Smithwick's Experience

Great place to visit! Very knowledgeable and funny tour guide - Barry. Definitely highly recommended. Delicious pint on the end of the tour. If you in Kilkenny you must visit.

You must do this. We walked in and got a spot on a tour at noon. We brought our 5year old with us (kids <6 are free) and even he enjoyed most parts of it. Our tour guide, Simon, was absolutely excellent - full of knowledge and very well spoken on the history and story of Smithwick's. He made the experience really phenomenal. At the end, the barrel room for tasting was really great - comfortable and great service. I HIGHLY recommend this experience - and keep an eye out for the pamphlets with the 10% off QR code! They're all over Kilkenny (and ireland in general).

100% do this. Masters of Ale experience is a must do. Morgan was our tour guide - very knowledgeable and fierce (good) funny! And Barry showed us the ropes of pulling pints. Mine was....questionable at best!

This experience is well worth the stop if you are in Kilkenny. Our tour guide was fantastic (i feel terrible i have forgotten her name) and did an amazing job leading us through the history and science that is Smithwick's. The tour is very interactive and has a great production value. It is super engaging and interacting which was great as it was our 3rd brewery tour on our vacation. I highly recommend checking out the cream ale at the end of your tour. Absolutely delicious!!!

It’s smaller than it’s bigger brother Guinness and very likeable. Interesting setup and a must if you like beer. Ending the tour with a tasting. Can’t miss

A solid tour of Smithwick's in Kilkenny - given by Daragh. He was both entertaining and informative! The history was very interesting, and the "picture room" was very cool. Literally moving pictures - and quite well done. The tasting experience, of the ingredients used in making beer, was a nice touch. And the beers afterwards, in the taproom, were well received and poured. Worth the visit, indeed!

Great tour of an iconic brewery. It’s on the more “experience” end of tours, so more history and well polished exhibits. Tour guide Niamh was excellent, and answered all of our difficult and ridiculous questions. If you’re in Kilkenny you have to do it, well worth it. And definitely upgrade for the flight of beer.

Nice staff but tour leaves a bit to be desired. Very quick - not that much to actually see. Few too many screens involved too. Would have liked to learn a bit more about the actual history of the family and brand. Have to say however Chris was very friendly and accommodating. Perhaps better in the summer time.

This experience is well worth the stop if you are in Kilkenny. Our tour guide was fantastic (i feel terrible i have forgotten her name) and did an amazing job leading us through the history and science that is Smithwick's. The tour is very interactive and has a great production value. It is super engaging and interacting which was great as it was our 3rd brewery tour on our vacation. I highly recommend checking out the cream ale at the end of your tour. Absolutely delicious!!!

Highly recommend checking this out if you're visiting the area!! The tour was very informative, and our tour guide was amazing! I loved learning about the history of this brewery. You get a free drink at the end, and are also given the option to upgrade if you want to turn yours into a flight instead!

Great spot to stop in for Smithwick's beer and retail shop. You can take a guided tour, but we skipped that part and went straight for the beer. Darren was our bartender and he was very friendly and gave us some other fun Kilkenny recommendations. It's pretty much always drizzling so this is a fine place for a dry rest!

Really cool brewery tour/experience in Kilkenny! We sat in their outdoor patio/garden while we waited for our tour to start and then were brought back. Our tour guide was very charismatic and was fun to listen to. They really made the whole thing pretty unique with "moving" pictures and a cool walk through with the history of Smithwick's starting in a room built to feel and look like a cellar! At the end you get to redeem a pint included in the tour so you can choose between their different ales and a cider! Super tasty and fresh. Glad I got to try it!

WOW! We took in the full experience at Smithwick and had an amazing time. The beer is good, the service is excellent and we felt immersed in Irish hospitality. This is a must-see while in Kilkenny.

Excellent tour of Smithwick's. Great gift shop as well! Everyone was friendly and it was really cool learning about a great tasting beer.

