AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

bottle tasted with a friend. peaches and grass and herbs in the aroma. medium body, spicy and plenty dry. the hops lend a decidedly bitter character to this: piney, citrusy, but somehow blended together to make an excellently balanced double IPA. This is up there with the best of the best.

Summer 2004 Bottle - Golden reddish hue with an offwhite head. Very thick hoppy aromatics with notes of pine forest and spice. Flavor starts bitter followed by a sweet rush of citrus fruit and pine, finishing with a dry alcoholic bite. Full bodied palate, leaving a pleasant thick coating on the way down. This is an excellent beverage, top notch.

Bomber - This one I was excited for, and wasnt disappointed. Pop the cap, great aroma already grabbing the nose. I can already tell its a hop bomb. Orange/copper pour with a gorgeous fluffy off-white head that laces about as much as I’ve ever seen in an IIPA. I take a deep whiff, and wow this smells good. I’m noticing some great hoppy citrus scents with that piney malty underneath. At this point I already know I’m going to love this ale. Flavor is what I was hoping for, a big hoppy front to a slightly sweet caramel backbone. Hops are off the hook in this badboy! It’s not nearly as sweet as say 90 minute, but thats not a bad thing. Somehow they’ve balanced the super-hoppy with the malt VERY well. I don’t know if I’ve had a better IIPA.

Bottle. Love this beer. Poured a hazy orange/gold with a two finger white head. Aroma of caramel malt, citrus and floral hops. Flavor is well balanced and not too sweet. Citrus hops finish the taste. Great beer!

The aroma run the gamut of hop varieties, sweet, floral, fruity and bitter all at the same time. The pour is a beautiful garnet with a nice white frothy head. Sweet bread, cookie dough and pine needles with just a bit of pineapple and grapefruit round off the aroma. Perfectly balanced in every way, aroma, malt, hops, just a hint of marshmallow and grahams, sort of like a s’mores. The lacing is just amazing. This is a real pleasure to drink!

Bought a bottle on 7/16/09 and drank it that night. Haven’t had a fresh one of these since ’07. Cloudy orange pour with a big off-white head. Tons of orange in the nose with some pine, grapefruit and sweet malt. Orange and pine flavor up front with sweet malt and a bitter grapefruit finish. Amazing.

2nd bomber... wow, what a couple weeks gives this brew. Deep rich carmel corn salt hops, really has it all, slight snip of bitter on the finish. Acidity, hopps that almost encase the brew and will allow 2 years of cellaring. A WOW nose. Mid and finish are very nice also. I under rated this the 1st time, or like a couple other brews, Sculpin to point out 1, this is getting better in bottle and very quickly. That nose is a show stopper. Not sure if brews experience "bottle shock" like a wine does, but those having this shipped to them... Please Please wait for a couple weeks before opening one. Maybe the best aroma from a beer and close to the best wine, I’ve ever experienced. Wow Wow Wow is all I can think with a little bit of "out of control", is how good this brew is right now.

22 oz. Perfect for the 4th. Pours a hazy orange with a big fluffy white head. Aroma is full of citrus hops, some mango, a nice balance of sweet malts. fFavor is bursting with citrus and pine hops. An all around nice west coast DIPA.