Irish red ale, also known as red ale or Irish ale, is a style of pale ale that is brewed using a moderate amount of kilned malts and roasted barley, giving the beer its red colour. Its strength typically ranges from 3.8% to 4.8% alcohol by volume, although some craft varieties can be as high as 6%.

Smithwick's is an Irish red ale-style beer. Smithwick's brewery was founded in Kilkenny in 1710 by John Smithwick and run by the Smithwick family of Kilkenny until 1965, when it was acquired by Guinness, now part of Diageo. The Kilkenny brewery was shut down in 2013 and production of all Smithwick's and Kilkenny branded beers moved to Dublin; parts of the old brewery were later converted into a "visitor experience".