To be frank outside of Guinness, Ireland’s ales are not particularly great. They tend to follow the same bland, watery and uninspiring trend. With that said where they fail in beer making they make up for in spades ten times over with they’re apple ciders, which are genre shattering in my opinion. Rich flavours, crisp drinking and highly enjoyable from start to finish.
If your going to Europe for beers, the UK is a better bet. If your going for ciders, Ireland wins that hands down.
Name: Macardles Traditional Ale
Origin: Ireland
Style: Irish Ale (4%)
Appearance: The colour of this Kilkenny clone is dark, clear amber. It is quite carbonated and produces a very foamy, large head when poured into a glass.
Taste: The aroma was very mild at best, making it difficult to distinguish. The taste is light, metallic, with some bitter grass-like hops noted. There maybe some roasted notes as well, but these are very subtle. The after taste is ashy and lingering.
Mouth Feel: It is very carbonated, filling and sharp on the tongue. The overall body of this beer is very light and watery, which would normally make it refreshing, but due to the ashy aftertaste it is actually not.
Final Thoughts (2 out of 5): This is a bland and uninspiring ale. Sadly this like many of Ireland’s other beers is standard fair.
This is the ruins of a church and old grave yard in the Wicklow Mountains. This is a very nice and scenic area of Ireland.
#1 by Rory O'C on April 29, 2011 - 8:47 pm
I object to the “Kilkenny clone” statement, MacArdles from Dundalk has a long and glorious history where as Kilkenny Ale is straight from the Diagio marketing department because its hard to pronounce Smithwicks !
#2 by bradinator on April 30, 2011 - 4:13 pm
Fair enough. I do not know the history of this beer. Marketing does wonders. Kilkenny is a name I know back home and assumed it was the original. I do appreciate the correction though.