AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

On tap: I don’t get what all the fuss is about with this one. I have read pages and pages back on the reviews of this beer, and many people talk about it as though it is an extremely hoppy beer. I have now had the beer several times, and it pours relatively dark, and is VERY malty, with very little hop backing. Very sweet, somewhat strong on the alcohol. Strong nutmeg taste. A supremely overrated beer from a great brewery. In my opinion, even good brewers can make average beers. UPDATE: I officially like the Summer Version. I stick by my review --- The Winter is gross, the summer kicks ass. Why in the world are there not two seperate entries for this beer? They are completely different. So, here’s the breakdown: I give the winter version a 3.3 rating and the summer version a solid 4 rating. Put those together, and I came up with a 3.6 overall rating.

Hoppy nose of flowers & evergreen, no shortage of citrus. The brew pours clear bronze with amber highlights. The nice cascade resolves into a mountainous white rocky head that is fully lasting and leaves great lace. The flavor is complex as would be expected. Sweet, acidic, and pronounced bitter finish. The full body is super creamy and soft.

Intense, intense citrus aroma. Pours a yellow/amber body with a fizzy offwhite head. Taste is all citrus - the aroma does not betray. Nice warm mouth with lots of sweetness. One of the more carbonated IIPA’s. ON SECOND ANALYSIS: Lots more florals, like the IPA. Drink this one fresh - much better than one that’s even 6 months old!

Pours a light orange. Nose is big fresh grapefruit (reminded me of cutting open a fresh grapefruit and pouring sugar on it), lemon, oranges, floral hops, sweet caramel, light toffee and peaches. Flavor is much the same as the nose. Loads of grapefruit and sweet malt to balance it out. More flavorful than bitter. Amazing offering from Alesmith. I need to get some more of this one.

Bottle, summer release. Wow, I’m not sure if I’ve ever have been this excited about the appearance! Pours a bright hazy orange color with this awesome, creamy frothy light tan head that retains amazingly well. The aroma is piney, citrusy, with some caramel malt and some alcohol. This beer is really very tastey...a perfect balance between the pine/grapefuit notes and the caramel malt. The mouthfeel is creamy,malty,and warm...with a nice amount of hop bitterness providing a bittersweet warming brew. I would like to a fresher batch of this to see how much more hop punch there may be...just so I have an excuse to buy more of this wonderful brew.

Bottle courtesy of Secret Santa dhlesq. Aroma huge hops, pine and citrus. Flavor is pleasingly bitter with a resiny mouthfeel, and a slight alcohol burn. Very enjoyable hop IIPA!!

Bottle thanks to Kegbear. Poured a deep golden with a fresh hop and sweet citrus spice aroma. Damn nice flavors of peach, fresh hops, citrus, floral characters, sweet malt, and some light but noticeable spice. Very smooth and tasty brew.

Bottle via Weeheavy. Golden color. Smell of grapefruit, malt, hops, pine, zest, grass, sugar, caramel and orange juice. Taste of malt, hops, grapefuit, caramel, brown sugar, salt, flowers, grass, pine, citrus zest, spice and alcohol. Wow! The hops are great in this one. Wonderful!