Double IPA
AleSmith Brewing Company

Double IPADouble IPA
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From:
AleSmith Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
Ranked #672
ABV:
8.5%
Score:
93
Ranked #3,143
Avg:
4.19 | pDev: 9.55%
Reviews:
970
Ratings:
1,977
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 20, 2022
Added:
Nov 24, 2002
Wants:
  272
Gots:
  160
Also known as YuleSmith (Summer)

Every year we anxiously await the warmer months to unleash this Double IPA, the summer edition of our former YuleSmith seasonals. The flavor imparts orange, grapefruit, and tangerine hop notes with earthy, spicy, and resinous pine undertones. A sturdy malt backbone balances out the profound hop bitterness to create a refreshingly assertive and vibrant beer that offers an unapologetically bold expression of fresh American hops.

YEAR ROUND: No – July / August
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BuckeyeNation:
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Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

4.92/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Lightly foggy nectarine with honey colored edges. My usual pour produced a surprisingly large cap. As it settles, I can appreciate its magnificence. The firmly creamy foam is pale gold in color, with a cobbled upper surface that maintains contact with the pint glass in multiple spots. When the sticky foam bridges break, they leave a beautiful array of lace. What's not to love?

The nose is a hophead's dream come true. I remember wishing the Winter release had less caramel malt and more pale malt. Summer has granted my wish (kudos to the brewery for giving us two versions of the same great beer). Beautifully pungent American hops fill the atmosphere with sweetened pineapple, white grapefruit, candied orange peel and Scotch pine. I'm actually beginning to drool.

YuleSmith Summer is one of the most delicous, drinkable DIPAs that I've ever had. The only thing keeping the Winter release from perfection was, again, the use of a hefty amount of caramel malt. Which, by the way, turns it into an Imperial red ale (just ask the brewers). Both versions are great, but I slightly prefer this one.

I'm not sure how old the bottle is (it's definitely from *this* summer), but I expected a shade more hoppiness. Don't get me wrong, it's a tongue abuser par excellence, it just isn't as 'in your face' as I remember the Winter version being. When the brewery calls it balanced, they aren't that far off the mark.

The prodigious malt backbone contributes very little flavor. I'm reminded of sugar cookies and honey-like malts, though they're in the background. The foreground is occupied by wave upon wave of sunshine bright, C-hop deliciousness. Again, pineapple, grapefruit, orange, (and now) lemon fill every nook and cranny on every last taste bud. A minimal alcohol presence is easily ignored.

The mouthfeel isn't the perfection that the other version was, but then a lot of time has passed and a lot of beer has been consumed in the interim. It's midway between medium and full (for the style) and is a fraction too carbonated to be considered ideal. Time is beginning to soften things up very nicely.

AleSmith is a permanent member of my 'top 10 American craft breweries of all-time' on the strength of IPA, Speedway Stout and both versions of YuleSmith. Not that the rest aren't worthy, but those four are four of the finest ales that I've ever had the pleasure to drink. Bottom line: I can count on one hand the number of DIPAs that are better than YuleSmith Summer.

Reviewed sometime during the summer of 2008. I don't recall the exact date since there weren't separate entries at that time for YuleSmith Summer and YuleSmith Winter.
Sep 11, 2007
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.91 by DOCRW from Kentucky

Dec 20, 2022
 
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.5/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Shared bottle at local tasting, thanks to gunnar. ABV is 8.5%. Golden colour, huge white head. Sweetish aroma of malts and orange marmalade. Distinctly hoppy flavour throughout, very bitter finish. Maybe not very complex, but good.
Mar 20, 2021
 
Rated: 4.18 by Mebuzzard from Colorado

Mar 18, 2021
 
Rated: 4.2 by patre_tim from Thailand

Nov 14, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by BEER88 from North Carolina

Jan 29, 2020
 
Rated: 3.99 by Futbolmanby from Michigan

Sep 09, 2019
 
Rated: 4.1 by ian_graf from Minnesota

Jun 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.9 by brandoneast from Texas

Apr 24, 2019
 
Rated: 4.15 by csmrx7 from Canada (AB)

Mar 25, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by Griffith from Connecticut

Mar 22, 2019
 
Rated: 4.4 by PaulSlazinger from Pennsylvania

Mar 20, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by robebo44 from Virginia

Feb 15, 2019
 
Rated: 4.35 by Unclevince from West Virginia

Oct 22, 2018
Photo of VoodooBear
Reviewed by VoodooBear from Puerto Rico

3.62/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Presentation: 12 oz. can, served in a Samuel Adams pint glass.

Appearance: One finger head that sticks around for a while and leaves some good lacing. Cloudy, dark gold color.

Smell: Dank, musky hop aroma, some fresh citrus peel with faint malt and grain notes in the background.

Taste: Bitter, but not overwhelmingly so. It has more of a juicy, fruity, sweet citrus character which is nice. A faint, piney aftertaste remains.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and medium bodied with medium high carbonation.

Overall: Nothing new or groundbreaking here, which is fine. A solid DIPA and a damn good beer.
Sep 27, 2018
 
Rated: 3.7 by Greener from Iowa

Sep 26, 2018
Photo of jacobdunne
Rated by jacobdunne from Colorado

4.45/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
There’s a simultaneous malt & fruity kick on each sip. The piney aftertaste is blatant and incredible. Yummy beer!
Jul 25, 2018
 
Rated: 4.04 by arrowsmith_ from Pennsylvania

Jul 15, 2018
Photo of HorseheadsHophead
Reviewed by HorseheadsHophead from Colorado

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
L: Hazy orange with a rocky white head. Medium-plus retention. A thin film hangs out forever. Rings of lacing are left behind.

S: Huge yellow grapefruit and tangerine aromas; spraying oils, juicy flesh, and bitter pith. Some ripe mango and pineapple, honey and caramel, and massive pine sap and dankness.

T: Orange creamsicle, yellow grapefruit peel, honey, toasted white bread, overripe mango, pine resin finish. Moderately sweet, although the finish grows crisp. Moderate lingering bitterness.

F: Medium-plus, well-carbonated, smooth, creamy, and well-rounded. Finishes slightly sticky and resinous, but fairly clean for the style.

O: A superb example of West Coast Double IPA. A delicious hoppy offering.
Jul 03, 2018
Double IPA from AleSmith Brewing Company
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 1977 ratings