AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

#600 - 22 oz bomber summer Christmas In July 2005 edition - Pours copper and fairly transparent with a nice 3 inch rocky tan head that stays well and laces better. Aroma is a beautiful mix of grapefruit, lemon, pine, a touch of yeast, and some nice pepper spice. Flavor is a beautiful blend of grapefruit, over caramel malts, with a nice spicey pepper finish. Palate is amazingly smooth and balanced. Crisp clean finish. Creamy mouthfeel with no trace of the alcohol to be found. This is a fine crafted IIPA and delicious too. #600

Summer 2005 release, Sampled July 26th, 2005
This beer is brilliantly clear and pours a full reddish copper color and is topped by a frothy, light tan head. The aroma is full and hoppy with notes of fresh cut herbs, pine, grapefruit, and bergamot. The beer is sweet up front with a hint of cinnamon mixed in with the abundant hop notes. There is also a good maltiness to this beer, which really helps to hold the hops in check and provide some sort of balance. The hops are sharp and biting from finish to end. As the beer leaves my mouth a slow spicy sharp astringency begins to build for a good half minute span. This beer is still just damn good, so well balanced between the aggressive over the top hoppiness and a solid maltiness, which while definitely playing second fiddle, is still present enough to contribute and tame some of the hop notes.

22 oz bottle, July 05 release, via fordest. Dark copper pour, slightly cloudy with a firm craggy off white head. Generous amounts of fine carbonation yields one of the best heads I’ve ever seen. Huge resiny hop aroma over a sweet toffee and caramel malt base. Nice resiny hop bite against a sweet and spicy malty background. Very deep and complex malt profile. Well balanced with a slight alcohol warmth on the finish. Medium bodied with a very creamy mouthfeel, great bottle conditioned carbonation. Just an all around great beer, well balanced with great complexity. Nowhere near as harsh as some of the IIPA’s (Herculese) and way more drinkable than Dreadnaught in my opinion. Best IIPA out there (at least in America).

Rerate. 22oz bottle, courtesy of artusory. Thanks, Ryan! Pours a bright, clear yellowish-orange color; pillowy yellow head with fantastic retention and lacing; a gorgeous pour. Dense, resiny and fresh citrus / piney hop aroma; very light malty presence behind. Full, resiny mouthfeel: very dense hop presence with a good viscosity from hop oils and a chewy, earthy maltiness; a generous beer. Lengthy, maple syrup and earthy malt finish; citrus and herbs. 8.5.8.4.16=4.1.

Original rating: 22oz bottle, courtesy of gears81. Thanks, Jake! Pours a clear, light golden-orange appearance with an off-white head. Plenty of citrus hops and alcohol in the aroma: lemon and grapefruit. Huge, resiny mouthfeel: plenty of fruity bitterness, balanced by a candy sugar backdrop; ideal levels of carbonation, lively but drinkable; hugely textured, dank, and balanced. One of the best double IPAs I’ve had, and much more enjoyable (for me) than its Winter counterpart - better restrained and less hot than many of the stronger Alesmith beers. Long, bitter, resiny finish. 7.4.9.5.18=4.3.

2004 bottle. Pours a rich amber color with a thick head of clinging lace. Aroma is hops and grapefruit. Flavor is hops, grapefruit, melon, hops, flower, hops, and hops. Mouthfeel is thick and coating. A nice IPA that accentuates the hops even more as it warms. Rerate, courtesy of Zinister. Thanks!
2007 bottle. Flavor is much more cohesive, with notes of pine and grapefruit making an appearance (the aforementioned absent from my first sampling). A very full and synergistic effort. GREAT IPA!

22oz bottle. orange color. lighter orange head. aroma of cotton candy!!! hops, hops, hops. very bitter, fruity, sweet flavored texture. Very thick and chewy. made the glass sticky-icky-icky! Wammo... kicked some ass in!

Bottle: Deep caramel in color, quite hazy/thick, HUGE fluffy off-white head, fairly nice lacing.   Combination grapefruit rind, muted pine, wet hops, slight caramel, and soft earthen biscuitness on the nose.   Soft hop bitterness on the tongue, fairly malty, nearly an IIPA but to me its more like a strong IPA.   Fairly strong grapefruit rind throughout.   Moderate to full body and mouthfeel.   Semi-sweet finish, lingering hop bitterness, remains fairly malty with the aformentioned grapefruit rind.   Good stuff, but compared to last nights Oskar Blues Gordon on draft, its not as hefty, malty, or viscous.   Still good, but I think a new sheriff is in town.   Thanks Paul for this beauty!

I have had this great beer numerous times, but having Tom put it on tap at O’brien’s cause he knew we were going to be partying there for my birthday last night was great. This brew is pours with a deep copper body topped by a thick head with a good amount of lacing. It’s slightly sweet and malty with a huge kick of citrusy, floral and slightly piney hop notes. What a great beer.