AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

June 2006 release sampled on 7/4/06: Pours a transparent copper bronze with a nicely-lacing off-white head. Big fresh citrus and piny hop aroma has a very nice caramel malty balance. Body starts sweet and viscous, turning more bitter, crisp and grapefruity toward the resinous mildly warming finish. Well balanced, flavorful and best enjoyed fresh. A classic double IPA!

July 2005 release sampled on 9/25/05: Pours a transparent copper orange with a wonderfully dense and well-lacing froth of white head. Bright hoppy pine and grapefruit aroma has some alcohol notes. Body starts with some sweet gritty caramel malt and plenty of bittering hops toward a sticky, pine sap, warming bittersweet finish. Definitely doesn’t hide its alcohol as well as I remember. I’d like to let it age so that the alcohol becomes more hidden, but then the hops would fade. Such a predicament. It’s appearance seems to have improved though.

courtesy of Per - cloudy orange colour with a persistent beige head; aroma of peach, cream, citrus and quince marmelade, resiney; astringent and full-bodied, deeply bitter, quite dry fruity and flowery aftertaste with a never-ending bitterness and more quince and apricot - what a beer!

Bottle. Pretty hoppy, lots of piney sappy hop flavours, imitially sweet, but some nice dry bitterness in the finish make it a little more bearable. LOts of fruity hops, lychee notes etc. There is also some caramelly malt chaarcters in here as well, but its more about the hops.

Boottle 2004 edition, thanx to Jannik for sharing this one. Cloudy deep orange colour with a small off white head. Malty, caramel sweet aroma with a pineapple fruity hoppyness and a light pine note. Malty and caramel sweet flavor with some hoppy fruityness and a vague citric touch.

A vibrant hop spine shining its multiplicity onto the firm and energetic biscuity malt body it is sustaining…A grapefruity and floral bone marrow solidifies and diversifies the fruity malt profile…Akin to the magnificent Dreadnaught, this is truly an object worthy of study and cloning…And drinking lots of...Expressive flavors in an entrancing dance of balance, covered by a whipped cream of a head...Not too bitter, very drinkable, all flavors express themselves equally, in harmony...I feel like praying...

Smells of grapefruit and rosey, but not nearly as sharp as their previous bottling. More watery and too much caramel and malty flavors for a Double IPA.

Bottled: Orange coloured. Unclear. Huge beige dense head. Hops, citrus, flowers, sweetness and fruit in the aroma. Flavour is hoppy as hell. Fruit, chocolate, alcahol and some mild malt tones. Is lightly burning the lips in the end, but its the immense bitterness that closes down the party.

Thanks to goldtwins for sending this one my way. hazy deep orange beer topped by a thick off-white head. Ahhh, hops! Gorgeous waves of aroma spill out of my glass. Aroma of pine, mint, oak and vanilla all appear over a beautiful toasty malt backbone. Some subtle chewy/earthy resins underneath. Smells like a walk in the woods. Some rich seasonal spices as well like juniper and ginger. Flavour delivers on the aroma’s promise, tooth coating piny resins are topped by the sweet caramel and biscuity malts. Lingering soft fruit and spice through the finish. Vanilla flavour throughout as well. Agressive, but completely approachable.