AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

22-oz bottle received via trade with FlacoAlto. Pours tawny with a large, frothy, light brown head, mostly lasting with excellent lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, bread, caramel), heavy hops (flowers, perfume, pine), average yeast (leather, dough) with notes of alcohol, apple, and wood. Full bodied, sticky texture, lively carbonation, and a bitter finish. Long duration, light sweetness, heavy acidity and bitterness.

Had this on cask last night and it was awesome. Citrus flavor along with a perfect hops/malt balance. 2004 version not as hoppy with a bit more malt.

Originally rated 1/9/2006.
Bottle shared with HogTownHarry & tupalev -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Woohoo, another beer to rate from my favourite brewery -- thanks Harry! Pours a hazy dark orangey-brown with a large dissipating fizzy white head. The aroma, well if I quote my notes I wrote "Holy $h!t that’s awesome!" A wonderful fresh hops explosion -- I love it! I dont know how the flavour can top the aroma but it does -- it’s sooo flavourful it’s ridiculous. Again, fresh juicy hops balanced just right with some sweet malt. You’d never know this was 8.5%. Creamy, full bodied and smooth. Excellent, I don’t know if IPAs get better then this!

KSBF 2006 RB after party. Rating #1,000. Much thanks to Slob for sharing this one from my wants list. Pours a hazy golden amber with a creamy off white head that laced and sustained. Aroma of caramel, toffee and kind of an organe/pine hops hidden in there. Flavors of the same but I think oxidation has set in and kind of has burried everything a bit. I need to get ahold of another bottle to re-rate.

22 oz bottle. Poured a slightly hazy orange red color. Head was off white/yellow, thick, and tenacious with great retention. Some lace was left behind at the end. Attractive aroma of citrusy/resiny hops, malty caramel, and graham cracker. There were also whiffs of pineapple and sea salt. Assertive hop bitterness, prickly carbonation, and warm alcohol assaulted my tongue initially, but some sugars and fruity cherry softened the blow in middle. There was a nice balance of malt and hop flavors including notes of sweet grapefruit, flower blossom, toffee, caramel, and savory scone. There was also ample alcohol. Hop bitterness was present throughout and peaked at about 7 out of 10. This is a well put together beer.

Bottled, brought from City Beer, SF. Clear amber color, short off-white head. Aroma of grapefruit, big hop, some malt. As in all alesmiths again a perfect balance of big hop, pine and grapefruit on a malty background. Strong and tasty, but also quite soft. Great stuff.

Ok need to re-rate, cask today at the brewery, and damn! 2005 22oz bomber. Happily found this at a Bevmo in La Jolla before the 2006 release date, my sources and I suspect Stone, Alesmith’s distributor had some left in storage in their refrigerated warehouse, and waited until the season to relase it. Bottle foamed over upon opening which was a tad dissapointing. Pours a cloudy straw with a huge pillowy thick head. The aroma is pure refreshing hop goodness. The taste is sweet and mellow and very refreshing. Hopps are ovewhelmingy present with a hingt of citrus. Aging really brings out the pow in this beer while mellowing the flavors. Either my palate has changed a lot since the last time i had winter yule or this beer has changed a lot. Yulesmith gets my 3Y rating Yum Yum Yum.

Big bottle from San Diego. I have had a couple of these in trade and always sent them on when I felt I was short in a trade. Nice to finally open a bottle. Huge lasting light brown head. Dirty red copper beer. Big grapefruit IPA hop nose. Plenty of malt in a woody base. Alcohol yes but not dominant, felt more in the effect than in the taste. Nicely balanced IIPA.