity and bready, much like the scent.

Very light and crisp, dry. Light bodied. Medium carbonation gives it a slight creaminess. Liked the way this went down.

A servicable brew. Nice summer beer. A light beer that's not entirely light on character.
Apr 22, 2007
Photo of BEERchitect
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

3.49/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
A new addition to the taps at Marrika's Bierstube, Lexington. Easily recognizable upon the pour with a standard Pub Ale straw / golden color and immense, dense nitro head retention. Sturdy looking brew. Aromas are faint and hard to find, but share a caramel malt and softly phenolic profile. Flavors mimic the light profile and also give a modest caramel flavor. Light grains and ripe fruit flavor (apples, pears) dances around the periphery. Initially full and round, until the carbonation subsides, then the beer turns thin and watery in a hurry. Pleasant brew; perhaps a cross-over. Prefered over Boddingtons, but still no Guinness.
Jan 26, 2007
Photo of beveritt
Reviewed by beveritt from Ohio

3.13/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Presentation: Had on tap at a local Irish themed bar. Served ice cold in an Imperial pint glass.

Appearance: Arrived with about 3/4 inch of foamy, white head. Decent head retention, stayed around in some form for most of the glass. The beer itself is a rather light yellow, like the color of apple juice.

Smell: Not much smell. Faint grassy hop aroma and a hint of malt sweetness.

Taste: A good malt background with just a hint of sweetness. Grassy hop aroma. SLight metallic taste.

Mouthfeel: Average level of carbonation. Body is so-so, nothing spectacular, but not watery either.

Drinkability: A pretty easy drinking lager. Much more taste than your typical BMC, but nothing to write home about.
Jan 13, 2007
Photo of Albertv05
Reviewed by Albertv05 from New York

1.5/5  rDev -49.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
Appearance: Poured a pale yellow with a good amount of carbonation. It looked like any macro brewed light lager. At this sight I realized that this was going to be disappointing.

Aroma: Faint hops, faint breadiness, etc. Faint is the key word.

Taste: Blah! Watery. Tasted like really bad college frat party beer from a keg. I don’t really know how to describe it. Just what you’d expect from this kind of beer but worse.

Overall: I only bought a bottle of this because my fiancée visited Kinsale and was curious about this brewery. I really hope they have better beers than this. I will never drink one of these again. Really terrible.
Dec 06, 2006
Photo of badturtle
Reviewed by badturtle from Ohio

1.38/5  rDev -53.5%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
What is this? The bottle and name match the picture. It tastes like a macro lager, but the back of the bottle says ale. I drank it at room temperature. I understand why the bottle says to drink it cold. It poured with a large head with thick bubbles. It dissipated fast. There was no lacing. It was a pale yellow with a hint of orange, as if someone put a drop of red food coloring in a Mountain Dew. At first, it smelled of honey and weak hops. The smell disappeared in a few minutes. It tasted of honey, grapes, and water. It was too sweet. It tastes like a soft drink. The carbonation is barely noticeable. I had to look for it. 3/4 of the way through, I was a tired of it, so I had to finish it fast. It may be good for getting a BMC lover to start on imports, but otherwise, I can't recommend this. I need to go cleanse my palate.
Oct 31, 2005
Photo of HardTarget
Reviewed by HardTarget from Texas

1.35/5  rDev -54.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1
Bottle Inspection: “Beers of the World Sampler pack” Thanks to Stephen for picking up the box from the Class VI on post.

Aroma: A very weak hop note, nothing else to report.

Appearance: Pale yellow glass with an anemic white collar of bubbles.

Flavor: Bitter weak stale grain water.

Mouthfeel: Watery

Overall Impression: Ick (see above).
Sep 25, 2005
Photo of TastyTaste
Reviewed by TastyTaste from Minnesota

2.18/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Clear gold color, with a small head, fairly good lacing as head retreats, leaving only a small amount of froth on the beer's surface. Smell is lightly malts, that's about ti, kind of grassy, also. Taste is pretty bad. Malt and hops are very light, hardly noticeable. There is a taste like acidic stale cheerios that really makes this beer quite annoying to drink. This is pretty bad, I really dislike this beer. Avoid.
Sep 07, 2005
Photo of garymuchow
Reviewed by garymuchow from Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Light sour sweet water aroma with a bit of euro hops. Pretty simple. Pleasant enough.
Pale gold and very watery looking. Slightly cloudy Smallish head.
Taste very much like aroma. Malt base with a sour quality. A bit of a watery quality too. Slightly sweet up front. Mildly bitter in middle to a more drying finish.
Not as thin as it could have been, considering the watery qualities. Has a refreshing quality.
This is alright. Not great, not horrible. Do fine in many occassions.

This sample via Mark at 3 Corners. Many thanks.
May 30, 2005
Photo of cokes
Reviewed by cokes from Wisconsin

2.98/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Misty, sub-golden yellow with a tight, fleeting skim of white.
Grass and hay dominated nose, touched with honey and a general sense of diluted wetness.
Through the mouth, it's all honeyed graham crackers and saltines, dunked in water, and chased with a sliver of apple rind. Earthy leaning in the middle and through the close, with notes of hay leading it through an indistinct hop closure.
Wan in both body and texture, brightly carbonated but that suggests an even greated vapidness of flavor.
There seems to be some quality here, even if it is repressed and pale. It noses past most macro lagers, but it's too shallow to stand apart as anything more that a hot-wing washer.
Feb 21, 2005
Photo of brewdlyhooked13
Reviewed by brewdlyhooked13 from Ohio

3.03/5  rDev +2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Appearance - a slight haze to the yellow-gold color. A white frothy head slowly sinks down to a thin cover.