If you are in this lovely small town, check out this fantastic local brewery! The staff is friendly, and you can try all their excellent beers on tap in the back bar room. They also have a lovely shop with great merchandise!

Chris was an awesome tour guide! He was very knowledgeable in both the history and brewing process. After doing this and the Guinness experience, I can definitely say this was better! It felt like a more personal experience. Definitely worth a visit during your time in Kilkenny!

We had a very memorable, educational and fun experience here at Smithwick's! We opted for the tour - Master of Ale and we were so happy that we chose this option. We learned so much about our favorite beer. The information was extensive and told the story of Kilkenny and Smithwick's in an unique and clever way. Highly recommend this experience when visiting Kilkenny Ireland. Having taken both tours, we can say that this particular tour was defininatly worth the extra time and money. The added knowledge, interactive opportunities, and education on the different styles, tastes, smells and textures of beer were shared in way that was friendly, fun and informative. Compliments to the entire Staff! Everyone we encountered or even if we didn't encounter, were smiling, happy and absolutely LOVING their job! Simon (we think we remember correctly!), your master work has paid off, you were a pleasure on this tour. We wish you all the best! Thank you to our gift shop worker who had a key role in helping us acquire a very special souvenir. Also, the improvements on this experience and location were phenomenal! Looking forward to joining you again next time we are in town!

We got a flight of beer and tasted a great variety. Bathrooms were very clean, the experience is quite interesting.

I love Smithwick's beer and being able to visit Kilkenny and hearing about the history is well worth the hour tour and beer at the end!

This place is amazing. We visit Kilkenny and did the Smitchwick's experience due to it being my favorite beer. What an amazing tour and facility that have built. The have an immersed experience with state of the art technology to tell their story. If you visit Kilkenny and want a great history and beer of course visit this place. Our tour guide Darren gave us a lot of history, a lot of viable information and some great places to eat. Darren also connected the story of Smithwick's to the local history. Great time great experience 100% recommend.

A must visit when you're in beautiful Kilkenny. Enjoying a cool pint of Smithwick's Irish Ale is the perfect way to celebrate place and history. The visit was made all the better by a fun and friendly staff. Cheers!

What a difference! Yesterday we visited Guinness where it seemed as if there were 1,000 guests on each of the building's six floors. Smithwick was smaller, a lot quieter, and truth be told... a lot more enjoyable to visit. Our tour guide walked us through the brewing process as there was one room dedicated to each step along the way. A history lesson on the company was greatly enhanced by some wondrous wizardry in the form of talking portraits of the Smithwick family. They seemed to come to life in front of our very eyes. Our tour led us to the tasting room where we had a choice of one pint of any Smithwick Product. I went for the Smithwick Red and it was delicious. Nice job, Smithwick. Thanks for a very fun time and some great beer.

Awesome Smithwick's Experience! Tip- you don't pronounce the w in Smithwick's name so it's pronounced Smith'icks. The tour was fascinating as I love history and the Irish have a complicated story all the way back to when Christ was born. Smithwick goes back to the year 1200AD where monks formulated the Ale. Our tour guide was Alan and he was excellent! He kept us interested, engaged during the entire tour. The overall tour was about an hour but time goes by quickly and before you know it you are sitting at the bar using your ticket to get a free beverage of do a tasting of the Pale, Ale and Red. I am not a beer drinker but I liked Smithwick's Red beer the best. It also has the least about of alcohol. Definitely visit Smithwick's when in Kilkenny!

The experience was a great combination of fun and education - so much more than images on a wall and lectures. We got to see, smell, and touch throughout the tour which resulted in interaction with fellow visitors. This made our time enjoying our pint at the end of the tour much more fun as we chatted, helped take group photos, and the employees stopped by to chat.

Great place! Enjoyed the tour. Jorg was amazing! Enjoy the beers. Love the red ale and the Kilkenny. One of my favorites!!!!

