AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

22oz bottle. Cloudy red pour with a big tan head. Creamy malt aroma with some spice, tart cherry and citrus hops. Creamy and grainy malt flavor with some alcohol and a spicy hop and caramel finish.

650ml bottle from Consumers Beverages, Niagara Falls NY. Beautiful deep red colour with frothy white head. Nice winter warmer. Great malt and hop balance. Very tasty!

[bottle] Spicy melanoidiny malt aroma with tons of grapefruit and a little biscuit. Hazy red-amber with a lasting, beige cover. Flavour is a blast of US hops that gives a slightly salty feel and develops into a spicy and biscuity malt, ending in a dry bitterness. Excellent balance for such a big beer.

Bottle... Poured a hazy amber with a thick, beige head, nice retention and lacing. Pretty tasty brew, it was pretty close to a barleywine for me. Earthy grains on the nose. Nice, yeasty esters and strong caramel or brown sugar sweetness and a natural, honey sweetness that complemented the thick, foamy palate. Earthy hops, but not very bitter. A little kick from the alcohol but well balanced. This is a great winter and dessert beer.

Bottle. Hazy deep amber coloured with a nice creamy off white head. Aromas of in your face hops, sweet malt, caramel, sugar, fruity hops, tutti frutti gum and flowers. Flavour of chewy toffee, heavy hops, maple syrup, resin and licorice. Super smooth texture.

Extra 22 oz bottle courtesy of.. you know, I cannot recall offhand who gifted me this bad boy. Appreciative, regardless though. Pours a nice dark copper, a little dulled, decent haze, big beige head that cakes, stays around big and laces very well. Aromas are crisp caramel and toffee malts with decent citrus hop backing up the body. A bit floral, sweetness comes in, almost a bit cakey with the caramel. Perhaps a bit faded, but still very nice. Initial is a bit boozy up front, bitter florals and grapefruit, faint piney resin and sweet sweet caramel coming in with toffee sweetness taking on a fuller feel. A bit boozy overall, a bit sweet and pastry/cakey. I’m really not an ASA fan, but this brew is constructed well.. I can’t knock if of that. Finishes bitter on the palate, with sweetness lingering and light florals and citrus. Not bad, just not really my thing overall.

What a nice, gentle warm feeling that comes over you when you taste this beer, like a nice cognac. I’m still very bitter that after four years of living in san diego, i didnt know this brewery existed. great beer, again.

Bottle from Julio’s. Pours a deep, somewhat murky reddish-amber color with a decent head that settles to patches. The aroma shows a lot of resin mixed with floral notes, some citrus, and toffee. Sweet toffee and caramel kick off the flavors but quickly give way to big resinous hops with a lot of berries mixed in. Long-lasting bitter, toasty finish with a warming sensation. Interesting beer. At first I thought this was so so but it did grow on me and overall is a very good beer. Also, I’m drinking this on July 1st and I can see how it would be really good during the holidays with the prominent berry notes mixed with the big malt/hop combo. Hopefully I get to try this again when it’s released again in the winter and I really look forward to trying the Summer Yulesmith