AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

Bomber: Pours a reddish orange with a thick rocky off-white head, aroma has citrus, dark fruits, bread and pine, full bodied, sticky texture with ample carbonation, starts and ends bitter with a long bitter-sweet bready aftertaste.

Bottle courtesy of gears81. Thanks, Jake! Pours a clear, orangish-red appearance; off-white head with good retention. Aroma shows a mix of citrus and piney hops, dank and sweet, with a chewy malt backdrop (showing maple syrup and caramel). Slightly dry, red-ale character comes through in the mouthfeel: lively carbonation, plenty of chewy hops (pine character, esp.), with a dry, warming maltiness keeping things balanced. Lengthy finish.

This beer shows a brilliantly clear rich amber-copper color when held up to the light, otherwise it is a sparkling amber-ruby color. A thick creamy tan head tops this beer. The aroma is all hop; citrusy, bitter, tangerine, and orange all waft from the glass. The head is quite persistent and forms a rocky surface as it slowly settles down. Wow, this is a spicy hop nectar of a brew. I detect some notes of cinnamon along with the hop bomb that is currently in my glass. The finish is bitter but only slightly so in comparison to the hop flavor that is packed into this beer. Quite full bodied for an IPA, almost approaching a Barley-wine in character. The taste is redolent of American hops; grapefruit, and a hop tang along with a certain spice character from the hops as well. This is just perfect for the holiday season, and I wish I had procured more bottles of this.

Having sampled quite a few of these over the years I find that these things definitely peak. When first released they are still a bit hot, but about a month out till about 6 months old these things are really kick ass, after these they seem to fade and lose the intriguing soul that they have during that 1 to 6 month window. What really puts this beer on top is the intriguing composition of ’traditional’ American hop notes with a subtle holiday spice note that is reminiscent of cinnamon, clove, and all spice. I have no Idea how these spices have found their way into this beer, but they are evident, to me, and I don’t think that the brewers necessarily added any of them to this brew. Still this beer is a wonderful addition for the holiday season.

Bottle from Zinister. Thanks, Mike! Gig’em!
Pours a thick, viscous, almost jello-like amber with a head that rises faster than one of NASA’s finest. Aroma of bread, roasted nut, and hops with grapefruit rinds. Flavor is nicely balance mixture of hops, grapefruit, bread, and roasted nuts. Thick, coating mouthfeel. Outstanding. N e e d m o r e...

22 oz bottle, via moejuck. Pours a clear orangish copper colored body under a foamy one inch beige head with great retention. Patchy lacing remained. Aroma is pretty well balanced despite the big aggressive citric and piney hops. Thick candy like maltiness resides at the base. Toffee, caramel, and light alcohol as well. The flavor is alot less sweet than I expected. Alot of citrusy grapefruity hops with moderate bitterness. Nice crisp dry finish. The malt is really more crackery or toasty than anything. Slightly warming alcohol emerges on the finish. Mouthfeel is full bodied, fairly thick, and almost syrupy in texture with nice soft pinpoint carbonation. Overall, a hefty brew all around. Pretty darn good, but between the two versions I think that i side with the Summer YuleSmith.

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!

Bottle (65 cl) from Ölbutikken, Copenhagen, Denmark. Shady mahogny, medium yellow/beige head. Piney and citric hop aroma on a caramelly malt base. Medium bodied and smooth. A bit rough and salty bitterness, with some warming alcohol..

Vintage 2003 (4.2) Holiday Yule: Nice malty spicey nose. Big foamy head on the amber brew. Great barley, malt and spice taste. MMMMHHHH - Thanks DaSilky! Vintage 2002 (4.6)Nice medium foamy head. Hazy dark orange. Bubble gum like nose. Hops a gogo, spicey, hoppy but smooth - suprisingly. Chocolate notes also. Cloves. Lonk kick on the back of the Tongue. Again Tanks a lot DaSilky!