I would recommend checking out the tasting room but skip the $14 tour. It was an hour long but most of the tour was video stops along the way. Our guide was knowledgeable but didn't share much. They aren't brewing onsite anymore so the tour takes you around a small area of decommissioned machinery. The history is interesting but a quick Wikipedia in the taproom would be sufficient for anyone that's seen a brewery before.

We enjoyed the tour of the old Smithwick's.brewery and soon discovered that it had long ago been purchased by Guinness and moved more recently to St. James Place in Dublin. To keep a consistent flavor with a different water source, the mineral content of Kilkenny (hard water) is recreated in Dublin. You'll learn this and more at the experience! It was also interesting to see the Smithwicks still practicing law next door. What a family history.

Fantastic tour! Great use of modern technology to teach us about the history of the brewery. And you can't beat a few sample in the end!

Nothing like a Smithwicks! This is a fun tour if you happen to be in the area. We hit it just right, no tour buses or big crowds. It's a cute town w nicer shops and good pubs too. The tour guide was very friendly, informative and patient. It's about an hour. Lots of history and really informative. But note, the beer is not made here but in Dublin which I found kind of lame. Too, Smithwicks is pasteurized so all the neat facts about the original being made from mineral rich hard water from the Wicklow Moutains kinda doesn't apply once you've boiled it. But, it's still good beer w a smooth flavor. The pint at the end is of course the highlight where they stress that it should be served "White & tight". The lounge is nice, relaxed w wifi. Good touristy shop w Guiness & Smithwicks stuff too.

One of my favorite experiences in Ireland! It was so cool to hear about the History of the beer but also the family! Amazing people work here and they go out of their way to make your experience memorable. The beer is great (highly recommend the Blonde, you can only get it in Ireland). I think my favorite room was when we learned about the entire Smithwick's family and how they started this incredible journey! (If you have free time go to St. Canice Cathedral, there you will find where the Smithwick's have been laid to rest). A group of us, stumbled upon the beautiful Cathedral and found the families headstone. It was a beautiful way to bring this whole experience altogether. Kilkenny itself has a place in my heart, Smithwick's is an added bonus. I will definitely return!

I enjoyed the tour very much. Our tour guide Oscar was quite friendly, informative, and fun. This is a great tour for beer enthusiasts and those who like to learn more about the process. The audio visuals were fantastic. I also loved the "aroma lab" that allowed us to use our sense of smell for the different pieces of the brewing process.

This was a very cool experience! It was a rainy day and I felt inspired after having a Smithwicks red the night before- so glad we stopped! We showed up 5 minutes before the tour and it worked out perfectly. The guide was knowledgeable and it was nice that the group wasn't too large, I didn't feel like I was being pushed through. She gave great information and answered questions, threw in jokes and it was a lot of fun. We learned quite a bit about their process and then, of course, got to the bar at the end! With a ticket you got either a pint or a paddle sampler so of course I got that. We also did the Guinness tour and I have to say I enjoyed the smaller feel of this one, as well as the beers!

This was a fun, interactive tour. We had a small tour group which made it very intimate. We had a 4 year old along and were worried she'd be bored - but she had a great time with all the interactive bits. The tour was about an hour, and our guide, Chloe, was great. At the end we got a pint and the little one was offered a soda. It would have been perfect if only they still brewed on site.

Smithwick's is no longer brewed at this location. So your tour is really a bunch of videos talking about today's process and the history of the beer. While it keeps your attention, it's very Disney feeling. The tour is pretty pricey as well. The best part of the tour was the pint of beer at the end. And truth be told, the beer does taste better here than on tap in America. There's not a whole lot to do in Kilkenny so if you want to kill some time, this place is not awful. It'a just touristy and overpriced.

Great place to see how Smithwick's is brewed. Cool quick tour with talking pics and great info. At the end you're given a pint and it tastes excellent. I never thought I'd be here and now that I am I'm so glad I took the time to come and take the tour.

