AleSmith Horny Devil

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
San Diego, California USA

Golden pour with smallish head. Light aroma of apples. Hints of dried fruit and apple, almost a touch of ginger. Nice crisp finish.

Orange pour with little head into a snifter. At first the aroma is bitter apple cider and pineapple juice, but then settles into all out pineapple. The taste is pineapple upside down cake in a beer. Just complete and straightforward desert cake. It’s really quite impressive, although it would be too much to finish the whole bottle yourself, it becomes quite rich like a good desert should.

2007-09-14, 7-4-7-3-14=35
Cloudy light amber color. The aroma is very sweet, with yeast, fruitness, very pure yeast, too much for me. Good body strength, very sweet, the warmth shows me it must be quite alcoholic, good fruity malt flavor, good bitterness. Overall a good beer, but the yeast is just too much.

2006-01-27, 8-4-8-4-15=39
Hazy gold color. Malty (both aroma and taste), strong, warming, sweet, balancing bitterness, light aroma of dried fruits. Good; no thrill.

750mL bottle. Slightly hazy dark orange with a thin film of off-white head. Heavy coriander with complex peach and pineapple esters in the aroma. Also doughy malt and alefruit. Syrupy sweetness with high fruity ester and spice flavors. Thick malt, raisins, and heavy alcohol flavors in the finish. Mouthfeel is heavy, thick and hot.

Aroma:very fruity orange... Appearance:very hazy-orange,light head... Flavor:very fruity orange,alcohol....

Bottle says 11%. Gold/copper/amber. Small, fizz, off white head quickly disappears. Aroma of rich malt, caramel, yeast, fruits, coriander, candi sugar, spices, subtle alcohol. Some noticable hops as it approaches room temp. There is almost no carbonation to this brew. Only a small hiss as I opened it, bad seal? Flavor matches the aroma, adding some vinous notes, also. Complex. Palate is improving as the beer warms. Started out thin as water and flat as wine at about 50 degrees F. Now at about 60 or 62 (the room is about 65) it’s gained a little weight and a bit of carbonation. Has also gained a much more prominent hop presence. Don’t put this brew in the fridge. You have to chew this brew. The chew improves the palate immensely. More body, more carbonation. Dry, alcoholic finish. At room temperature it’s an excellent apertif or digestive. I hope they were going for one of those two. Or, I got a bad bottle. The commercial description saying "good head formation and retention" and "appealing Brussels lace" has me concerned. I’ll re-rate if I find a better bottle.

Intense beer. Hearty aroma, clear golden color, no head. The taste and consistence is similar to rich sherry. Sweet taste with carmel, raisins and slight sweet alcohol background. Share this with 2 or 3 friends because a little goes a long way. You might be able to fool a wine drinker by labeling this a sherry.

This bottle says 11%abv. Pours flat and looks like apple juice. Hey, it even smells like apple juice, with some pear, light caramel, alcohol and spicy hops (Saaz?). Sweet and fruity in flavor, again with pear and apple, also corriander. It has some floral and peppery retronasal notes. Finishes smooth with a little alcohol burn but not much bitterness. Nice body. It could use some carbonation and I assume my bottle is not reflective of the beer if the commercial description is correct. Decent beer but simple.