Category: General

I’d marked Smithwick’s 300 year anniversary with a tour of the plant in Kilkenny late last year and there’s more news with the launch of a new brand, Smithwick’s Pale Ale. Launched this week, Pale Ale is craft brewed in individual batches using: aromatic Amarillo hops, 100% pale ale malt and the prized Smithwick’s yeast. It’s been nine months in development, is golden in colour and has a distinct full flavour.

I went along to Doheny & Nesbitt’s to chat to Billy Power, Smithwick’s Global Governance Director, who explained how Smithwick’s is well up in on and off license sales in the last 18 months. He said now is the right time for such a craft launch and it will be available in 350 outlets over the next couple of weeks (list of pubs here). I enjoyed the few taster pints we had with the distinction that the flavour was consistent right through to the last gulp. You can find out more on the Smithwick’s Facebook page and the Smithwick’s site.

On my recent trip to Manchester for the United game, we visited the Arndale centre and saw this love wall. Manchester City Council came up with the ‘I <3 MCR’ campaign in the wake of the riots a few weeks ago. One guy decided to post a positive message post-it on this wall in the shopping centre and others did the same with Arndale endorsing it when they saw what it was becoming. There’s loads of posters and stickers around the city with branding as seen on Flat Eric below. What a great way to turn the negative publicity around:

I’m a big fan of the Electric Picnic and I’m hoping to go this year too. If you’d like to go, ya might want to check out the ESB Electric Ireland Tweet Hunt which kicks off tomorrow. The competition at www.facebook.com/electricireland gives would be festival-goers the chance to win tickets to EP using a Facebook App with Live Google Map and combined tweets to reveal five secret locations around Ireland where tickets are hidden.

The Tweet Hunt begins on Monday 22nd August at 9am and ends on Friday 26th August. Each day one lucky person has the chance to win five tickets for this year’s Electric Picnic. That’s five days, five winners and five tickets each! Lucky winners will receive the tickets at the secret locations from ESB Electric Ireland’s Sparkheads (those lads above), who will be roaming the country for the week.

To find the secret locations, would be festival-goers simply need to tweet #Sharetheenergy. The more the hashtag is tweeted, the closer the map will zoom into where the tickets are hidden. Then, a special code word is revealed along with the exact details of the secret location where the Sparkheads are waiting with the tickets.

Once Tweeters have the location details they can use the mobile version of the map and the race begins as they make their way to the location to find the hidden Sparkhead for real. The first person to find the Sparkhead, and tell him the daily code word will receive five tickets to Electric Picnic.

I really like the idea behind this campaign and the five tickets per person is quite generous. I might see ya there so. 🙂