AleSmith Evil Dead Red - AleSmith Brewing Company

nickd717

California

4.38/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at City Beer's AleSmith event.

Amazing appearance for this beer: clear deep red color with a nice off-white head and excellent lacing.

Aroma is caramel malts and fresh citrusy and piney hops.

Flavor is also caramel malt and piney/citrusy hops, typical of AleSmith's usual great hop profile. Mild roast in there as well. Perfect sweetness level.

Medium body with some hop resins on the palate and a slightly dry finish.

Very drinkable. If you consider this to be an American amber/red ale, it's really one of the better examples of the style out there.

Serving type: on-tap

02-10-2010 02:24:38 | More by nickd717

mjl21

California

4.43/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the Blue Palms in LA. Poured into a pint glass. Abv on beer menu is listed as 6.2%.

A-It pours a clear copper color. It has a one finger off white head that shrinks some, but still rests at a nice layer.

S-Really nice hoppy nose. Lots of citrus and pine are present, along with a touch of caramel.

T-Lots of citrus, pine, dank, and a flavor reminiscent of strawberry jello can be found. There is some sugary caramel sweetness that can be found towards the back of each sip.

M-Medium bodied with nice carbonation.

D-A really good hoppy red. The reasonable abv makes it a great session beer.

This was another one of Alesmith's tap only beers that I was able to try while down in LA. It really is a well made hoppy red that I would love to have more access to. I had two of these while at the Blue Palms.

Serving type: on-tap

01-03-2010 23:07:33 | More by mjl21

TheJollyHop

California

4.1/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at the Blue Palms

Appearance is deep amber with reddish hues, poured with a large fingers worth of head that was pretty stable.

Aroma is full of citrus fruits and scents from the forest; earthy pine and slightly resinous.

The taste for the most part is mirrored by the aroma. Hops are definitely the star with bitterness bursting in mid sip and lingering past the swallow. No harshness in the bitterness, and there is a nice malt backbone of biscuit/caramel that is just shy of balancing out the hops.

Mouthfeel is light and thin while carbonation is around medium.
This is a very hop centric brew that while delicious, can be palate fatiguing. However each sip is packed with great hop flavor.

Serving type: on-tap

01-01-2010 15:31:26 | More by TheJollyHop

womencantsail

California

4.1/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at the Blue Palms

A: The pour is what you would expect, a clear amber color with an emphasis on the red tones. A thin layer of off-white foam sits on top.

S: A great citrus aroma is the first thing I notice. A good amount of grapefruit and pine from the hops and a fairly well balanced amount of caramel and malt sweetness.

T: The taste is very similar to the nose. There is a nice citrus hop bite on the front, followed by a slight bit of caramel and toffee sweetness in the middle. The sip finishes with a rather pleasant bitterness.

M: Nothing spectacular in terms of body or carbonation, but certainly works well for the beer. Medium in body and carbonation.

D: This is a pretty darn tasty red ale. I'm generally of the hoppy red ale persuasion, but this balanced one was actually quite nice.

Serving type: on-tap

12-30-2009 21:35:25 | More by womencantsail

DefenCorps

Oregon

4.05/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Hollingshead yesterday before I got on the plane

Deep ruby red with a dense, tan head with great retention and some lace. The nose is rich, with burnt caramel, brown sugar and perfumey pine hops. While I usually don't care for "balanced" hoppy beers, this is quite remarkably executed, with plenty of complexity while maintaining low sweetness. Mildly fruity, it's quite juicy. The palate opens with a lot of hop flavor with pine and some mild mint. Low, smooth bitterness is present, countered by delicate sweet flavors, raw sugar, burnt caramel and jaggery. Sweetness is definitely low, and has great flavor. Hop character is mostly flavor-based with some pine, though bitterness is present as well. The finish is long with great balance between sweetness and hop character. Mildly drying with medium-light body and soft carbonation. Great stuff, I'd love to drink this again.

Serving type: on-tap

11-11-2009 01:19:35 | More by DefenCorps

bhalter8

Georgia

4.28/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to PretzelCity who sent me a growler straight from the brewery. Enjoyed with a friend over the course of football game, but reviewed prior to kickoff... Pours pure ruby red with exceptional clarity and a perfect 2 finger off-white head. The head had excellent retention throughout the enjoyment of the beer. The smell is as enticing, if not more, than the appearance. A sweet malt backbone is supported by a fresh hops smell and accompanying citrus characteristics, specifically grapefruit. I love the blend of strong hop character with the classic sweet malt in a red ale. Taste follows suit, a more pronounced citrus hop flavor twinges the tongue, but does not overpower the caramel sweetness of the malt. It almost like having a grapefruit candy or something, the flavor is sweet, but the citrus tart adds a nice twist. A smooth, and light mouthfeel, supported by ample carbonation makes it an easy drinking beer. I really enjoyed this beer, and wish we had it on tap in these parts, as it has more to it than you average red ale, while not overdoing it and sacrificing drinkability.

