Hi! I was attending a funeral last night and right next door was this Irish pub called Brian Boru where I had this great Irish Red Ale called "Galway Red Ale." It was smooth and tasty, not hoppy or bitter, I loved it. Unfortunately, I don't live in that town and don't get there very often ( a suburb between Baltimore and Washington D.C.). They also don't sell growlers of it, or any take away version. I don't even see mention of it on their web site (though it is possible that I cold have missed something). Now I am in search of something similar that I can buy off the shelf or order online. I know I am not giving you a lot to go on, and I am still learning a lot about beer. Is Irish Red Ale a genre that I can easily explore? Can you make a recommendation? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The restaurant's website says their house beers are "... brewed locally for us following a special recipe for each product that model Smithwicks and Harp in their characteristics..." so start with Guinness' Smithwick's. Since you chose not to put your home town/state in your BA profile, it's difficult to suggest US-brewed Irish ales that might be available to you but beers of that style are listed here - Irish Red Ale.
I actually called the pub and asked them about the ale. Turns out, Budweiser makes it. Bud used to have a product called American Ale that they now tweak for Irish pubs. Unfortunately, they don't sell it retail. So...
Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale just came out if it is available in your area. Top Irish Ales would be a good place to start. Read some reviews of any in your area to see if the sound appealing. Best way is to start trying some out.
There's not exactly ton of Irish Red Ales out there. As recommended above, I'd go with Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale. It's in season now too and I believe Great Lakes distributes to DC, so that's definitely the way to go.
Samuel Adams makes a decent one... It's year-round in sixers and I believe it's also in the Spring 12-pack... Probably very easy to find in MD.
As Irish Red is simply a version of good old fashioned bitter you can probably find more candidates under that label.
Killians Irish red is a macro Irish red. It's really not bad. I don't drink it anymore, but it isn't bad!
Recently I've been enjoying Irish Red's. In particular, Sam Adams and Smithwick. They are both good. However, I am liking Smithwicks a bit more due to the nutty, vanilla flavor. It also is a bit more dry than SA. And even though the ABV is alot less than SA's Irish, I can still feel the buzz just as much, after a session. Does anyone here have any love for this style of beer? Any more alternatives for Irish Red's? Great football beer.
If you can get your hands on a Conway's Irish Ale from Great Lakes I highly recommend it, also Boulevards Irish Ale is better good as well.
