AleSmith IPA

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

pretty copper pour with a great frothy head great retention. Piny floral aromas are first evidenced, as well as a more subtle but persistent sugary malted presence. A powerful flavor a tad on the thin side from what I like. Gets more rounded malty as the session goes on and evolves into a more nuanced and subtle brew. Hops are prevalent but I almost took them for granted towards the end for some reason or another. Easy to drink, almost dangerously so. Great beer.

Pretty excited to finally get this beer for my 450th rating; been looking to get my hands on this for over a year. Pours a deep copper with a full, fluffy head, slides down the side of the glass slowly to reveal excellent lacing. Aroma is not aggressive, but incredibly big and complex; lots of grapefruit, pine, biscuit, and massive shots of resin that hit you, reload, and hit you again. Flavor is similarly excellent, with an initial stage full of candied sugar, caramel malt, sweet citrus, and a bit of honey. This slips into a much more bitter and piney hop character, that was thick almost like sap, then moved to an intensely dry, resinous finish. A welcome tinge of alcohol mixes with the dryness at the finish. Absolutely world class IPA.

Dark copper with excellent white frothy white head that subsides into a tight sponge like texture and an excellent bit of lacing, Aroma is the proverbial ’works.’ Every hop facet is touched upon: an initial resin blast yields way to citrus, leaving a spruce forest in its wake. Flavor is an incredibly hard hitting but wholly quaffable arrangement of resinous spruce and pine with some citrus notes that are balanced nicely by a honed malt character containing biscuit, caramel, some burnt sugars, and vanilla. Palate is quite full for the style, leaving a sap like coating on the palate. A slight warming booziness sneaks in unexpectedly but is quite welcomed. My favorite of the style to date.

Opaque orange pour with a big, loose, white head. Bright citrus aroma with some floralness to it and hints of melon and honey. Loads of grapefruit, mango and melon flavor with a sweet toffee malt body. The mouthfeel is medium, sticky and loaded with cleasnsing carbonation.

Source: Bottle from KnB Glass: Bordeaux wine glass Aroma: Get a lot more fruity esters than I do hops. Feels more like an ESB to me. Appearance: Amber head, with soft looking white head. Flavor: Very fruity flavor, and more sweet than I care for. Lacking the hop punch I was hoping for. Palate: Really smooth and creamy. Overall: Not a bad beer, but not what I’m looking for in a San Diego IPA.

Bottle@home Apperance: AMber color with a creamy head and lots of sticky lacing. Nice! Aroma: Hops, Citric notes, Pine, Caramel, Exotic fruit. Flavor: Grass, Citric notes, Exotic fruit, Caramel, Hay, Pine. Palate: Nice bitterness but where is the malt body to back it up. Medium carbonation. This is a very high rated IPA and i can’t understand why. Maybe this bottle is too old or something but for me this is just a mediocre brew.

WOW! There is alot going on with beer. Pours golden with a nice head. Aromas of citrusy hops with a lemon/lime character. Flavor is a hint of mango and peach with a note of caramel for balance. Finishes with a very slight bitterness and a creamy texture. Overall the IPA ROCKS!

22 oz bomber courtesy as an extra from LilBeerDoctor. Thanks a bunch! Pours a orange amber, good haze, lively carbonation with offwhite thick moderate head that laces pretty well, dies to a decent layer. Aromas are grapfruity hops and citrusy zest, a touch of soap, faint pine and good to balance caramel and toffee malts. Initial is very bitter, hoppy citrus and pine towards the finish, soap and acidic hoppy bitterness. Body has sufficient malt, but pours on the hops in copious amounts. Strong bitterness, pine takes a further role, citrusy grapefruit and florals come in strong as well. Caramel and toffee malt underneath, but this beer is all about the hops. Finish goes a bit sweet, toffee and bread with a touch of mellow vanilla (As the malt bill is much more mellow than expected.. and very much appreciated.. I hate a cloying caramel bomb), with more fruity notes. The front end and middle are hop heavy. Slanted towards the hops overall, very piney. The head stays around near it’s original pour level, really quite amazing, laces ok. Hops linger on the palate very well, nothing too sweet, as lingering bread and vanilla seem to be the maltiness. Top shelf IPA. I’d put it in my top 3 so far. Cheers!