AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

Thanks to Badgerben for sharing an ’04. It might have been a little old. It wasn’t nearly as well hopped as I expected. Very thick, especially for an IPA. Solid malt body, with some sweetness and lightly bitter hops. Good flavor but not as full of a palate, I suspect, as if it were fresh.

Bottled. Pours out in a hazy reddish deep amber colour with a low thick tan-coloured foam. Loads of fruity and resinous hops in the aroma of pine-needles, flowers, berries and caramel. Medium to full-bodied with notes of resin, caramel, pine-needles and sweet licorice. Long resinous and floral aftertaste with touches of berries and caramel.

Pours a nice red color with a nice light tan head. Aroma is full of a nice malt/hop combo and some caramel, citrus and resinous notes. Flavor is a beautiful blend of malt and hops...citrus, floral hops and a great malt backbone make this a helluva beer.

Bottle. Dark amber color with a big off-white head. Big citrus hop aroma. Big malt backing with huge hops. LIngering hop and sweetness. Hides alcohol well and is easy to drink. This is sort of like a more mellowed version of an arogant bastard - not as assertive and easier to drink.

Bottled. Aroma is citric, hoppy, grapefruity, some caramel. Amber coloured beer with an off-white, lasting head. The taste is quite bitter, slight sweet touch, has citrus, pine, some caramel. Nicely balanced and complex.

Aroma is nice, chocolate, raisin, cinnamon, and moderate hops. Pour is a cloudy light amber with some bottle conditioned particles floating around. It tastes like it smells at first, and then finishes on a bitter/sour note. Very yeasty on the finish and could do with some aging to settle down the flavor. Nice creamy texutre.

In short: Wonderful rich caramel and american citrusy/resinous hops. This to me is a IIPA and a fantastic one.
How: Bottle 22oz, about 3 months old. Bottle received from Secret Festivus dude, thanks a lot whoever you are.
The look: Partly cloudy copper body with a large beige head
In long: Nose has a lot of caramel and grapefruit. Taste is rich and smooth caramel perfectly balanced by citrusy and resinous pine-tree hops. The bitter finish is sharp and a little citric when cold but smoothens out as the beer warms up. No alcohol presence whatsoever, drinks itself like a 5%. Lively carbonation. The flavour spectrum is nothing groundbreaking but the execution is top-notch. This is a highly drinkable tasty beer. To me the Winter YuleSmith is not quite as enjoyable as a fresh Summer one but they are both among my favourite American hop-fix. I can’t never get enough of these two. Note to AleSmith’s brewer: there are also these things called Spring and Autumn, now get to work.

golden amber, large thick light brown head. good lacings. aroma of grapefruit, pine, honey, malty sweetness, faint licorice, faint caramelly. flavor of pine, malty sweetness, licorice, alc well hidden. dark fruits.