AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

(bottle - 22 oz) Clear copper in color with a very puffy tan head. Aroma is hoppy and floral with hints of pine, resin, malt, and caramel. Flavor is very sweet and resiny with strong malt characteristics and a finish a little reminiscent of toasted almonds. Finishes very clean.

2002 edition - Huge fresh, clean hop nose. Red/orange color with a thin white head. Huge IPA with sweet grapefruit and spicey pine flavors. Very well balanced for such a big beer. Great beer and thanks to hopsrus for sharing.

Deep brownish red in color with a nice off white head. Hoppy and nice malty aroma. Piney, citrusy notes. Sweet malty flavor. Bitter tasting. Finish is bitter. Full bodied. Creamy. Very drinkable.

Caramel color. Dirty white, sticky, whipped foam. Boisterous, balanced aroma chock full of pine cone, spruce, hop oils, and caramel. Underlying notes of fresh soil, shades of spicy hops, figs, floral tones, sweet red apple, and a kiss of phenols. Alcoholic vapors are its only detraction. Mind boggling soft, oily, and chewy palate. Astonishing manifold of flavors and complexity: The initial flavors exert tamed hop flavors, which quickly turn to pine sap. Complex finish with lemon zest, rich, gooey caramel, and piney goodness. So marvelously balanced, it’s hardly imagineable. Hop belches yield plethoras of piney goodness for hours. A thorough beauty in her creation. Easily one of the most complex IPA’s I have tasted. Summer release is much more subdued and lacking the thick caramel richness of the Skip V. version, which was also more sappy/piney and much more aromatic. More like a beefier IPA than a Double, ala Midnight Cohoho and Smutty Big A. All in all, still quite good and what a wonderful bottle-conditioned mouthfeel.

Pours copper with a fairly dark tan head. The aroma is very malty with bready caramel. It is fairly musty with dark toffee and obvious abv. Medium / full body with fairly gentle carbonation. The flavor starts with barleywine like maltiness, a good amount of caramel and a welcoming alcohol burn. the finish has some woodiness, toffee, vanilla, sharp bitterness, cream and an increase in the alcohol. This is very good, but the summer version wins out for me.

Thanks to Shigadeyo for sharing this bottle with us at the Tennessee Spring(ish) Tasting! Pours with a lasting tan head over a clear, light brown body. Big juicy malt aroma with a touch of hops. Bitter flavor with plenty of underlying malt. Smooth and full mouthfeel. Very nice beer.

Bomber, and a bit of a gusher. We were suspicious of infection, but there seems to be little to complain about. Pours clear amber, with a creamy white head. Citrus, pine, caramel nose. The taste matches the nose pretty closely, maybe a little pepper on the exit?

bottle - Pours dark amber with a one finger, very long lasting head. The aroma is of caramel malt, citrus hops, and some light spices. The flavor is a good balance of those rich malts and ample hops along with some woody notes. Sure I drank mine in the summer, but this full bodied brew would be best consumed slowly on a cold night in front of a warm fire. Enjoy.