AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Diego, California USA

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.

22oz bottle. Pours yellow-orange with a huge, frothy white head that lasts until the last sip. Intense, grapefruity hop aroma with enough caramel malt sweetness to provide some balance. Flavor is sweet caramel malt for an instant, which is quickly and forcefully overpowered by big citric hops. Finish is all hops, resinous hop flavor lingers on the palate forever. There’s a little warming alcohol in the finish. All hops, as expected.

22 oz bomber thanks to zatharus. Pours a slightly hazy orange/amber with a large foamy white head. Aroma of citrus hops, slight pine resin, caramel and toffee. Medium bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and a dry alcoholic finish. Flavor is a let down with the hops having faded tremendously. What remains is some grainy bread flavors, alcohol, slight caramel malt and not much else. I need to try this one fresh.

Poured a hazy burnt orange color with a HUGE foamy white head that settled with funky hill in the middle of the glass and laced the sides. Powerful smells of pine and grapefruit from far away. Closer to the glass the nose reflects lemons, spice and grass. Fairly heavy and syrupy mouthfeel, with some lasting sweetness easing the lasting bitterness of the hops. Flavor is very well rounded with heavy flavor of orange, lemon, grapefruit and pine but also a distinct malt sweetness of candy, cornbread and biscuit. I think the beauty of this IIPA is in the subtlety of it. Strong aromas and flavors don’t really overpower your palate, instead they combine for a very drinkable but strong brew.

Decent lacing, bronze rusty color with a white head. Aroma is hoppy but have earthy, pine notes. Soo full flavored. The hoppy flavor of this IPA is extremely sharp. Very bitter. Hops just dominate the flavor of this one. Not syrupy at all. I feel like AleSmith tied to make the hoppiest beer they could.

The aroma run the gamut of hop varieties, sweet, floral, fruity and bitter all at the same time. The pour is a beautiful garnet with a nice white frothy head. Sweet bread, cookie dough and pine needles with just a bit of pineapple and grapefruit round off the aroma. Perfectly balanced in every way, aroma, malt, hops, just a hint of marshmallow and grahams, sort of like a s’mores. The lacing is just amazing. This is a real pleasure to drink!