AleSmith My Bloody Valentine

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

Growler… Clear crimson ale with a mid-sized, creamy, khaki head. Fantastic retention and thick lacework. The nose is chocolate and caramel malts intermingling with grapefruit, black tea, light pine and a suggestion of cat pee. Medium-bodied with lively carbonation. Well-balanced, with extremely high drinkability. Hints at cocoa and caramel with remarkably restrained pine and grapefruit essences. Short, crisp, clean finish. Fantastic session ale. One of the best, if not the very best, amber ales I’ve experienced. I could drink it all night… and live to tell about it. Huge thanks to Beerlando for skipping an Orlando Magic game in order to share this beauty with the Orlando Crew and we visitors from Vero Beach and West Palm Beach!

(Draught, Stuffed Sandwich) Pours a murky dark brownish red body with a medium-sized off-white head. Aroma of light roastiness and spices. Flavor of malt, mild hops, light fruit, and spices.

Draft at O’Briens: Dark ruby chocolate color, nose of citrusy fruity hops, a bit of raspberry and light roast. Nice blend of creamy hop and fruity flavors. Nice body and thick mouthfeel. Balanced. Yum!

Sampled last year at the brewery. It is a decent red, malty and strong. It isn’t the best I’ve seen from Alesmith but its good. I look forward to tasting the 2007 vintage this coming February.

Thanks to Homerwantsbeer for sharing a growler. This brew is a mostly clear dark reddish-brown color with a thin off-white head that diminishes steadily. Rings of lacing on the glass. The aroma is hoppy for an Amber, with notes of sweet malt and nuts in the background. Medium-bodied with a flavor pretty much how I would expect a hopped-up Amber from Alesmith to taste. Flavors of piney hops, caramel malt, fruit and nuts are all there. The finish is equally hoppy and malty with a lingering bitterness. My kind of session beer overall.

On tap at the BA Decadence release. Pours with a hazy brown body and a light brown head. Aroma is awesome with hops (great profile, but hard to pick out individual hops on this one), caramel and brown sugar. Taste is malty with brown sugar, caramel, toffee and a floral hoppy finish. Lively carbonation with a dry finish.

Dark amber with a thin head. Light citrus aroma with caramel malt. Mild caramel malt sweetness, with toffee, toast, and a medium hoppy finish. Well done amber ale. A little different than most.

At O’Brien’s. The beer pours to a dark brassy/brown body with a thin off-white head. The aroma is light. Toasty/roasty malts and supposed hops (I surely don’t smell the dry hopping). The flacor is malty, toasted toffee, smooth yet very light hops. Robust malts, tobacco. The palate is a lingering tartness/bitterness in the back of the throat. This is one of the weakest Alesmith products I’ve ever had, or I simply wasn’t in the mood to have it. :(