AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

22oz Bottle: Pours a beautiful deep hazy amber/purplish with a consistant creamy tan head. Very fruity aroma, it’s full of fruity hops. Lemony, sherbert like with smooth and sweet resins. Loads of hops in the flavor also. Has a smooth lemony fruityness. In the beginning it’s slightly sweet and sherbert like fruityness, with subtle apricot notes. Chewy malts, with a roasty rye bread hint hold the body up perfectly. Tons of pine needles, with more grapefruity hop flavors coming out in the later flavors. Long, piney bitter dry finish. Everything is perfectly balanced. The loads of West-coast hops blend harmoniously with the chewy, delicious malts. Alcohol is masked completely (My bottle was labeled at 8.5% ABV). Great stuff!

Release 2003: The color on the pour a beclouded burnished copper color with the head Bunyanesque in size, creamy in consistency and the color a toothsome light tan, as it ever so slowly decays the lace left behind forms a tight sheet to smother the glass. Hops citrus crisp dominate the nose, lying underneath is the sweetness from the malt, hints of caramel, pine, lime like crispness, fresh, a hodgepodge of aromas to entrance the senses. Start is sweet, full of malt, top is fair to middling in feel with the finish biting in its acidity, but the hops power their way thought to the taste buds, they spring to life with the biting spiciness, the bitterness is quite refreshing and the 8.5 percent ABV causes a nice warming sensation, as good as it is now, I always buy enough so I can sample for several years to come as with the 2002 release, reminds me I need to break one out and put it in the DBF for sampling soon.

Release 2002: It’s been close to two years since I had this beer, and I know that is way to long, finally the Alesmith brews are trickling over one style at a time, but at least their on the way.

The beer pours a murky amber color, tons of dross floating in suspension and resting on the bottom of the bottle, “Yummy”. The head is Herculean in size, the structure creamy, the color a beauteous light tan and as it evanesces, the lace forms a glutinous sheet to conceal the glass. Nose is dominated by the hop floral tones, sweet malt, fresh, crisp and clean, a real treat for the nose as well as the eyes. Start is ambrosial, loaded with malt, the top middling in its feel, finish is delicately acidic, the hops slam your palate, like the “Cubs” pounding out the “Homers”, on their way to the “World Series”!

Quite dry and lingering aftertaste with a bit of belly warming to boot, oh how I love these big old bad boys, once of the beers not meant for the weak or infirm, as it will take the hide off an Armadillo!

Big hop aroma with lots of grapefruit and pine and slight chocolatiness. Pours is nice orange with a smooth, silky head. Flavor is pretty balanced between the up front hops and late malts... it doesn’t work in its favor though because the malts are too thin to really back up the intense hopping. When going for balance in an IIPA I feel you need very rich malting, otherwise just don’t bother at all and go all out hops, which is fine too. The palate is pretty thick with nice tongue scraping bitterness but not quite as syrupy and rich as I would like. Still, a fabulous beer, especially for the price ($4 for a bomber, compared to 10 for a dreadnaught).

Bottle pours hazy amber, frothy off-white head, with some minor yeasty bits floating about.   Strong hop aroma, slight piney/spruce notes.   Yup, definitly slowly diminishing head and superb lacing.   Forwardly hoppy, mildly malty, smooth and creamy.   This is quite the treat!   Full body, great mouthfeel.   Excellent Winter offering from Alesmith.   w00t!! 200 ratings!!!   Thanks goes out to herbjones for the trade!

Sampled at the Richmond Beer Industry Gathering 2006. Slightly hazy amber body with a medium off-white head. Sweet caramel and floral hops aroma. Sweet strong floral hops flavor with a caramel background.

[1506-20080704] 1pt6floz bottle. Spicy pine resin aroma with dark heavy wood malt notes. Murky, dark brown amber body with a long-lasting foamy almond head and big white floaties. Spicy pine resin continues in the flavour with lots of heavy hops. Medium-full body. Interesting and fragrant!
(w/ jerc, manuchampions, tupalev)

Wow, big thanks to hogtown harry for sharing yet another alesmith - I don’t know how I would have ever tried these beers without your connections, cheers harry, it is much appreciated. Shared with harry and blankboy. Dark hazy orange/brown, small white head. Wonderful hoppy aroma. Incredible balanced sweet malt, full mouthfeel, and hop taste. Not as much hops as aroma suggests, which is good, and they weave perfectly into this near perfect beer. Full flavoured, full mouthfeel and a joy to drink, this beer has earned its high standing here on the site. A true beer drinking delight, not bad as I kick off my next 1000!

Appearance: Pours a clear, reddish-amber body with a fizzy, off-white head. Smell: Hardy aroma of caramel malts and succulent, juicy hop fruitiness with full notes of orange, grapefruit, pineapple, and apricots. Taste: Rich, thick caramel malts with an energizing jolt of sweetness. Tropical, citrusy hop flavors with a burst of bitterness to match all that malty sweetness. Finishes bittersweet, with a touch of spicy alcohol showing. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Slight stickiness to the mouthfeel. Drinkability: Crammed with plenty of malt, hops, and booze, but it was an ease to drink.