AleSmith IPA

This beer is the same color as the urine from a dehydrated man. The head is thick, fluffy and persistent. It leaves a lace like those little doilies your grandma put under her imitation Ming vase. It smells like hop resin and citrus. The nose is quite bitter and almost burns a little. Just smelling this gem makes my mouth water. The first sip slides down the groove in the center of your tongue like a thief gliding, unseen down an alleyway. When it gets to the big buds on the back side of your mouth it splashes like a flood to the sides of your tongue where suddenly your mouth lights up in happy ecstasy. The corners of your lips curl up slightly and your eyes narrow. Ah! Hops and grapefruit permeate the flavor. On the next swallow you hold the beer in your cheeks and roll your tongue around in a bath of Romanesque indulgence. A slight pine wood flavor can be detected. After drink thereafter requires that you sniff the glass as you raise it to your lips in a passion of foreplay. The body does this involuntarily. As the beer warms up it gains body and dimension, becoming fuller and more complex. Images of small hexagonal beer molecules dance in your head like sugarplums on Christmas Eve. The stratus-like lacing hides the beer from the Budweiser fan sitting across from you at the table. He doesn’t even understand and you have no way to explain it to him. This beer is the epitome of what an IPA should be. This beer should have been included on the Voyager for extra-terrestrial life to sample. This beer iconifies one of man’s greatest achievements.

Golden pour thick off-white head. Citrus and hops on the nose. Grapefruit and hops in the flavor. Bitterness is subdued but builds as I get into the beer. Everything is working right with this one.

thanks dirty martini! Clear amber with a great off white head. the head will not go away and it leaves some fantastic lacing. big piney caramel orange aroma. bittersweet piney orange caramel flavor. bitter piney caramel orange finish. boatloads o hops on the finish. the big side of medium bodied. fantastic soft subtle carbonation. perfect. fairly standard but fantastic ipa.

22oz bottle, light amber hue, lasting creamy white head with nice lacing, very sweet hoppy smell (went nice with peanut butter,) creamy texture, a little nector + piney which is how I like my IPAs, this is has a touch of a bitter finish but nicely hopped and not too overbearing, really this is a great one, crisp...:>

Bottle. Pours a nice glowing deep orange color with a light tan head. Aroma has a caramelized grapefruit tone to it and overall is real earthy and grassy. Nice sticky palate. Grassy hop kick to start, great malt base underneath, strong, almost peppery finish. The finish lingers nicely and the alcohol isn’t too apparent. Damn tasty.

22 oz bottle. Poured a clear dark orange color. Head was off white, thick, creamy, and left some lace on the glass as I drained it. Smelled of grapefruit, pine resin, and cotton candy. Flavor was a nice mixture of toffe and grapefruity hops. The body was a bit lighter than I had expected and there was only mild hop bitterness.

Deep golden/light orange pour with plenty of carbonation to retain a light beige head. The aroma is almost entirely hops that release gentle but focused and hearty notes of grapefruit, tangerine, orange and a hefty swath of pine that cuts a path through all the aforementioned citrus and gives the nose a pleasant earthy feel. Malt is evident, but just barely. Alcohol is well concealed. The flavor is wonderful and very stimulating. More hops and light toasted grains. Light sweetness and heavy bitterness. Acidity is mild and the taste is very green. The mouthfeel is very creamy and appropriately carbonated, light to medium bodied. It’s incredibly smooth, the strongest facet of the entire experience. The finish is bone dry, crisp and clean, with acidic notes lingering and lightly cutting into the tongue. An exceptional IPA, no surprise at all.

Rating #400. 22 oz. Bomber from South Bay Drugs Pharmacy via mail order. Shared with csbosox on the porch on a perfect early summer afternoon. Pour is a slightly cloudy deep orange with a big rocky white head. Aroma is pine, grapefruit and resiny hops. A nice maltiness is in the background of the nose. Taste is more of the hops, especially the grapefruit all nicely balanced with the malt backbone. The finish is a nice bit of sourness to it. Very nice beer all the way through.