Irish Pale Ale

McSorley’s Brewery
Wilkes Barre, PA

Available: CT, GA, MI, MD, ME, NJ, NY, NC, PA, SC

Established in 1854, McSorley’s Old Ale House can boast of being New York City’s oldest continuously-operated saloon. Everyone from Abe Lincoln to John Lennon has passed through its swinging doors.

ABV: 5.3
ABW: 4.2
Color: reddish copper
Bitterness: 20
Original gravity: n/a

This beer is named for the McSorley's Old Ale House, although it has been a long time since beer was brewed at on site. Irish Pale Ale is brewed at Lion Brewing in Wilkes-Barr, PA. This beer appears to be a cross between a pale ale and an Irish red ale. It looks like a red ale, pouring a pretty copper color with a quickly fading white head. Plenty of carbonation carries the predominantly grainy sweetness of the beer—with a touch of hop bitterness right near the end. Not a complex beer, it probably would be enjoyable to quaff more than one during a visit to the historic saloon—or the backyard barbecue. Don't miss the little history bits printed on the back of each label, giving you a glimpse of this establishment’s colorful past.
- Lisa Morrison

This is a very quaffable, malty ale. Behind the enticing amber glow, there’s plenty of toffee character from aroma to finish, contrasting with floral hop and dried vine fruit flavors, with a crisp, clean bitterness for balance. If you're hunting for something remarkable or particularly exciting then you’d better look elsewhere, but for a good glug while watching the football game or a tasty wash-down for a slice of pizza, this little number does the business. We don't always need extreme.
- Jeff Evans

Lisa Morrison
Morrison, aka the Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever and wherever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.

Jeff Evans
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and one of Britain's best-known beer writers.

Comments are closed here.