AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

Bottle. Huge head with nice duration. Color is brown. Aroma and taste are rich with plum, raisin, nuts, spices, caramel, roast malt, hops, flowers and alcohol notes. A real Wauw experience.

Poured a cloudy orange amber color with a small tan head, and some lacing. Strong citrus hop aroma. Very well balanced, with a grapefruit hop, then resiny pine taste and then a superb malt finish. Full / creamy mouthfeel.

OSLO and Guerde’s Memorial Weekend Tasting, 5/23/08. Courtesy of Skyview. Hazy copper color with a thin head. Caramel and pine hop aroma. Much the same in the taste. Strong and dry malt backbone.

I’ve had this one over the years quite a few times. The best one I remember from the DC/VA gathering at Founders back in 2004 as being really intricately malty, with almost all hop flavor/aroma and little bitterness. More recently I’ve had some really disappointing bottles, that were extremely yeasty, catty and intensely bitter (2005 version). The 2006 I’ve had mixed results with, having had some yeast bombs as well, but most recently I had what I think is probably the best it’s going to get this year and decided to rate it. Tons of pine, marmalade and lots of cherry and strawberry esters. The yeast is plasticy and not particularly enjoyable and just gets more intense as the beer wears on and you get closer to the bottom. But the malt is solid enough, with toasty caramel and bread notes, and lightly sweet brown sugar that helps coat the mouth and protect against some of the hop burn. Alcohol is not particularly subtle, eating away at the malt body and really accentuating the rather steep hop bitterness. Pretty forceful overall, and some fruitiness or more "elegant" hop notes would be a relief. As it is here, it’s just tons of pine and citrus and too much yeastiness. Nice appearance, though, of course, with great head formation/retention and plentiful lacing. Texture is sticky, with medium amounts of mostly tight carbonation.
Will pick up a new ’06-’07 bottle when they come out and rerate.

1 pt 6 fl oz bottle thanks to ekstedt!
Marked 8.5% ABV
On May 25, 2009
Shady copper to red color, orange to tan a bit small head. Spicy, fresh, malty, alcohol scent. Malty, bitter, spicy taste. Warming alcohol. Smooth mouthfeel.

Pours a nice deep amber cloudy with a thick beige head and good lace. Aroma is thickly resinous and pine with lot sof citrus and sappy- almost harsh. Moderate caramel malt flavor with a thick resinous hop lupulin flavor harsh cohumulone, pine needle- more of an oldschool hop-bomb, opposite of the pliny fruity citrusy hop character- this is more piney and sappy. Sticky tacky bitter finish. Nice DIPA.

Bottled. Thx rlgk. Deep, dark amber with a huge, off-white head. Sweet, malty, hoppy, grassy with floery elderberries.

Bottle. Somewhat hazy amber/orange color, huge lasting creamy head. Very nice fruity and hoppy aroma, citrus. lots of IPA-feeling in this one. Floral and with elder notes. Hoppy floral flavor, grassy, metallic, spicy, fruity, a lil sweetish. Great body, great beer.