YuleSmith Double Red IPA
AleSmith Brewing Company

 

 

16oz canned 9/30/25, opened 12/25/25.
3 finger sand colored head with amazing retention and thick lacing.
Glowing red body with excellent clarity. Looks fantastic.
Bold aromas of pine, citrus, earthy hops and a touch of caramel. Fresh mown, wet, weedy grass.
Flavors of pine and grapefruit - pithy bitterness riding horseback on a smooth, hefty caramelly backing.
Exactly as advertised and hoped for.
Medium body and carbonation. Prickly (8.5%) across the tongue with a slick mouthfeel as it washes over the palate.
Long hoppy finish and just a tiny hint of sweetness.
A beer style that isn't easy to find and this one is worthy of finding.
Outstanding.

 

 

 

 

Copenhagen 28/2 2020. 35,5 cl bottle from Mikkeller Web-shop. Print on the bottle. Simply stating the name of the beer and the brewery supplemented by some corn ears and some hop flowers.

Pours hazy, dark amber with a very big white head. Settles as 5 cm thick carpet of fluffy and stable foam. Foam crawling up the sides of the glass. Massive lacing.

Aroma is intense, malty sweet with fairly strong citric, hoppy notes. Carame, biscuit and hints of brown sugar. Strong odor of grape fruit and citrus. Slightly acerbic.

Light carbonation. Thin, oily, almost flat texture.

Flavor has a fairly strong sweetness followed by a strong, citric bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter with a lighter sweet undercurrent. Lingers for a while. Semi-dry finish.

Well balanced between malty sweetness and hoppy, citric bitterness.

Pint from draft at the brewery for $8. Super dark red, more so than expected which is actually pretty unique. Not much in the nose but the flavor is massive. Big time sweet roasted malt with a really nice rich hoppy finish. Balance is the word here, even at the high ABV%. Impressive beer and seriously delicious. Not a beer you see often either so credit to AleSmith.

Redish amber color. Big, off-white head. Caramel malt, pine, and tropical fruits. Balanced and extremely drinkable. Very well executed, and nothing sticks out too much.

 

 

 

November 14th, 2015 - Alesmith's superb dedication to quality appears here in the Double Red IPA, but first I have to take off its disguise. You see, the smell is indistinguishable from Stone's signature bouquet, with maybe a touch more cinnamon and a slight rustic winter touch, but otherwise the hops used here are a keen imitation of another San Diego brewing titan. The flavor is more distinguished and unique, with that rich malt bill that red ales put off, but a little lighter than Stone on the hop profile. The spice from the aroma is added nicely on top of the malt body, lifting the caramel notes. Only the slightest level of alcohol is detectable - interesting, given the "Double" nature of the IPA - and it has a long aftertaste, leaving more spice as it goes.

Not too shabby at all - maybe a little too old and the malt dominated? I enjoyed it quite a bit but then again, maybe was a little disappointed since I expected great things from AleSmith. Pours a honeyed amber-dark golden color with lots of fluffy white head and some spotty lingering lacing. Smells great, lots of tropical citrus fruit zest hops - grapefruit, lemon, orange, mango, pineapple - along with some weaker floral hops, malt and vanilla. Taste follows the nose. Good, crisp, mild, smooth mouthfeel and great carbonation. The balance was just a little off though, a little too much malt presence and not enough hoppy bitterness to balance it.

 

This was a "stick with what you excel at" story for me. I actually dumped this.