AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

Bomber thanks to notalush, Brandon you just opened up my eyes. I never thought or had an IIPA that is so malty. So when I smell it first, it is not the hops that intrigue me but the sweet brown sugar filled caramel malt aroma. Its strong and equally balanced with the great hearty hops which are like sourish and really citrus-y tangerines. The taste is similarly great where the malt sweetness really counterbalances the hop bitterness. Its pretty hefty to boot with a good heavy body thats also offset by an above average carbonation. Magnofic.

bottle. deep red and semitranslucent. half inch thick brown head. i actually got a lot of apple cinnamon in the aroma. some tropical fruits hops too, but quite a bit of spice. tremendous body and flavor. i actually do detect a fair amount of alcohol, but the flavor is pretty balanced. syrupy finish.

I enjoyed a bottle of this wonderful sweet hop nectar the other day for my 23rd birthday. The bottle is from the 2005 winter release. This beer is phenomenal!! It is much thicker and stickier than the summer version of this beer. It is very apparent that it is an imperial red as compared to the west coast double ipa that is the summer edition of this beer. Lots of great sweet malts shine through on this beer with some great piney resiney hops still making their presence known a year later down the road. Alcohol is not noticeable at all, and this beer is very enjoyable. Another great beer brought to us by Alesmith!!! They rarely disappoint.

Big thanks to notalush for this treat. Deep red colour with a huge sticky off-white head. Massive hoppy aroma, pine, dank wet leaves along with some other fruity notes (orange, mango, and grapefruit) over a sweet cookie dough, toast and caramel backbone. Very juicy and fruity tasting, but there is more than enough sweet maltiness to make this a well-balanced, full-bodied sweetish DIPA. The flavour is hoppy and fruity with sticky resins and chewy caramel/toasted malts. As it warms the resin/pine notes are amplified. Great brew.

Sampled at the Knoxville tasting courtesy of Shigadeyo, thanks Craig. An almost borwn pour with a light tan head and excellent lacing. A clen aroma of grapefruity hops. Swet malty flavor with hops and apples and an all over bitter that is an excellent example of hop bitter. A slight carbonation thing kept this from being a 5 on the palate. And excellent palate. flavor, mouthfeel overall excellent. Thanks Craig for the opportunity to try this beer.

Poured a dark copper with a a fizzy/fluffy off-white head. Aroma is nearly perfect pine, grapefruit, some sweet toffee, some attic mustiness. Flavor is sweet and hoppy, with big notes of ruby red grapefruit and some grass and piney hops. This is balanced against a body of sweet toffeeish and biscuity malt and some refreshingly dry alcohol. An excellent imperial red as only Alesmith can do.

bomber courtesy of Saarlander, thanks Aaron. my second bottle of this yummy treat, the first was before the two Yulesmiths were separated. I wish I could rate the appearance even higher, one of the most amazingly fluffly, rocky heads I’ve ever seen. flavor is malty with a bit of spice and plenty of hops to add balance to a strong brew with well hidden alcohol. well done

Pours orange, with a large, tan head. Aroma is citrusy hops, fruit, and spices. Flavor is hops, both citrus and pine. malt, caramel, and fruit, too. Pretty good balance. Body on the heavy side. Thanks to WeeHeavySD for this bottle.