AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

Pours a light orange. Nose is big fresh grapefruit (reminded me of cutting open a fresh grapefruit and pouring sugar on it), lemon, oranges, floral hops, sweet caramel, light toffee and peaches. Flavor is much the same as the nose. Loads of grapefruit and sweet malt to balance it out. More flavorful than bitter. Amazing offering from Alesmith. I need to get some more of this one.

Bottle, thanks to my secret santa. Aroma of lots of orange pulp with some crackery malt. Flavor continues with loads of very bitter orange notes against heavy maltiness, sort of grainy, but very sweet-and-assertive grainy. Very pulpy and unclean-feeling, not what I expected from such a highly rated IPA. Kind of odd and just ok for me.

Thanks TampaBrew for the share. Pours hazy yellow with a white head and noticeable sediment. Nose is caramel, orange, citrus, lemon, loquat, and peach. Flavor is same with lingering floral hops and citrus bite. Medium-bodied and summer in a bottle. Bitter, but nice malt backbone. Malty, but enough hops to make it noteworthy.

Orange pour with a thick, creamy off white head. Nice bouquet of floral aromas with heavy peach and pineapple. Surprisingly, very little hops detected. Mostly caramel sweetness and alcohol. Very fluffy head. The taste is grassy and bitter with caramel, toffee, and peach flavors. Very bitter in the end and full bodied. Not too sweet and good carbonation. Dry and spicy, almost tastes like a super hoppy golden Belgian ale.

Bomber. Pours opaque brownish orange with evident high carbonation and a bubbly, lacey 2-3 fingers of head. Aroma is of pine and resin, and sharp hops. Initial flavor is smooth, with just a touch of the bitterness I was expecting. Not much movement in the palate, though some citrus does come along mid-palate to complement the major element of piney hops. Well-disguised ABV doesn’t reveal until the burn going down the esophagus. A well done summertime ale with a refreshing quality produced in large part, I feel, by the high carbonation and lack of bitterness overload sometimes found in this style. Nice stuff. NOTE: This beer got better and better as it settled and warmed up a bit. A faint nutty quality snuck in on the early palate, and a smoky twinge got in on the end. Really good.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy orange with a small white head. Aroma of lots of caramel malt and some citrusy hops. Flavor is also quite malty with citrus and a dry finish. Very refreshing on a hot summer day. A touch heavy but that’s really my only complaint. Nice beer! 7/4/8/4/15 (3.8/5)

Did not overly excite me, surprisingly so. I thought it would better. With that being said, it was still a good beer. Poured a clear light amber with a nose of fruit and hops. The flavor was that of citrus and fruit with a slight bit of spice on top of the malt. A decent double IPA, but not in the league of Majaraha, Hercules, 90 Min, Old 21, Pliny the Elder et al. Maybe, I need to try this one on draft to fully appreciate this beer. I am quite surprised that this beer is the 5th highest rated double IPA in the world.

Hazy golden with an enormous foamy slightly off-white head. Ridiculous citrus grapefruit aroma. This beer is all about the hops. Crazy hoppy without being overly bitter, good malt sweetness and hop bitterness balance, but hop flavor dominates throughout. Hops linger on the tongue for a good long time. I F#*king love this beer. Why is this beer only brewed once a year? The lingering hop sensation on my tongue only escalates my desire for more of this awesome IIPA.