AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

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.

Bottle. Amber beer with a nice cream colored head. Nice clean grapefruit aroma. Big grapefruit and pine flavor with a bit of sweet malt backing. Slightly creamy mouthfeel. Medium-full body. LIngering grapefruit and pine with a touch of sweetness.

Cloudy amber pour with a medium white head. Amazing aroma of herbal hops with grapefruit. The flavor has a dominant of hops and bitterness, the herbal hops and grapefruit are there and they are very pleasant, the caramel malt is solid enough to give some balance to the beer, the finish is bitter. The body has a light to medium thickness with a dry mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. Excellent, it’s everything I thought it would be, huge thanks to presario for sending this. Rating #1500.

This years bottle, bought the day after the release and consumed a week later. A gusher. Pours with a large, rocky, ever-so-slightly off-white head covering a barely hazy, deep golden body. Some small yeast particles in the glass. Extremely impressive retention, good strong lacing. Aroma has lots of caramel, some tangy-ness, vanilla, brown sugar, and a bit of grapefruit. Taste is strongly caramel upfront that transcends to a light citrus and refreshing finish. Light carbonation and a syrupy full mouthfeel.

Bottled @ Jbrus’. The aroma has oranges and honey, malts and some grass. Slightly hazy, copper coloured with an off-white head. The taste is bitterand has some citrussy and piney hops as well as some malts. Quite fruity. Well balanced beer. Good, very good.

complete re-write for fresh 2008 release In short: When very fresh, simply one of the very best archetypical American IIPA
How: Bottle 22oz (2008 release) from kegbear. Thanks a lot Craig
The look: Partly cloudy orange golden body topped by a medium white head
In long: </bAroma Nose is mainly citrusy with resinous elements and a touch of fruit-salad. Strong malt presence, rich caramel, rather fruity, a ton of c-hops, citrusy and slightly resinous. Warm alcohol feeling but not bothersome. Medium-high bitterness. Called Summer India Pale Ale here but the bottle is labeled YuleSmith Holiday. That YuleSmith Holiday Ale is truly one of the best IIPA I’ve ever had. All we need now is the YuleSmith Weekend Ale and the YuleSmith Workday Ale and I’ll be a happy man.