AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

Bottle. Pours a hazy amber with a large white head. Aroma has some caramel but is donimated by the hoppy citrus smell. The flavor starts sweet but never really has much hop bitterness. has a medium body and the finish lingers for a bit. Easy to drink but a bit non-descript for an Imperial Indai Pale ale.

Bottled. 2007 Summer Edition. Pours out in a hazy pale amber colour with a rich white foam. Compact hop aroma of pine-needles, grapefruit and grass with a dense yet elegant malt base of caramel and spunned sugar. Medium to full-bodied with strong notes of caramel, pine-needles, mild cedar-wood, orange-peels and grapefruit. Full and compact mouthfeel without being way too bold. Long bitter finish of grapefruit, blood oranges, leaves and grass with a solid caramelly malt foundation. Tastes great but why did I saved it in my closet until mid February? I cannot imagine how this tasted fresh last summer...why did I cellared it? I’m an idjit! Great, great DIPA with a bold yet elegant palate. World-class. Yeas, I need more stuff from Alesmith.

Pours a hazy amber with fizzy white head. Aromas of pine and citrus fruit. Flavors of hops and citrus. Alcohol is hidden well and this one finishes smooth. Good solid beer.

Bomber, courtesy after4ever. This rating has been kicking around for a while, waiting for me to enter it... probably a year or more? Pours hazy copper with an enormous white head. Incredibly inviting aroma of fruit, grapefruit, caramel. Medium body and carbonation. All the goodness from the nose translates into the taste. Dry finish.

Bottle 07 Vintage. Pours nice golden yellow with a lively two finger head. Smell is straight pine, citrus and a touch of sweetness. Taste is a sublime hop bomb. Straigh forward pine hops that mute any malt. As it warms up, the malt comes alive and balances everthing out with a nice caramel/vanilla note.. Carbonation was dialed in prefect. One of the best DIPA ’s I have had in a long time.

Pours a cloudy yellow-amber with white head that fades fast. aroma is citrus/hops and some sweetness maybe because of the faded hops as this bottle has to be from summer 2007. Flavor is wood, spice and sweetness. Mouthfeel is oily. I like the overall flavor of this beer even though it’s more hop dominated fresh. I think the sweet hop fade is nice for this particular brew. Finish is great with that wood flavor and alcohol just building the depth of the beer. Perfect alcohol balance. Still a lot of hops, I would like to try this one right out of the brewery to see the flavor difference.

Bottle. [Courtesy of wetherel]. Light unclear medium to dark orange color with a large, frothy - creamy, excellent lacing, fully lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, moderate to heavy hoppy, pine, grape, light to moderate yeasty, soap. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and heavy bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. ;o)) (220108)

Whew, what a beer!! A work of art is more like it really. How they make something so incredibly hoppy and drinking is a true art. This beer just explodes with hops, asserting itself right from the start. Resinous pine sap, juicy grapefruits abound. The malts are there and they do a nice job of keeping things from getting unbalanced, but nor do they detract from the hop delivery. Appearance is a orangish/amber color, hazy with a nice two finger thick head with some great lasting power. Flavors are piney, earthy, slightly spicy and sweet. A phenomenal beer.