Irish Cream Ale

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El Pistolero

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I'd never had a Cream Ale before, but seen them mentioned several times here, so I decided to try one. The only one I could find at the local store (which normally has a huge selection of everything) was a four-pack of cans of Wexford Irish Cream Ale. So I bought some, chilled it, and popped the top...kind of a weird sound...the usual hiss of gas escaping, but also kind of a whistle that almost sounded like gas being sucked it. :confused:

Anyway, poured it in a glass and tasted it...first impression is it's totally flat! :( Second impression is that it doesn't taste that bad, but what's with the flat? Then I glance at the can, and I notice this "Warning: This can contains a pressurised widget. Do Not Tamper with Even When Empty" :eek:

So, before I open these other three beers (each apparently containing a widget that I shouldn't tamper with), could somebody tell me please: Is this (the one I already opened and drank) a bad beer, or are all Cream Ales supposed to be flat (and contain widgets)? TIA for your help.
 
The classic Irish ale, well worth tracking down, is Kilkenny. This is a reddy-brown in colour, smooth as silk. The carbonation on a typical Widget-can beer is completely different from the force foamy garbage we're used to in our Budweiser. If you pour the stuff, you'll usually get a decent head, but the actual beer will never have much "sparkle". It takes a few to get used to, but once you do, you'll never return to foamy "yellow beer" beer, save for the occassional Corona or Heineken when the mood is right.

Try to smell the malty aspect of the Irish ale... much less hoppy and astringent than yellow beer - almost sweet and woodsy. Mouthfeel is usually thick and smooth, with a nice long finish, sometimes with traces of honey or a certain woodiness. This is totally different stuff than American "Beer".
 
This Beer thing...there seems to be more to it than meets the eye. Variations of variations...Nuances upon nuances. Once again, I feel like such a green bean. :(

But, I'm sure having fun learning :)
 
get a big glass, pop the can and pour it all into the glass... watch it settle like guinness does when poured on tap. then it will taste malty and good :)
 
That's exactly what I did, and it tasted fine...once I got over the shock of no sparkle.
 
One of the things that Sasquatch didn't say is that the widget is filled with nitrogen and that it is released when you open the can (or bottle.) Those were the strange noises you heard. Since is nitogenated and not carbonated it seems flat at first, but in truth you only taste the beer. When you carbonate a beer you change the taste at least slightly because you can taste carbon dioxide. I think nitrogen is more neutral. There are alot of English/Irish ales that are nitro based, Guiness, Bodington's, and Speckled Hen to name a few.
I find it odd that the beer you had was called an Irish Cream ale, because Cream Ale is an American creation. In fact there are only two beers that are truely American: Steam Beer and Cream Ale. And I just brewed up a steam beer yesterday. What a great country.
 
beergod35 said:
There are alot of English/Irish ales that are nitro based, Guiness, Bodington's, and Speckled Hen to name a few.

I just had a sixer of Speckled Hens (bottles), and they seemed carbonated like every other beer...is it just the ones in cans that use nitro?
 
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