AleSmith Yulesmith - Winter

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

22 oz bottle. Pours clear ruby amber with a huge fluffy off white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is sweet caramel malts with piney, fruity hops.

The flavor is sweet caramel malts and some fruit with a lot of piney hops. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation.

Overall, an amazing well balanced DIPA with sweet caramel malt, fruit and a ton of piney hops.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Is it too early to start drinking Christmas beers? What a beautiful beer, clear deep red/brown with a super creamy head. Wonderful hop aroma for a red and just a nice rich, deep beer. This is certainly on my list for best christmas time beers.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Beer 1 of my 12 Beers of Christmas 2011: Amber Orange pour, lightly hazed, near-perfect cream colored tight frothy head leaving near perfect lacing - a beautiful beer. Strong hops aroma, earthy, with some grapefruit, sourwood honey, lots of maltiness, booze. Taste is bold for damn sure - big malt and hops presence, a huge beer - HOT on the alcohol, boozy, then mellows to a malty, sourwood honey sweet, then big earthy hops bitter and linger; Heck of a way to start off my 12 Beers of Christmas.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

Holy Smoke! What a treat... I'd like to say that I could drink this all night, but it'd knock me on my ass well before the end of the night - very drinkable for such a bold brew. Big malts with caramel, but then - BAM - the hops! Too cool - well balanced - and bold. I should have bought a new piece of luggage so that I could have brought more of this home... that would have made the outrageous checked bag fee from American Airlines a little easier to swallow. Did I mention that this was an absolutely righteous beer?

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Perhaps the darkest DIPA I've ever had. Super malty, and super hoppy. A true San Diego "winter ale". Nice colour, lacing for days, one of the best beers I've had in quite awhile. Finish is an enjoyably warm bitterness. Delicious mouth feel, though not as nice as it warms.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Very conflicted here, bottle calls it Christmas Ale, classified as Strong Ale, brewer calls it a Impy Red Ale on the website, and I am resolutely firm that this is an Impy IPA. Regardless of where you want to pigeon hole this brew, its very very very drinkable. Resinous hops, very bitter, grapefruit... Medium to big bodied, dark red in colour, good head retention. A really high quality smooth beer but nothing unique. A trace of fruit but nothing like the christmas cake characteristics I would normally associate with holiday/christmas/winter ales.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Big, bold, flavorful. A beer for the Christmas season, but in this case consumed just before the July 4th holiday. Mighty tasty, one to keep an eye out for, get it if you can.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Medium orange color. Medium head. Aroma is hop spicy, grapefruity and citrusy. Big bodied IPA. Big and bold yet, not over the top like most West Coast IPA. Malts are fruity and slightly sweet. Hops are wild, spicy, piney and grapefruity. In the IPA spectrum this one is between 3 Floyds Dreadnaught and Stone IPA. It's a hop fest, without being too bitter. Nicely balanced. Very smooth. Hides the 8.5% alcohol very well. Etched beer bottle. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. VERY NICE BEER!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottled. Deep ruby red colour, mediumsized beige head. Aroma is fruits, biscuits, wood, mild alcohol as well as some fruity and grassy notes. Flavour is liquorice, some grass, alcohol, fruits, bready notes as well as some mild herbbal notes. Pleasant.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Insane. Yep. Completely insane. This beer is so damned drinkable, you’ll be lying on the floor in no time after a few of these. The succulent hop aroma is resting squarely on the shoulders of a huge malt presence which makes it just almost perfect. Citrus comes out loud and clear, with the caramel smoothness keeps it all chugging along. Appearance is a clear, copper in color with a beautiful thick creamy head. Flavor is amazingly refreshing with a strong resinous hop punch to the tastebuds and then the smooth caramel flavor calms it all down. Just an outstanding beer. Damn, I wish I could get this in Northern Cali.