AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Diego, California USA

Bottled sampla via (and shared with) oakbluff. Hazy orange in colour with moderate carbonation. Similar to the standard AleSmith IPA with loads of tangerine, pinecone, and black pepper elements. The difference is that there’s a bit more (slightly toasted) malt character, and the floral and grassy (almost mint-like) hop notes are more focused. Great prolonged bitterness, and only medium bodied. Right up there with the best IIPAs that I’ve had.

This IPA pours a medium orange gold color from a 22oz bottle. Small to medium sized white foamy head, with good retention and nice lacing. The aroma is piney and grapefruity hops with some sweet malts. A medium bodied India Pale Ale. The malts are caramel, bready and sweet. The hops are citrusy, piney and grapefruity. Lots of hop flavors balanced by the sweet malt backbone. Nice balance. Good carbonation. Very intense hop flavors. A touch dry at the finish. Nice beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is crisp and clean. Aftertaste is bitter.

Damn that’s good. Intensely aromatic with a huge hop profile. Flavor is full of hops, but also a strong and sweet maltiness. The flavors don’t combat each other at all, they compliment each other! Flavors of apricot and peach and a mild caramel undertone. Probably the best part is that it’s so wonderful to drink! It’s intensely hoppy, but also very malty and flavorful! A very mysterious and developing beer. I LOOOOOOVE this beer!

Fresh bottle. Pours a hazy, glowing orange-amber color. A dense, foamy, off-white head settles slowly to a thin blanket, leaving thick rings of lacing on the glass. The nose is booming! Notes of orange and lemon chiffon, grapefruit, and pine hops are accompanied by a sweet but unobtrusive toffee malt background. The flavor is equally impressive, with massive citrus and pine notes being tempered by a touch of lactic cream and sweet but appropriate toffee malts. Crushing bitterness, but sufficient malt sweetness for balance. The body is about as big as it gets for the style, but never gets to be overly cloying. Finishes semi-dry, with lingering citrus notes. This is a world-class beer, for sure.

Bottle, shared. Pours a cloudy golden/orange color with a lingering white head. Aroma is heavy pine and citrus hops, with sweetness in the form of malt faintly detectable on the nose. Taste is an EXPLOSION of hops that nevertheless remains balanced throughout, with pine and malt notes thrown in as well. The alcohol remained very well-hidden. Beers like this are the reason it bothers me that I can’t find AleSmith in New York - this is a total home run.

Wow, hop bomb! insane amounts of hops, but super juicy hops alos. Such a lovely wuenching beer. And very well balanced, one of the better DIPA’s out there.

22 oz bottle. Summer 2008 edition. Pours a cloudy, golden, orange with a 3 cm dense white head that is slowly diminishing. Aroma of pine and citrus hops. Some kind of sweetness too in the aroma. Initial flavor is balanced between sweet, sour, and hoppy. At the end the hops dominate with a fierce bite that hangs around until your next sip. Medium body, heavy lacing, light carbonation, and a slight alcohol presence noted. Overall a very well done beer, but what beer from AleSmith isn’t?

Thanks to kegbear for this bomber. Pours golden orange with perfect thin white head that stays for the entire brew. Aroma is big with floral hops, citrus, sweet malts and a touch of pine. Flavor is unbelievable with big floral and citrus hops, sweet malts, pine and a smidge of suger. Nice lacing and exactly what I hoped for from this west coast hop bomb. Perfectly balanced Double IPA. What else is there to same about this terrific brew.