AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

Thanks to JohnC for hooking me up with this one, another great IPA from the West Coast, slightly hazy, amber color with a subtle orange hue, decent off-whie head with some nice lacing, great combination of hops & malt in the nose, also slight hint of yeast & earth in the aroma, medium-full in body, very bitter & very hoppy flavors, very well-balanced, good malt backbone, very dry but yet fruity, earth & pine notes in the flavors, dry & bitter hoppy aftertaste & finish, great IPA

Bottle pours a cloudy light orange/amber. Very nice creamy white head. Aroma is mainly light sweet malts. Honey and light brown sugar. A slight cardboard papery note also. Flavor is more of the woody paper hints from before. Quite surprised this is a IIPA as the big brash hoppines is conspicuously absent. Nice rich full malt profile but I realy mis that bright citrusy hop flavor. A couple factors make me think that this might be an old bottle or possibly light struck a bit.Overall decent but not sure of the top 50 status. Thanks to <!-- B -->Buckeye for sharing this one

Bottle. Pour is a coppery orange color and sports a pretty large head (about three figners of foam at first). Aromas are mindnumbing. I am fairly giddy at this point as I’m picking up the pine and pineapple that means good IPA hops and a slight caramel backbone from the malt. Flavor is much more bitter that I anticipated. The malt definitely is there and holds the hoppy bitterness in check, but as far as IPA’s go, this one leans to the hoppy end of the spectrum. This is interesting considering that the Winter version heads much more in the malt direction if memory serves me well. Either way, I’m not sure which of the twins I would rather take home.

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)

(11/2/08) Bottle at Hamilton’s in San Diego. Slightly hazy but almost clear golden color with a big white head. Aroma of hops, some pine needles, cookies and caramel. Sweet malty flavor with some caramel at first and a finish of big hoppy bitterness (almost like chewing on a hop pellet) with a bit of alcohol. Medium to full-bodied

Bomber. Mostly clear pour with a dark golden color below a thin even layer of white head. Nice clean, aggressive, peppery citric hop aroma propped up a tad by a light alcohol presence. Taste packs a wallop of hop bitterness, evens out a bit, then finishes with a lot of citric rinds. Strong tasting without being harsh. Very nice.

Red foil July4th release. Delicious. Pours a deep amber with a rocky off-white head. Aroma is an assault of hops and grapefruit. Taste is insanely hoppy/floral with plenty of pine, grapefruit and citrus. Has a hint of vanilla. Perfectly sweet, spicy and resiny with plenty of malt. Mouthfeel is very full, round and creamy. DRY finish. Very bitter aftertaste but goes down real smooth. Highly recommended!

Ok so not the freshest bottle but it has been in the fridge for 3 months and I did try it twice when I first got it. Pours a hazy golden/orange with a medium rich frothy white head. Very rich aroma, resiny pine, lots of juicy grapefruit, sugared pineapple, lightly floral and a some hop oxidation muddies it up a little, malts smell sweet and sugary. Mmm tasty... I think I actually like it better now than 3 months ago; the hop oxidation isn’t nearly as noticeable and the malts have really smoothed out. Big sugary mouthful with larger but softer big carbonation bubbles. Flavor of mostly toasted sugary pineapple and grapefruit with an accompanying mix of light floral and resiny hops, finishes with a bit of slightly toasted malts, sugary honey, and bitter piney hops. I want a fresh bottle damn it!