The Bowsing Ken

Smithwick's Brewery:
* Smithwick's Premium (Red) Irish Ale

  So the monks began to brew their own beer, as monks the world over are known to do on occasion. In this case, it was the monks at the Abbey of St Francis, in Kilkenny, Ireland, who took advantage of pure local well water and abundant grains grown in the area, to brew beer, dating back to at least the 13th Century. For the next 300 odd years - so far so good. The folks of Kilkenny certainly grew to like their beer. Then enter our old friend King Henry VIII, who as history shows was certainly no friend of the Catholic faith. In fact, during his ongoing fight with the pope, Henry instituted his Reformation, one of the results being the shuttering of most of the abbeys in Britain and Ireland, including the Abbey of St Francis. No more beer from the Abbey, although there were several smaller breweries in the local area to fill the void.

  Around this time, for Irishmen of the Catholic faith, life could be somewhat restrictive, particularly if you wanted to run a business. Thus, in the early 1700s, John Smithwick, newly arrived in Kilkenny, entered into a clandestine partnership with a man by the name of Richard Cole, to brew beer. For the rest of his life, John Smithwick continued to quietly expand his business interests, in addition to brewing beer, and upon his death left his family reasonably well set.
  However, for some strange reason, the love of brewing beer skipped a generation of Smithwick family, and it was John's grandson Edmond who bought back the brewery that his predecessors - John Smithwick's sons - had lost. With the brewery back in the family, and with Edmond at the helm, Smithwick's began an expansion that would see its beers jump across the water, growing from a relatively small local Irish following to a popular choice in Wales, Scotland and England. Edmond also introduced a bit more science into the art of brewing, actually employing chemists to monitor the process.
  Over the next couple hundred years, fortunes at the Smithwick's brewery would wax and wane, based on any number of factors. For example, Smithwick's British sales began to slump in the late 1800s due to the concept of the "tied public house," which mandated that the public house must sell beer from only one brewery, to the exclusion of all other brands. Wars and natural disasters, not to mention competition from ever growing brewing conglomerates, all conspired against Smithwick's, yet still, Smithwick's carried on. Lucrative contracts to sell Smithwick's beer to the military certainly helped out quite a bit. Rationalizing the product line helped control costs - all the while emphasizing the brewing of the best beers - and new, innovative distribution schemes produced a wider market.

  For much of its existence Smithwick's had an ancillary business as a malter, malting grain for a number of customers, including Guinness & Company. In 1964, Guinness finally took advantage of a good situation and bought a controlling interest in Smithwick's, while keeping a Smithwick at the reigns. With Smithwick's fine beer, and Guinness' global reach, Smithwick's is today found around the world.
   Having produced their first beer in 1710, the folks at Smithwick's claim that their brewery is the oldest continuously operating brewery in Ireland. At present Smithwick's is producing two beers: Smithwick's Superior Irish Ale, or what they also call THE Red Irish Ale, and Smithwick's Pale Ale. Smithwick's Superior Irish Ale is a darn good beer - nice and malty, hoppy but not overbearing. Unfortunately, I have yet to find Smithwick's Pale Ale in my area. I will keep looking and will report back soon.