AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
San Diego, California USA

From Voldby, DK. Bottled, 170409. Amber with red tone and white head. Aroma of red berries, lots of hoppy spices and flora. Flavor is caramel, some dried fruit and a solid bitterness.

Aroma is malty, sweet, bread-like, caramel, fruits, citrusy hops are very much in evidence as well, but the malts are stronger in the aroma. Very nice. Slightly hazy ornage/red in appearance, tan head. Very attractive looking. (I gave it a rare 5/5 for appearance). The yeast and particulate matter are still noticeable in the beer. The flavor is malts, caramel, fruity, again with a component of citrus hops, and some minor resiny hops. The finish is a strong grapefruit bitterness directly from the hops. The alcohol was well hidden. The mouthfeel is medium/thick, slightly oily. Sturdy, well crafted beer overall.

very strong red ale that pours amber red in color. very hoppy with a good amount of malty flavor. wish this was year round.

Bottled 650ml. Courtesy of badlizard. 8.5 ABV. Appearance: It pours a clear deep amber beer with a nicely lasting beige head. Some lacework. Aroma: Very strong and deeply inviting. Blueberries, caramel, juniper, licorice, resiny hops and bubble gum showing up. Flavor and palate. Full bodied. Sweet malty with a good bitterness. Really thick mouthfeel. Hints of blueberries, caramel, juniper, grape and resiny hops. Some dark chocolate sneaking in. Licorice in the finish which is rather dry. Overall impression: Surprisingly thick palate, too thick for my liking. The nose is great, extremely complex and pleasant in my opinion. Thanks a lot badlizard!

Bottle. This is a dark amber red colour in a snifter with a thick, creamy permanent tan head that mushrooms slightly up out of the top of the glass. Looks beautiful! The aroma is wonderful; you could pick it up the moment the bottle was opened. There’s lots of floral hops up front with plenty of pine, rich and fresh, loaded with citrus especially orange, some apricot; there’s subtle breadiness and caramel malt in the background with some winter seasonings like cinnamon, clove, a small hint of licorice. Wow. Mouthfeel is full, coating, a bit sticky. The flavour is darker than I would have thought from the aroma. I taste hops initially with some pine, lemon, avocado; then there’s some fresh brown bread, caramel, gingerbread, cinnamon, more hop bitterness, citrus. Really, there’s plenty of double IPA in this. Truly fantastic.

22 fl oz bottle. Pours hazy deep amber to clear, depending on level of the bottle when pouring as there are yeast sediments. Aroma is mild liqourice, pinewood hoppy with a light roasted caramel malt note. Sweet and distinct bitter with a light acidic to citric touch. Mild roasted malt presence on the back of the tongue. Ends dry, bittered and slight spiced. Good balance between body and bitterness into the finish. Lasting mild citric fruity note.

poured a rich mahogany color with a tan head that had great retention and lacing. Aroma had rich sweet brown sugar notes along with some spicy notes. A nice hop profile throughout. Flavor had a good hop presence with mostly sweet malt notes but a subtle yeast quality to it. Certainly did not seemed like 9.5%. Finish was smooth.

22oz bottle. By the name of this one I was expecting a spicy winter warmer type closer to a barley wine but what we have here is a nice tasty double IPA. Good copper color with a creamy head and nice lacing. Excellent flavor with nice hop presence. Can’t wait to try some more from Alesmith.