Serving type: growler

10-20-2009 13:41:12 | More by bhalter8

maskednegator

California

4.15/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Red, opaque. Thin, tan head, great lace.
Smell: Tangerines, pine needles.
Taste: Saltines, tangerines, caramel. A lot of black pepper and spice in the finish. Little bit of roastiness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied
Drinkability: Extremely well balanced. Very easy drinker.
Verdict: A nice, hoppy red. A little sweeter and a little more citrusy than Arrogant Bastard. Very very tasty and a great value at $13/64 oz growler(~4.50 bomber).

Serving type: growler

03-20-2009 19:47:29 | More by maskednegator

RodBurg

California

2.88/5  rDev -32.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Had on tap at Lucky Baldwin's in Pasadena. Clear deep red in the pint glass with a nice, fluffy head. Excellent lacing.

Lots of pine and floral scents from the hops mingle awkwardly with candied fruit.

Taste begins with a fruity caramel malt. The piney hops then come into play and contrast rather badly. Finishes with a candy-like fruit and hop flavor.

As much as I wanted to really like this one (anything named after the almighty Evil Dead trilogy should be amazing), I didn't. Quite a dissapointment.

Serving type: on-tap

01-03-2009 07:09:41 | More by RodBurg

magictrokini

California

4/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tap @ Hamilton's. Pours clear auburn with a skimpy white head. Caramel, grapefruit, and pine dominate the nose. Full, tangy grapefruit and resin hop flavor tempered nicely by the malt. The caramel thankfully does not overwhelm. Velvet mouthfeel. I just can't get enough of the hops in this one. Its so good.

Serving type: on-tap

12-04-2008 19:25:14 | More by magictrokini

brewandbbq

New Hampshire

4.03/5  rDev -5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours sparkling clear dark ruby. A bone, dense head of an inch-plus sank slowly, revealing goops of shredded lacework and a thick, rocky surface coating.

Aromatics lead off with fresh piney hops, tangerine, mangoe, and sugared grapefruit.
Lush and tropical with a kiss of malt.

Medium bodied with a creamy mouthfeel. Sticky and tacky.

Ripe fruit, smashed spruce boughs, grapefruit pith, and sweet malt start the palate. An almost drying yet quite firm bitterness follows through, along with a hint of embers and earthy bark.

Finishes with lingering biterness, fresh carmelized malt, and sap-drizzeled fruit.

Very tasty and uber-fresh. The roasted malts add some depth without adding too much sweetness, and theres a good dose of hops to boot.

Big ups to WeeheavySD for the freshie!

Serving type: growler

11-13-2008 00:30:10 | More by brewandbbq

Overlord

California

4.33/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sampled at Beachwood BBQ.

Pours a ruby-ish amber/dark borwn. Interesting. Half an inch of light tan head. Very, very long lasting. Smelled mostly of malt and some greapefruit. Taste is big malt, more citrus/grapefruit, and a tang of ... not sure, tangerine? Something more tropical, but it's barely there.

Velvety smooth, very nice.

Serving type: on-tap

11-10-2008 07:48:28 | More by Overlord

adamparker05

California

4.6/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Great fake blood, grade B molasses appearance.

Nose is dried black fruits (raisins!) and Christmas trees.

Flavor is wonderful: candied orange peel, maple syrup, hoppy with a great bittersweet finish

Very good, but you can't have more than 3 pints. A) IT starts to get very heavy B) You'll be hammerwed... which isn't a bad thng, but you'll stop appreciating this kick-ass beer.

