AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) India Pale Ale

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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UPDATED: FEB 18, 2007 2/17/07. Poured out of 22 oz. bottle, bought at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido, CA 8/20/06. Rated blind. Vintage 2006, I do believe. Extremely dark brown-purple in color like a dark grape or fig skin, pouring with a lumpy head of uneven, pea-sized light tan suds. Deep orange-copper in color when held up to light. Head fades rather quickly to a lumpy film. Lacing is very sticky but sadly lean (after the head fades), although sub-surface “reverse lacing” is exquisite. Aroma starts out fairly bold and promising, with some orange zest and sweet notes of dark caramel, brown sugar, and some hints of dark taffy and lighter caramel-like fudge; lots of fruitiness but on the darker dried fruit end, with a bright date-like character. A touch of sweat-soaked-leathery tanginess that isn’t quite as off-putting as it sounds because it’s so slight. Aroma fades quite a bit as it opens up, starting out with that lovely aged barley wine profile, ending up fairly nondescript with only a bare bones lightly-sweetened spiced toast presence. Flavor is decidedly drier and more subdued, really relying on straight toasty and caramel malts with only the softest brown sugar suggestions. Seems more like a solid-but-unspectacular amber or red ale, underhopped and drinkable but fairly uninteresting. It’s subtle and thankfully not sugar-saturated like the aroma might have suggested at first, but there’s not really that much of note. Hop citrus and bitterness have disappeared. Sort of a funny “foot” character that I remember somewhat similarly from Oggi’s Tricentennial Barley Wine, but it was much more extreme (and interesting) in that beer—I think it’s an odd effect of oxidation. Again, not as bad as it sounds, but not terribly exciting either. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with a gently tingling carbonation and slight scratchiness from an earthy, soggy hop presence. Not really any bitterness, but there’s a definite fuzzy textural component that I think came from the hops, and becomes more directly textural with the oxidation. This aspect of the finish actually lingers around quite awhile, but it’s not much to get excited about. A bit watery, especially in the finish. Flabby and really just pretty boring. No alcohol presence whatsoever, which is good. But there’s very little else that’s very good. I was actually pretty optimistic on my first whiff, but everything fell apart so quickly. It gets less and less interesting as I work through the bottle, almost like it’s not even there towards the end. I didn’t even bother to finish the whole bomber, and I barely even noticed. After the reveal: Wow. No idea. Not 100% sure of this vintage, but 90% sure. Not good. (7/4/6/3/12 - 3.2) 9/18/06. Poured out of 22 oz. bottle, bought at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido, CA 8/20/06. Pours a stately, lightly hazy bright orange with a fluffy, sudsy and well-retained tan-cream head. Lacing drifts in slow, tightly-woven sheets, leaving sticky, irregular, residual patches. Aroma drifts forth with an orange zest zippiness and an inviting piney, floral softness, something I fear that has already faded even at this young age. There are also traces of raw alcohol that hide just beneath a zesty citrus zip. Too much alcohol presence even in the aroma, but a little more brightness and a little less alcohol, and this could be magical. Flavor is lacking a bit even from there, with an immediate oxidized malt and nondescript, slightly abrasive hop character. As a bit of excited fun, there are pockets of sharp hop oils popping against the sides of the mouth, but the flavoring and dry hops are sort of lacking compared to what I’ve come to know from my SoCal Imperial IPAs. The malt is papery and bland, not quite even an adequate blank slate for the hops to dance their colorful masquerade (or in this case, their clumsy shuffle). Sticky on the lips with a medium-full body. Mostly compact carbonation, but the texture feels a little off because of the scratchy hop prickle. Grassy, itchy, dry finish, with a straw-like bitterness that lasts long but lacks the hop juiciness that I want. The finish is easily the weakest part of the beer, provoking sip after sip to cover its harshness; it begs you to drink this beast faster than the high octane would normally prescribe. Still a solid brew, if heavily flawed, but not close to the lovely hop treat we get each Christmas. (7/5/7/3/13 - 3.5) Final rating reflects some kind of an average for the two ratings.