My partner and I were going to take this tour but after we had bought our tickets, 2 families with YOUNG children also bought tickets and joined us in the waiting area. These kids were screaming their heads off and hand to god if we had taken the tour we wouldn't have been able to enjoy a second of it. There is no reason a brewery should allow children under 13 to tour it, especially not if they are already screaming toddlers. If you're a parent and you want to learn about Irish beer, get a f**king sitter or stay the f**k home. I give it 4 stars because of how accommodating the front staff was in returning our tickets and being very understanding about the whole thing. The exhibits in the lobby are very interesting, including a window in the ground where you can see a trickling stream that is apparently the original water source since the founding of the brewery. Check it out but watch out for little monsters.

Not as good as Guinness Storehouse, but hard to compete with that operation including the sky lounge view. This unassuming place is worth a quick 1.5 hour visit in between castle viewing or lunching. Sure it's not an operating brewery any more, but it is educational nonetheless with over 300+ years of beer making behind them, this is a dedication and museum to the Smithwicks name and brewery skills. You can save time and monies and avoid the tour and go straight into the tasting room for a paddle/flight is their beers. I truly really only like the original Irish red ale. The blonde and Pale Ale are just okay to me. The staff are friendly and they have loads of logo souvenirs for those that need them.

Best brewery tour I've been to. And not to long just in case you get antsy to drink the beer.

My husband and I were in Kilkenny on vacation and decided that the Smithwick's tour was on our "must do" list. We showed up for an early tour (I think it started around 10am), and there were only 6 people in our group, which we loved. We tour guide was knowledgeable and informative, and clearly has a deep love for all things Smithwick! The tour itself is very interactive, and employs both story telling from the guide as well as some really cool videos and a very fun room of talking portraits. You'll learn all about the process of brewing from start to finish, as well as the history of Smithwicks and the monks who originally started brewing there. At the end of our tour Mr. Smithwick was walking through the area where we were enjoying our DELICIOUS pints of Smithwick's, and he posed for a picture with one of his employees for me. I got the sense that they are all like family at this brewery. I'll be a loyal drinker of Smithwick's because of this really wonderful tour and brewery experience. I highly recommend that you go here!

A tour that is worth its price, though I must recommend that you purchase your tickets online to save 2 euros. Use these savings to upgrade the tasting to a full flight of thier three beers. The 45 minute tour tells the story of a brewery owned by a single family throughout multiple centuries, only to eventually cave into coorporate greed and sell out. When I visited the brewery, they had 3 ales, the classic red, the blonde, and lastly, the pale ale. I suggest you drink them in that order, FYI. Overall, the experience is worth the buy but a fully-staffed bar would have been welcomed to allow for the purchase of an extra pint or two.

Anna, our tour guide was a delight. Well informed and very engaging. Later on, when tasting Smithwick's Ale, Simon was such a delight. Full of personality and historical information. Would highly recommend this tour. Great time!!!

A fun tour followed by a nice pint. I still wish on these tours, ie. Guinness, that you got to see the actual breweries.

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, it was a tad heavy on the gimmicks. If you already have a good knowledge of beer making you can still get a ton of history. They are almost done with a new tasting room, but if the tent is still up don't worry they have plenty of heaters.

Great beer and great people. They tried really hard to make this brewery tour amazing. Only problem is they tried too hard. I'd rather seem super historical basement of where they brewed beer. Instead we got a very technically advanced tour. It was nice - don't get me wrong. For such an amazing historic placeit just wasn't what I was expecting. Our tour guide was great though. A forth generation worker of the brewery. I wouldn't say avoid it. But if you want to visit an historic place and have a great beer - stop by amd avoid a tour. The paddle flight was a great deal! $8 for 3 good sized little glasses.

This is not a brewery- tour, this is brewery- Disneyland. Nothing in that tour is real. We walked through a video- animated house, guided by a gaping tour- guide. I am German and I had some brewery tours before... Sorry guys, this was crab. What a bummer! One more thing: Don't pay extra for an extra tasting paddle. Save the money and spend it in the next pub.

