AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

Originally rated 1 Jan 06. Moved over to the Winter due to the separation. Bottle. Poured a gorgeous reddish amber with a small off-white head. Huge IPA aroma, pine and grapefruit. Great hop flavor with some caramel and butterscotch in the background. Medium body and dry texture. Simply wonderful and hard to put the glass down to write some notes! This topped off the end to a great holiday season for me and my #200. Thanks to my brother (Vac) and zug4abby for sending me this one for Christmas!!

Big on hop flavor, big on alcohol, especially in the finish. Large, dense off-white head on top of a cloudy golden body. Heavy nose of grapefruit and pine alongside sweet malts displaying notes of caramel and sugars. Sweet flavor behind heavy bitterness. Medium to full body with a nice, creamy texture. The bitterness continues into the long finish. Alcohol is quite apparent and a little too forward. Dry finish. Excellent.

Another great Alesmith product. The Yulesmith pours a orange-brown sort of color with a nice head that leaves tons of lacing on the glass--maybe the most I’ve ever had. The aroma is along the lines of Great Divide Hercules or Stone Ruination--pine, citrus, with a hint of caramel. The taste is very nice. Plenty of hoppines in there, but backed up by a solid wall of malt flavor. The balance is what makes this one smooth and refreshing. "

Poured a dark copper with a a fizzy/fluffy off-white head. Aroma is nearly perfect pine, grapefruit, some sweet toffee, some attic mustiness. Flavor is sweet and hoppy, with big notes of ruby red grapefruit and some grass and piney hops. This is balanced against a body of sweet toffeeish and biscuity malt and some refreshingly dry alcohol. An excellent imperial red as only Alesmith can do.

(22 oz. bottle from <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/massachusetts/w target=blank>Julio’s Liquors, cellared for 10 mos. after purchase) Really quite a hop bomb...Pours cloudy amber with a very large lightly amberish biege head. Large foamy head takes a while to die down. Aroma is big pine and grapefruit rind with some soft vanilla and caramel underneath. Mouthfeel pretty thick, fairly smooth. Sticky finish. Lacing is big foamy rings and sheets. Taste is big, fairly sharp hoppy pine and grapefruit overtop of sweet candy maltiness with notes of caramel and vanilla. Slight alcoholic finish. Medium-high bitterness. A little too much of everything. Although there’s alot of malt there’s even more hops. If I thought this was too hoppy wonder how I’d like the summer version!

Pours a deep reddish brown color with a big creamy tan head that lasts throughout. Big roasty caramel malt aroma, along with ripe fruit, citrus hops, and a bit of spice. Flavor is sweet, with malt and fruit up front, and a nice bitter hoppy finish with a warming alcohol bite. Easily the best winter brew I have tried so far. Fantastic.

Extra 22 oz bottle courtesy of.. you know, I cannot recall offhand who gifted me this bad boy. Appreciative, regardless though. Pours a nice dark copper, a little dulled, decent haze, big beige head that cakes, stays around big and laces very well. Aromas are crisp caramel and toffee malts with decent citrus hop backing up the body. A bit floral, sweetness comes in, almost a bit cakey with the caramel. Perhaps a bit faded, but still very nice. Initial is a bit boozy up front, bitter florals and grapefruit, faint piney resin and sweet sweet caramel coming in with toffee sweetness taking on a fuller feel. A bit boozy overall, a bit sweet and pastry/cakey. I’m really not an ASA fan, but this brew is constructed well.. I can’t knock if of that. Finishes bitter on the palate, with sweetness lingering and light florals and citrus. Not bad, just not really my thing overall.

A slightly cloudy reddish caramel color with a medium off0white head. A mild pine aroma, which makes it difficult to detect other aromas. Some slightly sweet malts with no spices, a Christmas beer? A weak thin body, pine taste. Nothing special other than limited distribution.