Serving type: on-tap

10-17-2008 02:50:05 | More by adamparker05

Floydster

California

4.43/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pint at Beachwood BBQ for six dollars, consumed on 10/2/08, reviewed from notes, also tasted from a growler the next night, first time I had seen this stuff outside of the brewery

A-Deep red with some brown highlights, 3/4 inch vanilla colored creamy head that lasts a long time, nice retention, good lacing most of the way through
S-Hoppiness, both piney and citrus, sweetness, rich malts, caramel, toffee, some tropical fruit, grassy accents, and
T-Starts off with a dry piney and hoppy welcome, some sweet malts in the middle, normally I would not like such sweet accents but it complemented the hop profile very well, more hops in the finish which is made up of mostly citrus, gets a little sweeter as time goes by and it warms, but nothing to get worried about, just a well balanced amber that deserves some recognition
M-Medium body, carbonation is on the lower side but fitting for this beer, dry, sweet, and chewy mouthfeel, taste lingers nicely and it is not overly strong
D-Could drink a lot of this, not overly malty or hoppy, more dry than sweet though, goes down easy, ABV is low enough to allow it be sessionable, alcohol is hidden, very smooth

Alesmith does it again with another great beer, this one just made me want to try My Bloody Valentine even more now but I have to wait until February unfortunately, one of the better ambers I have ever had, too bad this one is not bottled, but now I have something to look forward to every Halloween, will drink again, recommended

Serving type: on-tap

10-09-2008 15:58:01 | More by Floydster

opwog

Minnesota

3.78/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Now listening to: Van Morrison - Astral Weeks

Thanks to Beechwood for bringing this one in!

A- Dark reddish brown color, thin white head
S- Very sweet malt and straight hop smell
T- This is a nice red taste. All the good qualities of a red, minus any blandness of some American reds of the past 20 years.
M- slightly syrupy, but carbonation helps this.
D- This is part of what I find to be the new school California Reds, with more bold hop to balance the malt. I find most of these to be very drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

10-06-2008 02:07:16 | More by opwog

Mnemosyne

California

4.72/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

I got a growler of this beer from AleSmith. What can I say? Yum? It's one of the best growlers that I have ever had.

Appearance- A reddish brown

Smell- It has a bit of a hoppy smell with some sweetness

Taste- A yummy red with some hop fun added in

Mouthfeel- It's sweet, so a tad sticky

Drinkability- There is little taste of alcohol. It has a yummy flavor, so quite drinkable.

Serving type: growler

10-05-2008 04:04:19 | More by Mnemosyne

Halcyondays

California

3.53/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at the Beachwood BBQ,

A: Pours a deep crismon/maroon/mauve red with a small white head leaving solid lacing.

S: Sweet malts, with a solid hop character, straight up red ale smell.

T: Taste is really sweet initially, certainly more than its sister brew My Bloody Valentine. The sweetness dies down a bit after a while leaving a tasty hop bitterness of pine and grass clippings.

M: Soft carbonation, overall medium body, with a treacle sweetness in the finish.

D: I liked this one from Alesmith, but I thought it would be better if it was a tad drier, still a nice Halloween brew.

Serving type: on-tap

10-01-2008 21:27:13 | More by Halcyondays

paytoplay

California

4.18/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the 07 Speedway BA Release. Lots of growlers being filled up. I can see why, it was a stunning brew. Rich amber color, nice hop, malt, floral deep aroma. Very balanced, no alc noticable. Very easy drinker. Complex, for some reason it seemed like Pliny meets YuleSmith. Thus very high quality. Keg only, hope to see it around town very soon for a second go!

Serving type: on-tap

10-01-2008 18:13:01 | More by paytoplay

SShelly

California

4.53/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Picked up two growlers of this at the Speedway Stout release.

Pours a dark rich red with big fluffy off-white head, hits you with a big burst of american hops backed up with sweet malty aroma behind it. Great hoppy burst in the mouth, though well balanced with a thick malty backbone. Highly drinkable, with a pleasant citrusy hops aftertaste. A great beer from alesmith. this one is quite different from past years, seems to be getting darker with higher ibu's as the years go by.

Serving type: growler

09-29-2008 21:30:00 | More by SShelly

PatronWizard

California

4.35/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Grabbed a growler at the BA Speedway release oh yeah. Cracked it Sunday night with a buddy who isn't exactly into craft beers. Had to do most of the damage by myself. Darn. Short review because it's from memory. And I remember I liked it!

Gorgeous ruby hued brew. Big frothy off white head. Nice.

Smelled the hops as soon as I opened the top. Promptly got excited.

Great taste. Don't have notes for this one and I just had it last night but don't remember the actual flavors. Except the yummy hops.

Overall: I would get this any time I see it. Tap, growler, bottle, gimme!

Serving type: growler

09-29-2008 19:01:30 | More by PatronWizard

srandycarter

California

4.13/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours deep dark clear amber, one inch off white head, some cascading action at initial pour around the sides.

