AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

Holy crap! This is good. I just had a Stone Double Bastard before this. After I drank the Double, I went out and bought a case. On my beer mission, I saw the Yulesmith and bought 4 bottles. I’ll be buying at least another case of this. I like this better than the Stone. Different styles of course. Double IPAs are my favorite these days with Alpine Exponential is at the top with this right below it. I’m in heaven here in San Diego with such good breweries. Mouthfeel is so freakin good on this. Oily and creamy like Arrogant Bastard. Has kind of a sweet, carmely aroma. Taste is piney and grapefruity. It is very smooth. Excellent! I can’t wait until Exponential comes back out. It might wind up my top rated beer. Rerate: OK, I just had a Dreadnaught before this. I’m really on a roll. One thing that Dreadnaught definately has over this is aroma. Dreadnaught spreads aroma throughout the immediate area, while you have to stick your nose in the glass to appreciate the aroma of this. This is less sweet than the Dreadnaught, and has a chalkier-dry finish. This leaves better lace in the glass than Dreadnaught. This is definately cloudier. This may also have a little more hops in the finish. Give me either one and I’ll be a happy man! Now I’ll have to get Ruination in the mix to see how it compares. One other important thing to note. This and Ruination are only $4/bomber while Dreadnaught is $6. Exponential is $7.50/64oz. growler. With price factored in, Yulesmith, Ruination, and Exponential can not be beat. Rererate: After drinking this for a while, I would have to say that I like Dreadnaught better. It is a little more drinkable. Nothing against this at all though. Rerererate: The 2004 summer release is the best yet. This batch is pretty much perfect. Amazingly creamy, smooth, balanced and complex. ReRate 040605: Drinking the winter 2004 release, and the hops are fading. The balance is a lot more towards the malt this time. ReRate 062305: 2005 summer realease - Solid coppe-orange color with an insanely rich, creamy head. Aroma is rich with caramel, medium to dark rum, hops, black licorice raisins, and some kind of berry or perhaps purple grape. Flavor is rich with caramel malt, some black licorice, whisky, and of course hops. The hops are pretty complex. They start off citrusy then turn piney. The malt richness reminds me of older versions of Hop 15, but this lacks the tropical fruitiness. Mouthfeel is incredibly rich, smooth and creamy. Very impresive, and in my opinion, is a bargain at $5/bottle. No change in score.

2002 bomber - Gorgeous cloudy glowing caramel amber color with a monsterious two inch head that grew fast from the pour to a thick, billowy, lumpyness of dark ivory color, faded down very slowly to one big lump of cookie dough. A solid thick wave of foam always present during the entire glass worth; lace all over in webby sheets. Aroma is deep dark citrus and nice juicy piney-woodish sense with very nice caramel and biscuit dough backing. Notes of chocolate, nuts and light spice, kinda like the smell of a Mrs. Fields cookie store and a candy store all at once. Taste is subtle complex layers of malts lending lots of smooth sweet caramal with a touch of chocolate, very soft and bready, light airy buttery biscuit feel lending a bit of chewyness. Hops appear about midway with excellent balance, handled very nicely with dark citrus and pine thats kinda juicy but easy all at once, quite amazing with a nice soft approach as well. Finishes with awesome clean, soft bitterness and drying. Medium body feel; smooth and lightly creamy/buttery with just the right amount of carb. grab that fuzzes the tongue and soothes the throat. The alcohol is masked very well, but as it warms it makes a bit of an appearance in smell and taste. One hell of an excellent IPA, soft and subtle in its character with just enough zaz to wake you up and notice that its worth every f*ckin' sip, gulp, and ahhh...

22 oz bomber. Hop Heads, rejoice at this offering !!! Pours a coppery golden color with a thick creamy beige head. Smells of intense hops, pines,citrus, vanilla, and butterscotch. Taste is similar to the smell. Very thick piney taste with hints of vanilla, butterscotch and citrus. A powerful imperial/double ipa. One of the best of its kind, however, not as good as the Three Floyds Dreadnaught. Superb, regardless.

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.

Thanks to Juancho. Defintely out of this world. Pours a perfect dark copper color with a light brown ever lasitng head. Taste of citrus , grapefruit because of the bittirness, but the the sweet malty flavor balances it out, however, the hop will follow you for a good time, delicious, if you like hops......

Originally rated on 3/22/2006, but I have to move my rating now that YuleSmith has split.

Pours a thick, deep copper, mostly flat, topped with a rocky, ecru head that lasts and laces. Amazingly delicious, multi-layered aromas, starting with baked bread, becoming sweet muffins with citrusy tangerine & prune, coriander & clove, lily & pine, ending with alcohol as it warms. Incredible. Big malts temper big hops. Thick & syrupy, I wished for a bit of carbonation to help liven the mouth and further spread the flavors of rich caramel, sweet citrics, raisin and milk chocolate. I could only find two things wrong with YuleSmith... an effervescent kick would complexify the palate; and better availability in the Chicagoland area would be a big plus!

<font size=-4>I grabbed the last bottle from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Chicago, IL 60638<font size=-1>

Bottle. Clear ruby in color with small lacing type head. Really pretty color,mesmerizing. Aroma of sweet malts and piny hops. The taste was out of this word, sweet yet hoppy and fresh. Big and malty, reminds me of D Bastard only smoother and better. As it warms it develops an alcoholic edge in the finish. Excellent beer.

Bottle from sickboy 282- wow. Sweet brew. Dark amber brown in appearence. Smelled of piney, nutty hops. Tasted terrific, nuttyness really came through when this beer warmed. Another awesome beer from this great brewer. rerate, 3/2008- this beer finally came to buffalo. feel the same way about it: possibly, the perfect beer.