Name: YuleSmith (Summer)
Style: Imperial IPA
Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company. website
Country: USA
Region: San Diego, California
ABV: 8.8% Abv
How served: 22 oz capped bomber poured into a Bruery glass.
My Overall Opinion: Very Good. 
I paired this beer with: Grilled Chicken topped with a Habanera sauce. This was Hot and Spicy, But this Imperial IPA cut thru the heat and was an excellent pairing.
Tasted on: Monday July 26th, 2010.
Note: As you can see in the picture, this beer had a huge head, even with a slow pour. The head lasted to the very end and left a mild lacing on the glass. The second glass had just as much head and after that pour you could see a huge head form inside the bottle = to half the volume of what was left in the bottle. This was by far the largest head I’ve seen from an Imperial IPA. The nose was typical of a great California IPA or DIPA as in “Wow”, lots of citrus, grapefruit and a mild pine aroma with a tad of malt sweetness. The taste of the brew was made for the “hop head” with its big grapefruit and citrusy hop blast up front then nicely balanced by the malt near the end. The mouthfeel was huge as this is a big beer with a lot of carbonation. Maybe a tad too much carbonation for the style. If this was a Belgian Strong Pale Ale, the carbonation was perfect, but with an Imperial IPA I don’t want this much. If not for the extreme level of carbonation this would have been a “5”, but I’ve knocked it down a notch. However this is still a 1st class beer and I will be looking forward to have this brew in my stock on a yearly basis each and every July.
On the Label: YuleSmith is brewed twice a year: a winter version to celebrate the Christmas Season and a summer version to celebrate Independence Day. Each is brewed to a different style, with an Imperial/Double Red Ale brewed for the cool nights of the winter and a super-hopped Imperial/Double IPA for the dog days of summer. Prepare yourself for an encounter of the hoppiest kind with YuleSmith Holiday Ale 2010.
A prominent and intense aroma of American hop varieties meets the senses as the glass fills and produces a large head of white foam. The first sip explodes with hop flavors that leads to a balanced finish of malt and hop. Smooth, rich and satisfying YuleSmith Imperial/Double IPA will leave you pining for more!
The brewer’s yeast in the bottom of the bottle is living proof that this is a top-quality bottle conditioned beer. To serve, refrigerate the bottle upright, then pour gently into an AleSmith pint glass leaving the yeast in the bottle- or drink with the yeast if you prefer.
Now there’s even more reason to celebrate summer. YuleSmith Holiday Ale!!
On their Website: About This Beer: Our most popular seasonal ale, YuleSmith is brewed twice a year in two different, yet similar, styles: For summertime, it’s an Imperial/Double IPA.
Qualities: During the summer, YuleSmith is transformed into a big, hoppy, Double IPA. The enormous load of hops requires a substantial malt background to create just the right balance for a Double IPA. Lighter in color, summer YuleSmith is available around the 4th of July and is packaged in a red, white, and blue bottle.
Awards: Gold World Beer Championships 2003, 2004, 2005
Vital Statistics: ABV 9.5% Original Gravity: 1.085
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