AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Bottle: Bought in San Diego, drank with fellow RateBeerians rcasta & ramenen during an Ale testing session in El Salvador. This was the highlight of the day, my first perfect rating! Aroma, body, balance, alcohol level, nose, color, head, all incredible. There even lacing INSIDE the bottle after pouring!

UPDATED: MAR 16, 2007 Pours a dark amber color w/ a full, semi creamy froth. The froth reduces slowly leaving behind a full canopy w/ sticky snail tracks. Aroma of Buick sized caramel malts amidst a hoppy floral arrangement. Very nice! Full nectar w/ soft residual effers. The texture is thick and chewy. Big caramel malts meets the parents. Beautiful use of hops to balance. Very mild sweetness factor. Chewy nuggot, citrus rind, leather. The finish is bittered just enough to keep me coming back for more. Highly recommended.

Winter release. Poured into a snifter, this beer takes a dark auburn color with a fluffy, dense, off white head of 3 fingers. The retention and lacing are absolutely insane here, the glass is nearly covered with sheets and streaks of foam and the head maintains a half finger of height the whole way through. It looks like a beer that was left out during a tan snowstorm. Aroma explodes out of the glass: plum, honeydew, caramel, earthy and floral hops, grapefruit, sap, spice, everything you can think of. Amazing and intriguing. The taste here just reinforces the perfection of the aroma. Delicious caramel/brown sugar malt contends with an interesting floral hop flavor for dominance but this fight ends in a draw. The balance is impeccable; the sweet malt is never cloying and the hop presence is never too bitter. Each sip demands the next. Perfection. Mouthfeel is exemplary. The carbonation and body are so perfect you don’t even notice them. Everything is precisely engineered in such a way that it allows the flavor and aroma to shine through without distraction. Unbelievably smooth. My only regret about this beer is that I didn’t buy every one the store had. This is a beautiful beer. I could drink these until I collapsed. Bravo, AleSmith.

UPDATED: DEC 9, 2006 Deep hazy amber. Nice white head, a bit rocky that diminished as I drank the glass, but never fully vanished. Huge c-hops abundance. Lots of orange, flowers, grapefruit, pinneaple, and a hint of walnuts in the nose, wow, what a combo. Of course very hoppy palate, with the alcohol definitely detectable and an assertive bitterness. A nice malt profile backs it all. Well hidden 9.5%. Medium-thick body, creamy, smooth body. Terrific double red/IIPA. The question remains...Can I fight off killing the remaining bottles too fast? Probably not. Beautiful brew.

This was one damn fine brew, I was throughly impressed it is a true west coast treat. I enjoyed the cascade hoppy floralness and it finished smooth and crisp. Excellent.

This poured a darker red color almost like Celebration Ale. Little head was present and aroma filled the room with hops. The taste was very hoppy, yet balanced, with a nice clean finish that makes this beer stand out as one of the better IPA's on the market.

Huge thanks to Secret Santa crizay for this one! I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, and it didn’t disappoint. Orange and ruby tinted amber, nice compact pillow head that left tails of lace. Aroma is thick caramel and a burst of juicy citric and pine hops. Flavor is rich caramel accented malts, resinous pine, pineapple, citrus, and something tropical that really reminded me of mango. Everything balanced perfectly, the transition from malt sweetness to hop bitterness is seemless. Awesome beer.

UPDATED: JUN 28, 2004 Rerate (2004 Summer Release): Same Yulesmith I remember...wonderfully balanced. Great head retention and carbonation. It's a little young...Glad I bought a case of this! Original Rating: 2003 (looks like I'm the first to rate this vintage): Bought directly from the brewery on Oct 20th. Color is a wonderful radiant deep orange with a medium sized off-white head. It almost glows! Aroma is heavy citrus, and pine with interesting floral notes...everything you could want in an IPA. Wow, does this taste excellent. At first you are hit with tons of hops, grapefruit and piney, then it mellows out perfectly when swallowed. Nice malty, alcoholic finish. The body is surprisingly creamy and full, with a dry finish. This is my first Yulesmith experience but I find it difficult to believe any of the other vintages could be better. Truely a great beer!

Here is a beer that far exceeded my expectations, as the style American Strong Ale is kind of vague. Pours a rich copper brown colour, with a huge rocky head that could not be avoided. The key here is balance, I have yet to try a beer that does a finer job in balancing the malts and hops, just masterful. Very easy drinking I could not detect the high alcohol and would drink this all the time if I could...very nicely done by Alesmith.

2002...very much a copper color (little lighter than the lost coast i just tried), but i wouldnt call this IPA ’clear’. head is not light beige and creamy and not to thick, but what is there lingers and leaves some great sheeting. aroma is initially pure pine, but as it warms the malty sweet notes come through along with some citrus. flavor is big on grapefruit qualities with a very strong bitter finish and aftertaste..develops an oh so slight metallic quality in the finish as it warms and the nose develops a buttery caramel sweetness. this is probably one of the most complex IPAs i"ve tried. thanks to SpaceMonkey for this gem!