AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

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.

Appropriately generous hoppy aroma, strongly fruity and flowery with apparent notes of orange, pineapple and grapefruit along with dashes of cedar and light brown sugar sweetness. Medium-dark rusty red-brown color, opaque and rather heavily sedimented, with a lasting, creamy head and delicate lace. Malt is actually what begins this beer for me, sweet, thick and bodifying, but consequently giving way to the rush of full, citric, juicy and piney hops, and seeing a fantastically well-done balance of elements for the finish, along with some lingering spices and earthy woodiness. Palate is smooth, creamy and expansive, the seemingly ideal level of effervescence achieved for the style and the body medium-full. Nicely done, a true pleasure to consume. Cheers, Chris!

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: Reddish copper in color with a rocky off white head. Aroma, earthy, pine and citrus, with some caramel to back it up. Flavor, caramel, and toasted malts up front, followed by a nice bitter kick to finish. Really tasty stuff.

Bottle shared with Fly, Dewbrewer, Humulone_Red and others. Thanks guys!
Other bottle courtesy of WeeheavySD! Rich deep amber pour with a big lasting creamy head. Big hoppy nose with "red" malt as well. Rich sharp hoppy flavor with a creamy balanced maltiness to it. A touch of alcohol is noticeable, but still nice. Carbonation is a tad high, but I find that to be the case with most of Alesmith’s beers. Nice beer.

22oz bottle from Bevmo Carmel Mountain. Poured a medium amber color with a nice ruby hue. Head was big, rocky, and left great lacing. Big nose of floral hops with some sweet malt in the backdrop.

22 oz. bottle - Color as described: clear and copper. Light off white head that lasts. Has a sweet floral hop aroma with some malt in the background. Flavor is well balanced. Has a very smooth bitterness. This beer is so smooth. Medium body. No alcohol warming. An excellent beer!

2001 edition: Didn't expect to find this one today...dark orange glow...speckled off-white head...aroma was Insane!..creamy hop buds surrounded in a fruity display of grapefruits and cherries sitting in liquid carmel...flavor was grapefruit rinds surrounded by cherry ice cream, carmel maltiness always present but slightly off-balanced by the hops...alcohol well hidden but not invisible...gets better as it warms... Re-rate 8/5/2002 edition draught: This stuff glows and is pure hop juice, it was amazing Re-Rate Bottled 2002 : There something so creamy about this IPA in the bottle that it surpasses its san diego cousins..