Tuesday Top Ten: Irish Red Ales

As we are heading towards St. Patrick's Day, while we won't be able to celebrate as fully as we usually would -- and I implore you not to be a fucking moron this weekend -- you can still enjoy some adult beverages as you celebrate the banishment of snakes from the Emerald Isle.  When you think of beers to drink on St. Patrick's Day, your first thought is (and should be) Guinness or other dry Irish stouts like Murphy's or Beamish, or perhaps your first thought is (though it should never be) green beer.  But there's another option that doesn't get as much love:  the Irish red ale.  

Red ales are often overlooked, but they shouldn't be.  They're malty and easy to drink, and like their dry Irish stout black and tan counterparts, they usually aren't too boozy, so they're quite sessionable.  If you're looking for an alternative or complement to Guinness, green beer, or Jameson, here are my ten favorite Irish red ales, and not all are made in Ireland. These are all of the Irish red ales that I rated 4.0 or better on Untappd, though I'm not listing anything that's no longer in production.  I'm just putting these in alphabetical order, and I'll put the name of the beer, where it's made, and the ABV.  If this list tell you nothing else, it's that you should go to Ireland once this whole COVID thing dies down.

1.  Begyle Dicey Riley Irish Red (Chicago, 6.3%)
Begyle is one of my favorite local breweries, and their Irish red is pretty damn good, though it is a bit stronger than your typical Irish red.

2.  Caffrey's Premium Irish Ale (England, 3.8%)
This was, once upon a time, my favorite beer.  Then Coors bought Caffrey's and stopped importing it to the U.S. because they thought it would compete with Killian's.  It's a nitro ale, so it has the same cascade effect as Guinness, and it's equally as delicious.

3.  Kilkenny (Ireland, 4.3%)
You can find this in the U.S., which is helpful, as it's a great nitro Irish red ale.

4.  McGargles Granny's Red Ale (Ireland, 4.4%)
This is another one I don't think is available in the U.S., but if you can find it, grab a pint.

5.  Nørrebro Bryghus Ravnsborg Rød (Denmark, 5.5%)
I had this in Copenhagen back in 2016, and apparently the Danish can make a great Irish red ale too.  I'm guessing this isn't available in the U.S.

6.  O'Hara's Nitro Irish Red (Ireland, 4.3%)
Brewed by one of Ireland's first craft breweries, I don't think this is available in the U.S., which is too bad because because it's fantastic.  There's also a non-nitro version, which is also very good.

7.  Old Irving Lucky Linny (Chicago, 6%)
I just had this one for the first time last week, and it's a solid Irish red from one of the many excellent craft breweries in Chicago.

8.  Rochester Mills Rochester Red (Auburn Hills, MI, 5.9%)
Though western and southwestern Michigan breweries rightly get a lot of love, there are also good beers made in other parts of Michigan, and Rochester Mills's Rochester Red is a formidable Irish red.

9.  Saugatuck Brewing Maggie's Irish Ale (Saugatuck, MI, 5.4%)
Saugatuck Brewing is one of the many great breweries in western Michigan, and their take on an Irish red is a good one.

10.  Smithwick's (Ireland, 4.5%)
First and foremost, this is pronounced "smiddicks," and not "smith wicks."  Please remember that when ordering.  This is kind of the standard bearer for Irish red ales, and it's made under the Guinness umbrella.  The original brewery is in Kilkenny, and though Smithwick's is no longer made there, I highly recommend the tour if you find yourself there. 

Honorable mention:  Burren Red (Ireland, 4.2%), Carrig Rowers Red Ale (Ireland, 4.3%), Church Street Crimson Clover (Itasca, IL, 5.5%), Franciscan Well Rebel Red (Ireland, 4.3%), Galway Hooker Blood Red Ale (Ireland, 4.3%), Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale (San Diego, 5.8%), Lough Gill Anderson's (Ireland, 4%), Macardle's (Ireland, 4%), Pearse Lyons Foxes Rock Red Ale (Ireland, 4.5%), Rye River The Brazen Red (Ireland, 4.4%), Sibling Revelry Red (Westlake, OH, 5.5%), Sullivan's Malting Red Ale (Ireland, 5%), Tighthead Scarlet Fire (Mundelein, IL, 5.6%)