Aroma - a brief skunkiness on the pour, but clears out quickly. Very light grain/yeast smell, very plain.

Taste - faintly reminiscent of an ESB, such is the soft maltiness up front. A sweet, lemony turn at mid-palate and swallow. A light roasted malt element as well as a small measure of balancing hops. Finishes dry, clean and tasty.

Mouthfeel - light body, well-carbonated.

Drinkability - It's tasty! A good session beer for warmer months.
Dec 31, 2004
Photo of Backer2004
Reviewed by Backer2004 from North Carolina

3.82/5  rDev +28.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Everything about Kinsale Irish is one small step above a typicall American lager. Received this bottle in a Beers of the World pack and it falls right in the middle between the ones I've tried. Nice copper color with no other redeeming qualities in its appearance. Good balance of hops and malts. Easy to drink and would be nice after a hot day mowing the lawns.
Dec 31, 2004
Photo of KoG
Reviewed by KoG from Nevada

3.43/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Looks and smells like a typical lager, yellow with a light head and little lacing, malty with a bit of hop character.

Taste is light but not watery. Citric notes and a slight touch of irish creme flavor, little hops with a malty backbone.

Mouth seemed a bit different then other lagers. Not very much carbonation, almost flat actually, but this didn't harm it at all and if anything it improved the creamyness. Not a heavy feel either.

For a lagerr, not so bad. It's definately one of those "in the mood" brews for me.
Nov 20, 2004
Photo of Gusler
Reviewed by Gusler from Arizona

3/5  rDev +1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
The beer disembogues the 330ml brown bottle a somewhat murky pale gold color with a modest frothy white head that evaporates quickly leaving a thin veil of lace to conceal the glass. Nose is sweet malt, fresh and clean, crisp to the senses with the start that is lightly sweet with the top light to medium in feel. Finish is brisk in its carbonation the hops light but pleasant, the aftertaste quite dry, a tolerable brew tis true.
Oct 02, 2004
Photo of soper2000
Reviewed by soper2000 from Texas

2.98/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Picked this up from a mixed sixer rack without really knowing anything about it. The words "Irish Lager" set me off a bit as I guess I have been conditioned to expect Irish Stout or something of similiar ilk. Well onto the review: Pours a fizzy golden color with a large white head whens has very little retention. Smell had some very faint notes of malt. Taste is clean and balanced like one would expect from a pale lager. A little bit of hoppy spiciness is also detectable. I'm sure that this brew doesn't really appreciate its "aging" on the liquor store shelves.. It was decent overall, but i'll probably be passing on it from now on.
Sep 17, 2004
Photo of redmosquito
Reviewed by redmosquito from Michigan

2.94/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Nice golden color, clear with average carbonation. Very little hop aroma, just a hint of that British grass hop aroma and otherwise yeasty. Clean flavor, nothing dominating or unique, perhaps a bit bready. This beer would compare very well with an American/Canadian Lager.
Sep 07, 2004
Photo of chilidog
Reviewed by chilidog from Ohio

3.6/5  rDev +21.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
As the one and only brew made by Kinsale at this time, they eased into things nicely with this golden pale, straw colored lager. Not your typical irish brew, but thats not a bad thing either. The head was white and steady on top this good carbonated brew. Lace was not to be found. The aroma was of a sweet malted grain.The taste was not harsh but gentle hints of sweet, husky grain with a touch of citric thrown in. Not much on the hop. The mouth is left abit dry but with a creamy feel. The 4.3%abv aids in the drinkability of this beer as does a reasonable price for a non-typical Irish beer.
Sep 05, 2004
Photo of stirgy
Reviewed by stirgy from Pennsylvania

3.84/5  rDev +29.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
I was expecting a red ale for some reason. So, I was surprised to see a light and clear golden straw color. Decent head of bright white foam topped the beer off. Good amount of carbonation. The aroma has light bits of tangy lemony grains. The taste is soft and gentle with a natural grainy sweetness. Light body of malt, but yet sweet with grains. This is light, flavorful and refreshing. Pleasing and simple. Bittersweet lemony zesty finish. Nice and light. I enjoyed it. Nothing really to dislike about it, actually.
Sep 01, 2004
Photo of ADR
Reviewed by ADR from Pennsylvania

2.95/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Absolutely clear pale gold, head is foamy, 1/2 an inch to start but decomposing pretty quickly. Laces in dots. Lightly malty aroma, a bit of biscuit and some papery tones. Mouthfeel is pretty thin, with medium to high carbonation. Starts sweetish, some bread, pale-pale honey, and light hay but de-constructing mid mouth and without any noteworthy hopping to close the deal. Lightly fruity aftertaste. Pretty dang ordinary and middle-of-the-road, I'm sure it showed up at one of my stores just for the St. Patrick's Day sales effect.
Mar 02, 2004
Kinsale Irish Lager from Kinsale Brewing Company,
Beer rating: 73 out of 100 with 31 ratings