Alesmith Yulesmith Holiday Ale (Summer)

Beer: Yulesmith Summer Holiday Ale
Brewery Location: San Diego, CA
Beer Style: American DIPA
ABV: 8.8%


My best friend Kevin got married a few weeks ago, and he gave me about as awesome a groomsman gift as I could have hoped for. He gave a bottle two bottles of Yulesmith (one summer and one winter) and a limited edition bottle of Brewer's Ale from Rogue. Since we can't get Alesmith here in Indiana I was very impressed at the very thoughtful gift. Kevin knows that Alesmith is one of my favorite brewers and that Yulesmith (winter) ranks as one of my very favorite individual beers. This is the first time I've had the summer offering. I've never found this when I've been down to Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati, but usually have found the winter version. I don't know if they brew the same amount of each for distribution.

This beer pours a nice golden hue with a thick cap of fluffy head on it. I could begin smelling all of the hop goodness as soon as I popped the cap on this beer. The hop smell is very pungent with plenty of grapefruit, sticky pine, candied oranges, peaches, apricots, tangerines, and a very soft caramel malt coming at the tail end of all of those citrus fruit scents. Wow, this is a tremendous nose on this beer. Hops are the showcase on the initial flavors with plenty of citrus flavors ranging from tangerines, oranges, and grapefruit, and sticky pine on the back end of those. The slightly sweet caramel base does its best to balance out the hops flavors and after the beer warmed a bit the malt takes on an almost graham cracker type flavor as well. Even with a few months of age on this the hop profile is still tremendous, and if it has diminished at all a fresh bottle of this beer must be quite the hop heads dream. The mouthfeel is very smooth and creamy, and there is a good dose of warming alcohol in this offering as well. The drinkability is very good and I felt like I could have kept drinking this beer.

If you are a hop head you should seek this beer out. I would gladly take the winter version or the summer version any time I had the chance to have either of them. I said it in my post about Alesmith Speedway stout, but if Alesmith came to Indiana I am pretty sure I would buy enough of it to justify them coming to Indiana.

Cheers!
Matt