AleSmith IPA

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
San Diego, California USA

One of the best single IPAs ever, poured orange with lasting white head. Tasted of lots of floral and citrus hops and a perfect caramel malt finish with a lasting bitter taste.

Original review date 5/1/2009... Man, I didn’t get to try this in San Diego last summer so I was wicked happy to see it in a trade. Served up in a Portsmouth snifter... Pours a golden...and I mean GOLDEN...honey color. Very pure and clean looking. First pour doesn’t have much head to speak of but we’ll see what happens. Not too much visible carbonation, but the color on this one alone is a treat. Oh yeah...the Ruby Red grapefruit hop presence is excellent. There’s a moderate yet unobtrusive sweet honey malt backbone that balances this out quite nicely though...but does the collar match the cuff? Let’s see... Well, there’s a slight sweet honey viscosity to this but it’s not heavy or overbearing. The citrus/grapefruit hops really stand out nicely without a bitter rind sensation. Just tangy, succulent grapefruit. Maybe not as oily as some hop bombs but it carries enough viscosity. This stuff is top-notch. Even with a tad of viscosity and sweetness the finish is a little dry...and that’s a good thing. Crisp and clean, no caffeine...maybe a little rind bitterness shows up on the finish but that’s just fine with me. This wraps up in excellent fashion. A little bit of booziness is the door that hits you on the ass on the way out. Tough to compare to something else. Maybe a Ruination with more of a purity of hop purpose. A little less balanced than Ruination but enjoyable as hell. The booziness emerges a little more with warmth but that’s OK. This is a well-oiled machine.

Aroma of citrus and grapefruit. The appearance is yellow with a small head. The flavour is dry with hints of grapefruit, citrus and soil. A very good IPA but it was not a taste sensation as I had expected.

0.65 l bottle at PBF. Hazy copper-apricot color with creamy head. Sweetish aroma with juicy tropical fruity hops, mango, apricot, honey and grass. Bittersweet flavor with juicy tropical fruity hops, lemon, mango, pine and toffee. Fairly carbonated slightly astringent palate. Full bodied. Very tasty, there are better IPAs though.

22oz bottle. Pours a rich a amber color with a decent off white head. Super crazy grapefruit aroma. You can definitely tell what hops they used in those one. Flavor is all hops and just enough malt to hang said hops on. This is a west coast ipa at its finest. Citrus, peach, mango all over the place. Some light spice and long moderately bitter finish. Non existant alcohol. Terrific.

Bottled at PBF. Hazy pale amber, mid sized head. Intense shampoo-like grapefruit aroma. Dryish with slim winegum-like cookie malt. Very hoppy and very American beer tat gets in your face immediately. Lots of character and massive bitterness. Pretty awesome as far as I’m concerned.

A golden beer with a two finger head. Aroma is piney, fruity, citrus & great. Taste is a little bitter but not much with all the flavors the aroma has to offer. I can see why this is currently #1.

Pours a medium orange with a huge, out-of-control head. I can smell the hops from over a foot away. Aroma also has a little flora, slight perfume, grapefruit in abundance. Creamy aroma too. Yum, flavor is also very creamy for an IPA, thick malt base, a little sweet with light fruit, peaches. Finishes just a little bitter. Palate is medium, not too much carbonation. Overall, very good.