AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

Spilt this bottle (Blue and Red label) with Duane. This is an amazing IIPA! A perfect blend of citrusy, hoppy bitterness and sweet malts. Velvety medium mouthfeel coats your entire tongue and also lingers of the back of your palate. I couldn’t think of any way they might have done better with this one, so I had to give it a 5. I’d really like to try the Winter release to see if it’s any different, as well as revisit Dreadnaught to see which beer is truly the best of the IIPAs.

Wow, what a brew man. Pours a thick, dark honey nectar with a beautifuly spicey hop aroma. A complex ale indeed. When you sip, the hops hit you right up front, then the mood turns to a bright and spicey fruit mellowness then "BAM", back to massive hops. Like a three car collision at the Broadway curve. Totally backs up traffic for a while as you try to distinguish all the flavors seeping through. Citrus rind, caramel, leather, pine, malt, cream. Close your eyes and imagine drinking a fully decorated christmas tree...the complexities. The alcohol is well hidden. I wanted to chew on it. An awsome brew. Very well balanced. I highly recommend any time of year, if you can find it. ******SUMMER YULESMITH******9 months later: Sept. 6th 2006. Pours dark honey w/ full creamy froth. Aroma is spiced w/ fresh malt and forest pine. Full nectar w/ soft residual effers. Flavors are malt driven w/ a slow approaching hopped up semi truck that swerves to hit you head on. Caramel, vanilla bean, slight leather, and lime rind. Besides all the hopsy asprin and malt it shows a certain spicy essence. Like corriander or something. Big hopsy spicey bittering on the long finish. Another classic brew! Highly recommended.

2007 edition, with a very crisp, fresh, sharp and sizzling hop bite. Especially rich in texture -- significantly more viscous and gooey than you expect with a beer of this style designation. It bursts with hop flavor, with an abundance of bittering hops. The IBUs must be maxed out with this one. Tons of that hop character in the aroma; very floral in terms of olfactory saturation. Finishes very dry, and even with some spiciness. May well be the best and biggest of this style I’ve ever had. Stone has to do some special release of its own to challenge this.

This highly regarded DIPA came to me via BA nvsblman. The 22 oz. bomber had a painted label appropriate for the holiday season. Opening the bottle and pouring it in the tulip was a joy to the senses, as the luscious burnt orange liquid slipped out of the bomber and produced a cascade of bubbles that erupted in a crowning, foamy, off white head. The underlying beer was dense, and cloudy, and gave a good indication of the solid malt foundation that formed it. The lacing was magnificently thick, as the head hung around for a while and kept coating the sides of the glass. The hops assault on the nose began the moment the cap was popped, and bringing the glass to the nose unleashed more of it prior to each sip. Lovely citric fruit peels, and spruce and pine resin were among the many forms that this hop aroma took. The taste was very bitter up front, as the hop oils exploded in my mouth. The malts were definitely there to back things up with their sweet caramelized, toasty, and faintly smoky self, but there was no mistaking about the mission of this beer. It was to get as many hops into your mouth as possible without going over the top. The hops were never overpowering as unpleasant, but instead kept the drinking session alive.. The beer felt marvelously thick in my mouth, as the body was on the right side of medium. The tongue coating body definitely let the hop residue sit on my tongue longer which left a lingering bitter-sweet aftertaste. As it faded, the brain signaled that it was time for another sip, which is a testament to the awesome drinkability of this beer despite the strength and hop presence. Speaking of strength, the 8.5% ABV hardly ever registered on the radar screen. In the end I was bowled over by the deceptive charm of this hoppy beauty.

WOOO super piney with strong citrus greeting to my nose. Dense copper hue with a whirlwind of sediment and a thick fluffy head leaving behind a share amount of lacing. Flavor bursts of grapefruit citrus, floral, pine, spices, and some scotch kick from the alcohol. This double IPA should be available all year round but then a new creation for christmas would have to be made. Just a suggestion.