171110: @ DØE Århus SYD tasting. Hazy golden color with big off-white head. Max hoppy IPA, oh it’s nice.

de color anaranjado con un aroma inconfundible a lupulo, pan y alcohol. sabror a lupulos bastante resinosa, buen sabor a maltas cara y un final alcoholico muy agradable perfectamente integrado.

Bottle pours golden with an off-white head. Aromas of grapefruit and flowers with some sweet maltiness. Taste is citrus and floral with an amazing balance. Big hoppiness but not overly bitter due to the big malt backbone. A nice long dry finish on this one. Very well done.

Bottle. Aroma is overwhelmingly fresh hoppy, grassy, citrus. Captures summer perfectly. Taste is similar, grapefruit, pineapple, orange, strong bitterness.

65 cl bottle.
Rated on 20110605.
Pours clear golden color with a large head. Aroma of lots of exotic fruits, something nøgne brew elements, probably the yeast. An explosion of hoppy fruits in the mouth. The sweetness tries to break through but gets beaten by the bitterness of the hops. Quite balanced, somewhat like a smoothened version of Nøgne IPA. Excellent.
4517

Bottle from summer 2010. Pours an opaque orange honey colour with a good size head and carbonation. Aroma is subdued citrus fruits with a hint of honey. Taste is double west-coast ipa, grapefruit flesh and pithy bitterness throughout, with hints of spice coming through too. Finishes with a refreshing citrus and a nicely tingling and warming sensation at the back of the mouth. Excellent stuff especially considering age. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle from Perry’s Liquors, Livermore. It pours light hazy orange, with a gigantic white head. The nose is sherbet, tangerine, orange, kumquat, mango, pineapple, straw and hay. The taste is orange sherbet, tangerine, kumquat, dried pineapple, hay, resin, straw, grass and a touch of alcohol warmth, with a long bitter-dry finish. Medium body, moderate carbonation and foamy mouth-feel. Great balance. Delicious DIPA.

22/10/2011 Domus Birrae (650ml bottle). Stappata alla Tana. Dorata carica, molto limpida, bella schiuma biancastra morbida, molto persistente. Aroma intenso di luppolo, erbaceo e agrumato, resina, malto, caramello. In bocca ha un forte attacco di caramello, forse un po’ eccessivo, quindi il luppolo prende il sopravvento, intenso e abbastanza persistente. Corpo medio-pieno, carbonazione corretta. Di sicuro non era freschissima, ma è comunque una ottima birra.

Bottle: Slightly cloudy copper-colored beer with a small and rapidly vanishing off white head and a lightly alcoholic fruity hoppy aroma. Notes of peach, resin, pineapple, citrus, butterscotch, caramel. The flavor is medium sweet and heavy bitter with an almost exotic fruity long bitter aftertaste and a nice oily texture. Great IIPA.

From notes. First reviewed 8/23/2010. Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a tulip. My pour out of the bottle has a hazy tangerine / orange color with a slight tinge of pink. A monster white head forms upon pouring. Great retention, and lace sticks all over this glass. A light sweetness in the aroma, but I enjoy the strong hop profile. Mostly fruity grapefruit and tangerine, with a hint of floral notes as well. The taste starts with a light, slightly sweet malt presence, but it not close to balanced. The pale malt contributes more to the general sweetness than anything. Strong and slightly varied hops provide most of the muscle. Juicy grapefruit, pineapple, and a bit of tangerine bitterness are the true focus. Finishes a bit bitter, with a hint of alcohol. The high level of carbonation leads to such a soft feel the beer sits upon the tongue like a pillow, with active bubbles creating a vibrating sensation as well. Light hop oil residue remains after each sip. Fuller than medium bodied, but it retains a light feel. My personal preference is for a DIPA that wraps up clean, but the light amount of malt presence here really allows the hops to shine through. A solid brew that holds its own in a style full of great beers.