AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

Dark golden in color with a frothy head. Smell is hops. Taste is well balanced hops with a strong malt profile. Not a Cali-Hop bomb. Very balanced and very well done. Smooth and easy drinking. Never noticed or felt the ABV. Another fine offering from the folks at Alesmith.

Firmly textured apricot orange pour. Lets through only hints of light. Sweet, malty nose of crème brulee, vanilla, and a thick orange glaze. Dense. Vibrant flavors of mango and peach are underscored by a thick, dirty oak barrel permeation. Mossy, wet, and alcoholic. A hint of lavender and general spritzy burn. Generic caramel sugars coat the mouth. Nothing sensational here. Palate is uncompromising and fitting to style. Natural, forceful, and somewhat at ease, which is easy to appreciate. Substantial. Thanks Brian!

Pours a cloudy maroon/orange with a fluffy, off white head. Smells of big, up in your face, hops, some grapefruit citrus, spices, and pine. The taste is, of course, big hoppiness with a distnct spiciness to it, that left a little heat on the palate. There is a profound sweetness to it also, especially in the finish and the aftertaste. The hops dominate most of the flavors, however, as you would expect with this style. It definitely wasnt the only flavor though. Well done brew.

Pours a rich copper-red body beneath a small frothy white dome. Floral hops effervescence that greatly translates through to flavor and finish. Great blend of malts and potent hops. Somewhat piny and resinous. Stinging bitterness, but not overly so. Really nice brew!

Bottle. Thanks to shigadeyo for sending me this. Pours a cloudy orangle body with nice head. Aroma is of sweet candy hops and a nice malty tone, light citrus. Flavor is hoppy, heavy orange citrus with a perfect, and I do mean perfect, malty backbone to it. The mouthfeel is spot on perfect. Increadibly smooth for an Double IPA. Finishes with a touch of sweetness to it. Thanks again Craig.

Summer 07 release. I love a good IIPA and this one certainly sticks it’s neck up there with the best of them. The malt-hops balance is key, otherwise the bitter would be dominate. Floral and pine hops are forward, resin and malt stick on the toungue and finish me off with a big bite of hops and alcohol. A big beer, no doubt about it.

Hoppy nose of flowers & evergreen, no shortage of citrus. The brew pours clear bronze with amber highlights. The nice cascade resolves into a mountainous white rocky head that is fully lasting and leaves great lace. The flavor is complex as would be expected. Sweet, acidic, and pronounced bitter finish. The full body is super creamy and soft.

Wow..it takes an extremely talented brewery to pull of an IIPA. They tend to either be too hoppy, too malty or too alcoholic. This beer pulls the concept off perfectly. Aroma of strong grassy hops with citrus coming in and out. Pour was a medium brown with a thin white ring for a head. Taste was biting hot with hops taking the main stage and just a hint of malt to balance it out. Solid!