AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

Hazy orange with a lasting off-white head. Sweet american hop aroma, peach, pine, tea and roses. Dry hoppy flavour with floral hop and some caramel malty notes. Burning hot alcohol is not so good, but the long hoppy aftertaste is good.

Orange brown hazy ale with a creamy white head. Pungeant floral hops with pinhey notes. Lots of fresh malts, whiskey qualities, sweet and hoppy....and a merry x-mas to you too! Bottle sampled with TiggMtl, MartinT, muzzlehatch and Rastacouere.

22 oz bottle, imbibed with lust and with MartinT, tiggmtl, Rastacouere and Lubiere in Montreal at our mouthtingling IPA fest. Malt, perfume and sharp PNW hoppiness in the fabulous nose...as you breathe deeper, a subtle cinnamon-ginger "holiday" spicy pungency emerges...very subtle grapy-fruity flaovrs on the tongue, with a bit of orangey liqueur...nuanced and fascinating. Yeasty, lovely dark amber body. This was sampled alongside Dreadnaught, and though that masterpiece won by a fair margin for most of us, this is a worthy competitor.

Bomber from South Bay Drug. Amber gold color with a decent off-white head. Lots of resin and floral/grapefruit hop backed by a dose of malty sweetness. Medium body with near creamy carbonation. Flavor is hop - mostly grapefruit over malty sugar. Finish is bitter and dry, but there’s enough backbone to make this a really enjoyable drink. Quenching? Kind of. Refreshing? Yep.

Grapefruit, orange and pine-like hop nose. Burnished copper coloured body with lasting, creamy white head that recedes with very nice lacing. Intensely sweet and malty with a strong balancing bitterness that lasts on the tongue. Notes of toasty, biscuity malt flavours. Alcohol is noticeable. Fair warming. Creamy smooth in the mouth and rather full-bodied. Bottle. Enjoyed with hopsrus, MartinT and Rastacouere.

I wanted to like this more than I did. The body is dark orange with a slightly yellowish head. The aroma is oranges, vanilla and hay. The taste is sweet with oranges and vanilla. This is also a little woody with some grassy character. The beer is actually very well balanced for an IIPA. Thanks for sharing, JCapriotti. Tried this one again and still loved it. A great IIPA.

Thanks to the split, I was able to transfer over my notes of the summer release: Clean coppery hue topped by a huge fluffy head and outstanding lace. Surprisingly balanced with big hops in harmony with biscuity malt and great depth of palate. Piney and citric as expected with lots of hop spice on the dry finish.

The summer Yulesmith is the equal of the winter 2003 version I had rated, maybe better. BUT WATCH OUT, don’t upset the yeast. A wonderful brew indeed. Get ya some!

Bottle at Toms Ultimate Glasgow Tasting ... Golden orange ... Good slightly sweet american hop nose ... Good balance but too much hop for me lots oan lots of hop resins ... very intence.