AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

Slightly hazed copper pour with a smaller, but dense and stable light tan head. Grapefruit and pine tree grove aroma, undertones of sweet malt. Initial caramel flavors mingle with pine sap. Malt flavors continue throughout the quaff. Light smooth and a touch oily in feel. Small Amount of resin and Later in the brew. Seems to thin out and lose a touch of luster as it warms. Still a very good winter warmer. The finish is a touch odd, it seems thin at first, then there is wood element, followed by pine, a mellow malt and back to a dry wood. Interesting! Thanks again to Secretsanta cquiroga.

Bottle@Home. Strong aroma, floral/fruity and raisin. Brown colour, yellowish head, good lace. Sweet, bitter, floral, fruity, dark malts, raisin. Full and syrupy. Very pleasant.

Delicious aroma of balanced malt with the huge amount of hops. Dark brown/tawny color with perfect head and lacing. The flavor is perfectly balanced. Fig newton meets caramel meets chinook hops. One of the best I2PAs I've had.

Bomber bottle at 42 F. Poured clear dark amber color with medium frothy off-white head that was that lasted with excellent lacing. Solid complex sour citrus and pine hop aroma. Medium to full body with smooth texture with soft carbonation. Full citrus, malt and spice flavor with a sharp bittersweet finish. Good brew that is a standout.

Bottle. Pours a reddish color with a small off-white head. Has a sweetish malty hoppy grapefruit aroma. Sweetish malty hoppy bitter grapefruit flavor. Has a fruity malty and long bitter hoppy grapefruit finish.

Bottle from Capone’s. Here’s a beer I never thought I’d see in PA. The Buildup: Hazy deep ruby pour presented a 2-finger, creamy off-white head with layers of lacing. The Olfactory Elements: Big tropical fruity and citric hop smell, with notes of mango, pineapple, black pepper, star fruit, and tangerine. The Tongue Lashing: Richly caramel malty flavor, with a complex cascade of tropical fruit flavors mixed in with the large hop bill. The palate was a bit sticky, very rich, and very complex. It got a tad hot as it warmed, and even acquired a slight Belgian aley note. The Aftermath: The aftermath saw my liver and kidneys converting this to waste products, and those waste products being passed out of my body as urea.

Cloudy red amber with a lasting off-white head. Caramel aroma with vineous alcohol and American hops. Sweet and clean caramel malty flavour with a hint of licorice some hot alcohol.Lots of tasty, juicy hops.

2002 bottle. Head is initially large, creamy, rocky, off-white, fully lasting. Body is hazy dark amber, dense tiny particles, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately hoppy (resin, grapefruit), lightly malty (cookie). Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, heavily bitter. Medium to full body, creamy and velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly astringent, lightly alcoholic. Pretty good, but unlike the standard AleSmith IPA, the hops pretty much obliterate the malt in the aroma. Lots of citric acidity here too. The mouthfeel and appearance are phenomenal, but otherwise this doesn't really add anything unique to this overworked style.