Short and sweet, plus the free beer at the end. Tour guide is cool. Plus the prices for the merchandise are much more affordable than Guinness storehouse.

A really insightful, fun and entertaining tour. Our guide Pat had the perfect combination humour and knowledge to keep our attention throughout. The quirky features of the tour including talking portraits and sofas made from bathtubs make it unique and unlike any other brewery tour. Well worth the trip to Kilkenny!

Everything the Guinness tour wasn't, the Smithwick tour is. Unlike the Guinness tour you are in a group with a guide who takes you though each room. Each room is filled with cinematic experience videos, and best of all hands on activities. I had fun spinning handles and mixing stuff. The tour guide was wonderful. She had a great personality and was super knowledgable. The only thing I wish I could have done was pour my own pint.

I enjoyed this tour much more than the Guinness one. We walked right up, bought our tickets and were on the tour in 5 minutes. Our tour guide was really knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. The interactive pictures of the old founding fathers is pretty cool. At the end of the tour you can choose from 4 different beer types for your free pint. Unlike Guinness, where you can only have the original.

This beer is one of my favorites, and having traveled all of the way to the Emerald Isle, I was dying to take the tour but they were booked for the remainder of the day. If I only knew I would have planned ahead. Rumor has it they are also closing this original location, and moving it to another location. Sad, because it closes another chapter in history...

Had a great tour today at Smithwick's! Tour guide, Craig, was excellent - providing laughs and was very knowledgeable about the brewing process. I've been to numerous brewery tours and this one was very different. Highly recommend!

The brewery tour and experience here is much more intimate than at Guinness. We had an extremely knowledgeable tour guide that showed us every part of the beer making process and taught us a detailed history of Smithwicks. You even get to taste and smell the results at different stages, so it is pretty interactive. To top it all off, you get to finish the trip with a pint and have the opportunity to try some of their varieties that aren't available yet in the states!

This was a fun and interactive history of how Smithwick's was started and how they have made their beer for centuries. Our tour guide, Peter, was hilarious, knowledgeable, and did a good job of interacting with the guests. I would definitely recommend going to it, as it was one of our favorite parts of the trip.

Super! Worth the trip to Kilkenny. I took a Dublin Coach Bus there for 10 euro and really enjoyed myself. The great thing is that it is the height of the tourist season and there were no lines! That is the beauty of this place over the Guinness tour. The tour is very professional and the tour guides are knowledgeable. It is clear that the Smithwick name is well revered in this town. Yes, the best part is the pint at the end. Sooooo good! I regret not paying the extra 3 euro to taste all 3. I just didn't think I could drink that much all in one sitting in the middle of the day. Oh well, next time.

Fun tour, great history on the beer. Our tour guy was animated and really into his job. First you go through the history of the beer, then the history of the family and then how they make the beer. It's more like a museum with interactive parts (like the Harry Potter portraits). It was awesome to get the free pint at the end of the tour, but it kinda sucked that you didn't actually get to tour the working factory like you do at the smaller breweries / distilleries. If you are looking for something fun and animated, this it cute. If you are looking to actually see beer being made from start to finish, turn around and go somewhere else.

The tour guide, Peter, was entertaining. The tour itself was just OK, except for the last holograms and talking pictures. It was a nice history lesson, but I really wanted to see brewing going on. Next time I'll just go to a pub and order a flight of beers.

Highlight of our entire trip to Ireland so far! This is a real awesome tour that provides a bit of history on both the land and abbey that was in the location prior to the brewery, history on both the Smithwicks family and Kilkenny and this was the first brewery tour that really helped me understand how beer is made. While Guinness was cool, and I definitely recommend that you go there, Smithwicks is significantly better. It is much more informative, entertaining, and fun! Definitely go here! I love Kilkenny and this just makes it even better!