AleSmith Lil' Devil | AleSmith Brewing Company

3.83/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

3.92/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

3.69/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

3.74/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

3.9/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

3.78/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Tasted in a Spiegelau IPA glass from a 12 oz bottle on March 7, 2016. Look is hazy yellow gold with a one finger off-white head and little lacing. Smell is pepper, citrus zest, coriander, yeast, earth, floral hops and sweet grain and malt aromas. Taste is pepper, bitter lemon zest, coriander, yeast, orange peel, clove, rock candy with sweet grain and bread malt flavors. Feel is medium light in body that is smooth and creamy in the finish.

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3.87/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

3.27/5  rDev -13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

3/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

3.95/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours very hazy yellow gold color with bubbles racing up to a 1 finger off white head that faded slowly, leaving minimal spotty lacing and a creamy around the edge.

Smells very spicy with pepper, lemon zest, coriander, grains, yeast, mild barnyard funk, malt, cumin or cinnamon, floral hops and dried flowers or potpourri. The grains balance the spices and hoppy sweetness, making for a nice nose overall.

Tastes similar to the nose in that the flavor starts off spicy with pepper, lemon zest, coriander and strong sweet grains, then shifts to yeast, barnyard funk, spices, orange peel, light clove, candied sugar and a finish that is equally bready and earthy. Aftertaste is a combo of citrus, honey, floral hops and wet cardboard.

Mouthfeel is creamy and smooth, with a nice soft feel and mild carbonation that slides down easy. It's slightly bitter and a little tart as the barnyard funk and yeast mix well with the spices and zesty hops. Aftertaste is earthy, spicy and bready, with a medium body that completely hides the ABV. Overall a pretty decent beer which I'd have again.

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3.54/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

3.99/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Known for its absolute world-class imperial stouts and then taking its handling of dark malts into an outstanding quad, I find it Interesting that this brewery then makes a relatively average Belgian pale. I suppose there is difficulty in mastering the dark malts and then moving lighter.

But with my more limited understanding, what separates Lil' Devil from the best Belgian pales is the yeast. Alesmith doesn't seem to have found the best strain yet. And that is OK. A brewer this accomplished eventually will learn to be excellent in the paler sectors of the Belgian tradition.

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3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Not a bad take on the BPA, perhaps missing a bit of the smooth/creamy body I get from my favorite examples (Affligem, etc.), but the nose is pretty on point and, overall, it's a pleasant drinker.

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3.8/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

I was over at The Friendly Greek Bottle Shop last week scouting for various & sundry when I spied a couple of AleSmith singles to help me fill out a mixed-sixer. I remain curious about some of these bottled beers.

From the bottle: "Belgian-style Pale Ale"; "This unfiltered Belgian-style Pale Ale pours a hazy gold with a creamy white head. Ground coriander seeds and two kinds of orange peel added to the kettle contribute pleasant citrus notes to its Belgian fermentation character. Lil' Devil's light body and effervescent finish make for a refreshing beer that will have you coming back for more."; "Lil' Devil's crisp citrus notes and fruity fermentation flavors make it an ideal pairing for steamed mussels and other fresh shellfish preparations - especially when cooked with the beer itself. Soft goat's milk cheeses and mild creamy washed-rind cheeses also pair very well with Lil' Devil's bright, spicy aromatics and its light, refreshing body."

I was amused by the preceding verbiage and was anxious to Pop! the cap on this Lil' Devil as a result. Once that was accomplished, though, I used a very gentle pour to decant it off of its obvious lees. Not only does the bottle identify it as "unfiltered", but so does the site's style description, plus there were some quite obvious atop the punt. Once accomplished, though, I had no compunction about conducting a vigorous swirl in the glass. This raised a foamy finger of bone-white head that lay atop the liquid like a pillow. Color was Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 -5) with NE-quality clarity, making my efforts worthwhile. It also enticed the devilish Gelt Gang of Mammon, Croesus and Midas to drop by for a taste. Nose smelled of pear, white grapes, black pepper, banana, clove and a papery mustiness. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but bigger than an APA. The taste was immediately akin to a hefeweizen with lots of banana and some clove. As it warmed, I began to get the subtler white grape and pear flavors, but the spice of the coriander was almost overpowering. The mustiness of the yeast also began to assert itself, which I did not mind, but in total, it just was not my bag. Finish was dry, unsurprisingly, given a hearty yeast strain coupled with spices. This is going to seem mean, but I would almost prefer taking them up on their suggestion and cooking with this beer, as opposed to drinking it. I think that it would do really well with mussels and accompanied by a crusty baguette to soak up the juices ... Heaven!

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3.81/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

3.74/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to mmikey08 for this cute 12 oz. bottle. Had the lavender version in the taproom last October & thought it quite good; now, for the base.

The pour is pale sunshine yellow. The nose is lovely: pale daffodils, pears, Belgian yeast, bananas, sweet, dentist-employing sugar. Nice nose, but for under 6% ABV, killer good.

Lil’ Devil takes a swan dive after the lovely nose. Up front is lemon juice cut liberally with cane sugar (or is that high fructose corn syrup?). Mid-palate brings more wheat than most hefeweizen, grainy, spring wheat. Mild floral hops, very mild bitterness. Finishes light & dry.

The nose led me to believe I was in for a rare treat, so the taste, though still good, felt like a bigger letdown than it would have been otherwise. Perhaps a minor imp.

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3.27/5  rDev -13%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Pours a clear golden color. The head is a finger high and white in shade. Retention is pretty low, plus the texture lacks the fluffiness of a typical Belgian-style ale. Also, plenty of lacing sticks to the glass, in a webbed formation. Looks good, but kind of wrong for a Belgian beer.

This is spicy and bread-like the way a BPA should be. This beer's aroma delivers plenty of candi sugar, pear, apple, and black pepper. Some orange twinges also show up. Nails all the basics quite well, that's for certain. Could be a hair less sweet, but that's nitpicking.

At first, I taste some candied sugar and white grape. These flavors transition into a citrusy middle (there's the citrus peel!), and a finish of bread and black pepper. The basics are, again, nailed, but the integration is a little sloppy. I don't really sense a delicate balance, plus it seems overly sweet on occasion.

This doesn't seem to have the evaporative dryness on the palate as the best BPAs do. I don't want to say it's under-carbonated (it isn't)...maybe the carbonation isn't perfectly cohesive with the beer's textural presence? Still, it's fairly light and fairly easy to drink.

Nice, just not impressive - the balance isn't quite there for me. This is a fine preview of the bottle of Horny Devil I've got on standby, at least. I probably won't get this again.

3.27/5: Not Alesmith's finest work, but a serviceable example of the style

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4.21/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

3.72/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pours a standard golden color. Lots of Belgian yeast on the nose along with some spicey phenols. Taste is what you expect - banana, Belgian yeast, black pepper- maybe a little more phenol / ester taste than I'd like personally. Over a decent little beer.

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3.96/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Great to find some Ale Smith in sixers at a fairly reasonable price. The pour consists of a semi-foamy head, dissipates to a think covering, which remains with the beer throughout. Sweet taste of malt followed by a shadow of hops. The malts dominate the hops, which in cases of Belgian beers, seems more true to the style. Medium bodied and a bit cloudy. A clean finish without unnecessary extra hopping. A great stab at the style which holds up to any.

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