AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

22oz. bomber. Clear copper color with a medium sized beige head. Really nice hop aroma with some pine and a bit of citrus, along with a sweet malt background that sort of reminded me of cookie dough. Flavor was very well balanced between the mostly piney hops(with some tangerine) and the toasted malt with lots of caramel. Medium-full bodied, with the alcohol barely perceptible.

Bottle in trade. Pours a nice dark amber with a dash of foam. This is clearly going to be a treat as I can smell this from 2 feet away. This has more of a fruit profile than the Summer version. Kiwi or something. Loads of hops tho, no questioning what this is all about. Strong citrusy hop flavors with some bitterness and still a great fruity background.

Bottle, special thanks to CMUBEERMAN for flying this all the way to Tokyo!!! Pours red caramel, thin white head. Apricot, pineapple floral, vanilla, hops. Flavor is earth, citrus, hops, pine, vanilla. Quite complex and tasty.

A crossbreed of an amber and a IIPA, hence the imperial red-ness. More malty than an IIPA, but much of the same flavors. Lighter than the summer and more malty. actually tastes a lot like big hoppy monster but with a creamier mouthfeel and different types of hops.

Pours a very deep reddish amber with a thick, rocky tan head. Nose is very malt and floral hops. Flavor is deep malt with nice balance of hop. Toffee and caramel along with a hop kick makes this a really good beer. Full bodied and hearty.

Bottle courtesy of Toncatcher.

Pours a deep red-brown caramel with a nice off-white head; beautiful. Big grapefruit c-hop aroma, very much as expected. Already the touches of oxidation that one gets with these big West-Coast IIPAs; I’d love to try it fresh. The flavor is as expected, distinctive Alesmith character, ample rich caramel malts driving the body with a fullness to complement the aggressive c-hopping. Not too sweet, though not a dry herbal IIPA. Nice mouthfeel, not sticky, certainly not hot. (Impressive accomplishment at 9.5%!) Very nice beer, quite enjoyable. A standout? Maybe not in this ultra-competitive category, but enjoyable through and through.

Well after hearing about the summer YuleSmith over a year ago and buying a bottle i thought all along it was the same brew as the winter ale. When did they start to classify them as seperate beers? Anyways, this winter bottle produces a dark burnt orange with very fluffy topping of head. Aroma is a stinky socks type of smell that Fat Tire has but this ale isn’t as stinky. Has minimum amount of hop scent and big background of malt and sweets. The drink is a rich flavor of sweet sugars used and semi dark malt and just the right touch of hop. Very heavy and well balanced.

2008 Winter bomber poured into a tulip. First off, this is one of the best looking beers I have ever seen. It pours a deep, clear copper with a huge creamy head that lingers as a cap for the duration. Sheets of lacing coat the glass from top to bottom. Beautiful. The aroma has tons of pine resin up front with hints of grass and citrus as well. The malts aren’t messing around either with lots of caramel sweetness underneath the dominant pine hops. The taste has lots of complexity with a very strong caramel malt base with tons of hops on top. There is a citrus hop kick up front but with a lot of pine hops in the finish. The mouthfeel is sticky with sweetness and pine hop resin and has lots of carbonation that tickles the palate. This is another great beer from AleSmith and very, very drinkable.