AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

My favorite IPA from Alesmith. Great balance for a IIPA, a lot of pine in the taste with a touch of citrus and great malt background - very rich/lush. Awesome mouthfeel as it was smooth, chewy, and thick all in one. Coats the palate and leaves you longing for the next sip...def a favorite.

Poured copper with off white head. Aroma of strong earthly hops. Flavor was much of the same with citrus hints throughout. Very smooth for an overly hopped brew.

Poured an orange color. hops very evident in taste. Found it similar to stone’s ruination. Finishes with a zing of alcohol and zest. Amazing beer.

2007 Version, 22oz bomber. This beer pours an orangish amber color from the bottle. Huge frothy, dense head. I let the bottle glug once as I poured and the head grew to about 3" thick. As it subsided it laced the entire glass like a spider web. Nothing like the heads on the brews from Alesmith (decadence, yulesmith, ipa, etc.). Not a huge nose, smells a little soapy. Deep citrus undertones and a little grassy as well. The taste of this brew explodes in my mouth. Sweet up front but as I swallow there is a burst of bitter-sweet hop flavors. This brew is a benchmark for DiPa’s. Not too thick, not too thin, just perfect. Great carbonation as shown by the head on this brew. I really don’t remember this brew being this good. At 8.8% it’s do-able for a long session.

Orange pour with big white head. I can smell the hops from across the room. Big, fruity bitter aroma. Fresh citrus, slight herbal tinge. Flavor is massively bitter. Grapefruit rind, pine, a bit of mint, and light herbal notes. Malt is bready and there to complement the hops. Nice medium mouthfeel, smooth nice carbonation, dry bitter finish. Absolutely the perfect double IPA.

On tap at Hollingshead’s.. Pours a cloudy golden with a fluffy white head.. Great smelling citrus and floral hop aroma. Couldn’t take my nose out of this one..Lingering citrus hop bitterness with alot of grapefruit going on. Great beer!

22oz bottle: IPA poured opaque orange with large thick foamy head. Arioma of wine, pine, and citrus. Sweet malty swirl of flavor with a bitter flavorful hops ending (grapefruit, citrus, and awesome). Full body and wow. I am an IPA convert. Seriously!

Celebration of number 1,000! Poured into a wide snifter from six-month old bottle. Bottle kept in fridge temperatures entire time. Color is gold with bright orange, perfectly clear with a healthy white head. Aroma is of mango, papaya, tangerine, sweet grapefruit and pine. Flavor bursts with a hit of citrus fruit and some sharp lemon pith. Great stuff, indeed. This is hop-malt DIPA balance done right. And extreme. Finishing end turns more lemony as it dries out. Still an explosion of flavor. Mouthfeel is crisp and medium in texture, leading up to a dry finish. Excellent. I’d take this over Yulesmith Winter in a heartbeat!