AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

22oz bomber. Not to impressed with the aroma as it smelled more malty than hoppy. The taste was more malts then hops as well with a strong caramel taste.Had a nice crisp balanced bitter afterbite that left you wanting more.

I’ve had this one over the years quite a few times. The best one I remember from the DC/VA gathering at Founders back in 2004 as being really intricately malty, with almost all hop flavor/aroma and little bitterness. More recently I’ve had some really disappointing bottles, that were extremely yeasty, catty and intensely bitter (2005 version). The 2006 I’ve had mixed results with, having had some yeast bombs as well, but most recently I had what I think is probably the best it’s going to get this year and decided to rate it. Tons of pine, marmalade and lots of cherry and strawberry esters. The yeast is plasticy and not particularly enjoyable and just gets more intense as the beer wears on and you get closer to the bottom. But the malt is solid enough, with toasty caramel and bread notes, and lightly sweet brown sugar that helps coat the mouth and protect against some of the hop burn. Alcohol is not particularly subtle, eating away at the malt body and really accentuating the rather steep hop bitterness. Pretty forceful overall, and some fruitiness or more "elegant" hop notes would be a relief. As it is here, it’s just tons of pine and citrus and too much yeastiness. Nice appearance, though, of course, with great head formation/retention and plentiful lacing. Texture is sticky, with medium amounts of mostly tight carbonation.
Will pick up a new ’06-’07 bottle when they come out and rerate.

Looks like what you expect, translucent hazy orange, frothy lacing white head. Smells a little different than what you’d expect, hay, yeast, and barnyard accompany the traditional hop aromas. Flavor is slight citrus (oranges and tangerines) with sweet malts, also touches of yeast and biscuit. Finish is really smooth, slightly sweet and also slightly bitter. Heavy alcohol sneaks up on you because of the sweetness. Very nice, complex flavors, but also very drinkable which I appreciate.

Bouteille de 22 oz dégustée en compagnie de Dmac621, Dickinsonbeer, Cathschlag, MartinT, Beerbuzzmontreal et Glouglouburp. Arôme: Odeur d’agrumes et d’épices. Apparence: La couleur est blonde (présence de lie). Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’houblons et de noix grillées. Longue durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence d’houblon en arrière goût. (Rating #1253)

Huge thanks to Secret Santa crizay for this one! I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, and it didn’t disappoint. Orange and ruby tinted amber, nice compact pillow head that left tails of lace. Aroma is thick caramel and a burst of juicy citric and pine hops. Flavor is rich caramel accented malts, resinous pine, pineapple, citrus, and something tropical that really reminded me of mango. Everything balanced perfectly, the transition from malt sweetness to hop bitterness is seemless. Awesome beer.

2006 bottle. Deep orange color. It’s pretty malty overall, aroma and flavor. This bottle is about 9 months old I’d say, so the hops in it have faded, but still have a presence. Feels like a barley wine. Would like to have it fresh to see what it’s like.

Name: Yulesmith (Winter)
Date: 11/29/2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Stuffed Sandwich

clear dark red, huge lasting creamy beige head, nice lace, huge citrus hop aroma, lots of hop flavor, tons of citrus, sweet caramel and pine, long bitter finish
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Name: Yulesmith (Winter)
Date: 12/06/2006
Mode: bottle
Words: hi times

very creamy body, spicy hop flavor as well, picking up a bit of alcohol in the finish,
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Name: Yulesmith (Winter)
Date: 05/26/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: roadtrip
Words: summer vs. winter tasteoff

clear dark ruby red, oxidized earthy hop aroma with a spicy edge, sweet dark caramel malt flavor with lots of balancing earthy hops, winter comes off heaver and stronger than summer making it a good winter warmer
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Name: Yulesmith (Winter)
Date: 12/04/2007
Mode: draft
Words: O’Brien’s

strong dark caramel malt aroma with lots of earthy hops and a touch of alcohol, rich dark caramel malt flavor, sticky caramel sweetness, tons of earthy hops, long bitter finish,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: ***+/4

What a wonderful way to start off! Aromas of orange and pine burst out of the bottle and are detectable as I’m pouring. On closer examination I can pick up some caramel/vanilla type malt and a touch of pineapple. Appearance is a beautiful dark amber with a subtantial frothy head. Some lacing is detectable right off the bat. Flavor is sweeter than I expected, at least before the hoppy kick at the end. Sweet caramel malt flavors give way to a burst of crisp pine hops with a bit of a citrus interlude as a transition. Really nice! My only slight complaint is that the malt is a bit overbearing up front and it comes off a bit syrupy for a split second before the transition to hoppy bliss.