AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

very nice imperial IPA wonderful malt and hops balance good complexity with a very appetizing bitterness. Vanilla and cream hints on the palate with wonder floral hop overtones.

This one came in from fordest and since it had fireworks on the bottle, I had to give it a go on the 4th weekend. Nice trademark westcoast IPA. Would love to pair this next to the winter to see how they match up but am afraid the hops would not last the 6 months until the next batch came out. Floral and citrus aromas. Nice malt.body and not too sweet. Lovely citrus hops with it mainly on the grapefruit side of the hop spectrum.

22 oz bottle, snifter, summer release. Cookie and bread malt (M); spruce, grapefruit, lime hops (H); white grape and white wine aromas. Deep amber orange body. Small, creamy, white head. Moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter flavor becomes a lightly sweet, moderately acidic, heavily bitter finish. Medium-full body, creamy texture, lively carbonation. The bottom line is: it’s good, no doubt, but i’m really having trouble figuring out what’s so exceptional about it.

22oz - Summer 2006 - thanks clarkVV - Aroma of sweet carmel, floral and citrus hops tingle the nose. Pours hazy orange with nice creamy medium head and great lacing. Flavor is where this brew really shines. The floral hops are the first to bite, then a sweet maltiness coats the tounge before the citrus hops clean up. Palate is tart, creamy and smooth at the same time. I think the winter is my favorite, but this is a very close second. I love these beers!!

AWSOME!! Bottle poured dark amber with a smallish but thick head and great lacing. Good hoppy aroma...yessss. Great spicy, hops flavor with a tangy bite that sits on the palate. Malt...God this is goood!...Letting it warm up a while....the creamy head stays with this beer the entire time....Ahh. As this beer warmed the aroma and hoppy flavor started jumping out of the glass..sooo good!!

650 ml bottle

Rating #650 - I saw this at Chuck’s a week or so ago and decided it would make a nice treat for a milestone rating. The price was not bad either though enough that I probably will be picking up the regular IPA instead next time I want something hoppy from Alesmith. This is an excellent beer that deserves its place as a borderline Top 50 beer. I would place it among one of the better Imperial IPAs I have tried; perhaps I will get another bottle when it is fresh to see if that changes things.

Aroma / Appearance - The clear body let through about half the sunlight that trickled lazily into the tulip glass. A short lived head surged to the top before settling to almost nothing. Strong citrus notes made me think of the weather a month ago - moderately warm with the leaves still on the trees and a light breeze blowing the smell of fall around.

Flavor / Palate - The taste of orange creamsicle coated my mouth before being overwhelmed by spiciness and a tinge of malts. The alcohol is not subtle but still manages to remain under control. For an imperial IPA it was a little peppery. I found it to be very drinkable and easy to finish. It falls just shy of my Top 50 though I can see why it is one of the most highly ranked of the style.

Bought a bottle on 7/16/09 and drank it that night. Haven’t had a fresh one of these since ’07. Cloudy orange pour with a big off-white head. Tons of orange in the nose with some pine, grapefruit and sweet malt. Orange and pine flavor up front with sweet malt and a bitter grapefruit finish. Amazing.

2004 Bottle thanks to lmgraz1! Dark amber in color with a medium sized off white head. Great hoppy aroma with some maltiness in the background. Flavor of piney hops dominate on first sip, followed by a mildly sweet malt backbone. Finish is rather dry. Another great beer from Alesmith!