S - Sweet deep malt and lots of pine.

T - Thick sweet malt, floral qualities and bittering at the end.

M - Medium to Heavier, good carbonation and coating. Nice roundness and balance to the overall experience.

D - Pleasant and not something to easily tire of.

Serving type: growler

09-27-2008 04:54:21 | More by srandycarter

CharlesDarwin

Rhode Island

3.88/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Originally reviewed on November 26, 2006. On tap at Pizza Port, Carlsbad. Aroma has a light sweet cherry and brown sugar wasp, with some molasses and a whole blast of sweet malt and fringes of Cascade. Orange-hued deep amber florid color, with a creamy off-white head. Incredibly creamy malt flavor. It explodes in lucious foam on the tongue, sending forth brandied sugars and some edges of resiny hops. Intensely smooth, deeply rich with malt character. The balance here is inexplicably some of the best I’ve recently experience, with all angles of hop character meeting at various facets of the presentation to combine with the outstanding malting to create a delicious beer. Nicely done!

Serving type: on-tap

12-20-2006 14:43:44 | More by CharlesDarwin

SacoDeToro

California

4/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the Green Dog in Long Beeotch!

The beer was a true deep red with a nice off-white head.

The aroma was good mix of herbal and citrus hops with sweet caramel malts.

The flavor of the beer was reasonably hoppy, but let the sweet caramel malts shine through. The maltiness had a nice touch of roastiness in the background.

The mouthfeel was medium and the carbonation was good.

This beer strikes that rare point between and amber and a brown and comes in red.

Serving type: on-tap

11-21-2006 16:02:46 | More by SacoDeToro

sloejams

California

3.9/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Ambers / reds are definitely not my favorite style of beer. That said, this is the way I like them - full with lots of hops.

I've only had this once before, about this time of year at the same place I had this one - Father's Office in Santa Monica. This time it reminded me a bit of last winter's Yulesmith, just tone-downed considerably.

The color was a deep dark ruby with a billowing head, lacing throughout. Cotton candy and roasted malts with a piney hops afterkick dominate the aroma. The flavor takes the best of a traditional American amber - the sweet maltiness and an IPA - the booming hops.

I liked this quite a bit. When I finished it I was ready to move on, there were plenty of other tasty beers awaiting.

Serving type: on-tap

11-15-2006 18:41:02 | More by sloejams

scottoale

California

4.22/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Fresh from the source and near the end of this years batch...yum, it was good while it lasted. This one pours a deep, rich copper with a burgundy glow and a thick, tight beige head of two-fingers that lasts till the end, with 1/4" still standing.

A nice roasted malty aire with a pine sappy slap to wake the dead. The taste is even more pronounced, with rich and earthy malt that gets a dose of hops that just keeps on hoppin'...piney, tangy and over the top.

A solid medium body with just the right dose of alcohol to keep your spirits up...this is one red ale that hops to another level in my book, definitely worth searching for...good luck and hope you had a "hoppy halloween"!

Serving type: growler

11-07-2006 07:05:27 | More by scottoale

LongBeachHopHead

California

3.9/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Alesmith Evil Dead Red, 6.66% ABV brewed only at Halloween.

I had this on tap at the Green Dog Grill in Long Beach. I was talking to the rep that brings this beer in, and she was telling me that there were only 15 kegs of this allocated for SoCal. Too bad, its pretty good stuff.
Appearance: is a very dark rich almost blood-like red. There was not much head to speak of but the beer was poured in a pint glass taken from a freezer. Not sure if that's the best way to serve this one. It probably got colder when it hit the glass.
Smell: is wonderful. I am a huge fan of hops and always look forward to an Alesmith brew. Big bitter hop scent but also a wild maltiness to it as well. This beer is definitely a big red evil hop monster.
Taste: First few tastes are the floral hops right through the nose and a sticky-sweet-bitter malt base to it. I am not usually a huge fan of big malt but this is good. I'm very impressed by the complexity of this beer.
Mouthfeel: ((Cooold!)) j/k. I let the beer warm up a bit and it starts to release many more levels. It sort of bites the back of the throat with a burn like feeling but once swallowed, the hops kick in and they layers of malty aftermath to follow. They have really put effort into making this a Halloween brew. Its EVIL.
Drinkability: I could put down a couple of these, but that's it. The beers red bitterness starts to take over and become overbearing. Great beer though and hits the name on the nose.

Serving type: on-tap

10-17-2006 07:23:15 | More by LongBeachHopHead