Kilkenny is the first Irish beer I have reviewed. It was stored in my in-laws’ fridge for an undetermined amount of time, and they needed someone to get rid of it. The beer itself was full-bodied and delicious. I really liked it.

This beer can contains a widget that creates perfect foam when you open the can. If you aren’t familiar with the widget, it is a plastic ball that shoots nitrogen into the beer, presumably triggered by the change in air pressure when you open the can. Are you kidding me? It’s freaking amazing. I even cut the can open just to take a look at the thing… and it looked, um, like a plastic ball.

I didn’t have the balls (haha) to cut the actual ball open. Cutting things in half makes me a little nervous, ever since I nearly lopped my finger off dissecting a toothpaste pump with a Ginsu knife in 1985. I also didn’t visualize a potential satisfaction, such as the old days when cutting open a golf ball gave you the reward of a giant rubber band that unraveled and caused the ball to bounce magically all over the table creating a beautiful mess.

No mess here, this is a smooth pale ale with a very nice head. You might say it is just a little on the boring side, but in some ways that is good because it has a smooth and refreshing taste for a pale ale. This was served chilled, so tasting it warm may unearth some more intriguing flavours. Unfortunately the major weakness for this drink is the alcohol strength, meaning I can only give this beer a 4.3 out of 5. For what it is, it gets full marks, but it gets a severe deduction due to the reduced alcohol content.