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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bomber into pint glass. The aroma is pretty inbelievable and quite possibly the best hop aroma I have encountered (reminded me a bit of Hop Slam, but better than what I remember of it). All juicy citrus hops with a great floral character too (even some pine hops, which I am detecting further down the glass) that is in such impeccable balance that I can’t really explain it. This is also not to mention the extreme potency; when I poured this I could smell it throughout the room. Beneath the great hops one can detect a hint of sweet pale malt... yum. I’m not one for the color of this brew or the color of its head (very light copper golden body with an all white head), but the creaminess of the head that the lace it leaves is litterally perfect (perhaps the best lacing I have encountered also). Crystal clear without much visible carbonation. The hops on the flavor are also, as expected, off the chain with all varieties of hops - citrus, pine, floral and bittering. It has pine hops upfront that fade into citrus and finish with a dry as hell bitterness. As it warms the malt comes out on the swallow and finish too - rich thick pale malt. This thing is hot but smooth on the palate, medium to thick bodied with a rich maltyness. Overall: this may be the ultimate in hoppy beers, and I am actually a bit surprised that it isn’t rated higher. (after submitting my original rating... I checked my raitings and I gave dreadnaught 1 point higher but can;t imagine it having been any better... I need to try these side by side and crown the victor.) This thing is beautiful.

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.