AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

22 oz. bottle. Pours a slightly hazy orange amber color with a large creamy yellowish head that lasts. The aroma quickly diffuses out of the glass and includes citrus, pineapple, herbal hops and sweet caramel malt. The flavor is much the same as the nose: big hop presence with citrus and other fruit, floral, grassy The alcoand a fair amount of bitterness while the thick caramel malt adds balance. Alcohol is there, but not distracting. This is good fresh or with age.

Fresh bottle. Medium yellow app., nice white fluffy head that clings to the side of the glass. Smells like fresh hops. Nice bitter taste that hangs on the middle of the tongue. Quite good, highly recommend.

Summer ’05....Poured a beautiful copper/amber color with a fluffy white creamy head. The arooma was floral hoppy. The taste is very well balanced for such a huge IPA, predominantly there is of course the taste of hops, but it is very well balanced by a malty flavor. The hops have a citrus/pine taste. An awesome beer from a brewery I wish I lived closer to.

Pours out a nice deep amber color with a decent beige head. Aroma is very floral and hoppy. Flavor is a nice intense bitter at first and then mellows out to a sweet citrus clean finish. I love this beer. It left me yearning for more like a horny school girl on a hot summers night.

2006. Peach/orange colored pour. Dense, rolling white head, composed of miniscule white bubbles. From within these small orbs explode large bubbles. Great head retention, unrelenting, immovable. Aromas of apricot, honey, piney hop resin, narrowly escaping sugary maltiness. Smell so soft and supple. Taste confirms the aroma is not an illusion. Vicious malts seemingly overwhelmed by very agressive, spicy PNW hops. Earthy grapefruit, sharp acidity leading to a very dry finish. The alcohol is not well hidden, but this is a lovely treat nonetheless. Excellent.

Bottle, thanks be to Kris (alcoholist) for sending this great beer. Clear to almost slightly slightly hazy copper with small little bubbles moving up through the glass. Medium sized long lasting dusty white head that leaves great lacing on the glass. The nose is stong with hops and malt. The hops tickle at the front of your nose while the malts washes it away. In the taste the hop character is definately right there but the malts come out first and strong and are almost cooling and chewy. Grapefruit and dust finishing with pleanty of alcohol to clean you off. Very nice.

Thick reddish amber color with a decent sized head on top. The aroma is the what I like in a beer with too much hops for our own good. Hints of citrus (lemon lime, pineapple) floral notes and pine. The flavor has a good deal of maltiness to keep it somewhat balanced, but still, thats a whole lotta hops. It makes the sides of my jaw cringe at first, but does in fact leave my mouth with some warmth and robust malt flavor. Such a good brew.---Summer 05 offering. This was hyped as being a different brew, but falls into the same rating. So from my previous description, yeah, I can definately notice a difference: Spicier. Not like Jacobite or anything like that, it just comes off as being a bit more well rounded in that category. RERATE on 8-4-2009 from a ’09 bottle purchased at Rozi’s in Lakewood. This one smells all sorts of pudry. Rich malty character is overshadowed by a very nice citrus smell. Lots of fancy star- and grape-fruit smells. The flavor comes off with a nice crispness that only helps to solidify the flavor here. It just rolls with a good strong flavor, fruity sweetness and hefty malt body.

red white and blue graphics, bottled this past summer. orange-amber color, kind of glossy looking, with a thick & creamy light tan head. aroma of pine, grapefruit peel, and a little caramel! flavor is very hoppy but not an attack, balanced with some strong malt sweetness. mouthfeel is creamy and smooth, then a dry and bold bitter finish.