AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

So cracked this baby open just for Christmas. Pour is a gorgeous ruby orange with a monster sized off white head. Faded some. Aroma is lovely of hops. After it warmed some, hops were less potent and alcohol came thru. The flavor was decent of hops and alcohol but was really thick and chewy on the palate like it had too much going on. Difficult to drink actually even with a lot of impressive flavors.

22 oz Bottle (2008). Pours a dark orange/red. Wonderful lacing on the thick full head. A malty nose with a hint of hops. Powerful on the palate with sweeter aftertaste. Nothing is overdone. A balanced and wonderful beer.

Bottle at Holiday Alesmith tasting. Strong red color. Creamy, thick, fluffy head. Did I mention it was thick? Fruity sweet on the nose with sharpness of hops behind it. Sharp on the tongue. Big pucker factor with the sweetness in the middle of the mouth. Sharp malt flavors stand up. Is spicy. Yum.

Draught at the Red. Dark amber-red with not much of a head. Aroma of pure butterscotch and a bit of caramel. The flavor is very butterscotch dominated with a some green, oily hops and modest bitterness. Pretty sweet and malty. This just tastes weird, like a couple shots of butterscotch liqueur got dumped in my imperial red. The hops struglge over the sweet, candied body. Quite a let down. I*ve got a bottle that I*m going to save for new years; hoping that its different than this odd tasting keg. (2.9) Rerate: 22oz bottle. Better beige head over a rich dark red body. the butterscotch is gone, but this is still to sweet and alcoholic; the hops are there, but they just get clobbered by all the sugar and alcohol. I’ll bump it up a bit, but I still feel that this is way overrated.

Pours to an orange amber color with a good sized head. In terms of aroma theres a good deal of alcohol and yeast on the nose and, for the holiday style, surprisingly less spice than Id mistakenly, assumed. It isnt terribly thick; reasonably creamy without overpowering. A bit of caramel, perhaps pine as well, I didnt register the citrus as much, but perhaps thats just my palate. Smooth finish, refreshingly balanced hops and malt. This beer really stands out for its steadfast commitment to balance.

A nice belnd of hops and malts. Very good pour with a beautiful, thin and everlasting head on pour. Copper colored with a sweet scent and delicious taste.

Bottle at Hop Devil Grill in NYC, then tap at City Beer Store in SF. Really solid winter beer. They did not spare any hops on this one. Amber/red color with medium carbonation. Complex flavor profile with spices, citrus and pine, spices, sweet malt, and bitter hops. Fairly full palate.

bomber into shaker. Nice clear copper/amber with big rocky lacing off-white head. great hop malt aroma. great balanced flavor with a nice alcohol flavor that is definitely there but isnt to hot by any means. Medium body, drinkable, great Christmas beer. Great stuff.