The city of beer, Kilkenny in Ireland, here are some curiosities and something to do in Kilkenny for a trip of taste and beer, but above all for a low cost holiday.
You know why Kilkenny is it called the “city of beer”? I, honestly, until recently no, but just spend some time there to understand it. IS from the 13th century that beer is produced here and were the Franciscan friars of St. Francis Abbey that started this tradition.
In the same place, over time, a real brewery was built which incorporated the old church and in 1710 became a Smithwick property, a name that every Irishman in the last 300+ years has come to know well. Centuries of ups and downs have brought us one of the most popular beers on the island.
Fans will find bread for their teeth in Kilkenny: an unmissable stop is the "Smithwick's Experience”, A relatively recent attraction that occupies the spaces of the old brewery (production has been moved to Dublin since 2013) and which allows you to retrace its history and understand how beer production works.
Open 7 days a week, the museum is located in Parliament St. and can be visited for a maximum of € 7, but I recommend you visit the website, where you can book online and save 12% on the entrance ticket. Obviously during the visit you will be there offer a pint of beer!
For us Italians, however, the name Smithwick's does not sound familiar, Kilkenny is better known.
To clarify: Smithwick's is the name of the brewery, its product par excellence the Irish red ale Smithwick's Draft, widespread in Ireland, flanked by Kilkenny Cream Ale, always red but creamier, strong and bitter, widely diffused in Italy; recently the family has been joined by the Smithwick's Pale Ale, the "light" of the house.
In 2014 a new micro-brewery was inaugurated that wants to bring back to the city the traditional brewing production that had been interrupted the year before with the relocation of the Smithwick's factory to the capital. There Costellos It is an Irish red ale and can be found in some pubs in the center.
Of course the best places to enjoy a good pint and learn about local beers are pubs and, worthy of its name, there are dozens of them in Kilkenny. Only in Parliament St. there are five of them, one in a row to the other, among them there is The Pumphouse, one of my favorites: black facade, lit fireplace, soft atmosphere, wooden and marble tables, billiards, live music every Sunday and Wednesday night, as soon as you sit down you feel at home.
Two pubs further on is located The Brewery Corner, blue on the outside, is linked to the O'Hara's brewery in nearby Carlow (since you are in the area, if you love beer, why not visit this too? On the website you will find all the information about it.) and specializes in craft beers.
To enjoy beer, good food and music, an alternative is the pub Billy Byrnes, located in John St. also one of the places where I spend evenings with friends: welcoming, with live concerts and various initiatives such as Wednesday cinema.
I conclude by recommending a “classic” for Kilkenny, the oldest pub in the city Kytelers Inn, with a mysterious past, linked to witchcraft and the story of Dame Alice Kytler and Petronella. Located on St. Kieran's St., it also features live music, a heated beer garden and traditional Irish food.
Images: Ieisergu, Canadian Pacific, Lynn F, Andrew Holmes, Marcuss Meissner, Phil Haber Photography LLC
