Double IPA
AleSmith Brewing Company

22 oz. bottle poured into a tulip. My quest for a 2011 bottle of this has finally paid off. I accidentally drank two 2010s that were well over a year old and didn't particularly like them.

Appearance - Super hazy bright orange body with a nice white head. You can't see through it at all. Retention is good but the lacing is better. Looks like Sunny D with a head.

Smell - Very hoppy smell. Bright lemon flavors and some pine. Super citrusy, though. It's so lemony it verges on smelling like Pine-Sol, though. The combination of lemon, pine, and a bit of alcohol just combines to remind me of lemon floor cleaner. In the 2010 bottle, this was far more prominent.

Taste - The sweetness is far more prevalent in the taste, but it's still very much about the hops. The same flavors come through, but the sweetness puts off the chemical element. I have to say, the sweetness is too much. Hardly any bitterness at all in the finish. Nice, but a little sweet.

Mouthfeel - It could be lighter. That's me being nitpicky, but it's just a bit heavier than I like. Even for 8.5%, there's a lot of unfermented sugars in this. Not cloying, just not as dry as I'd like it.

Overall - So much better fresh than aged (duh). The old one was pretty bad. Much more chemical flavors came through. This one reminds me of Hellhound. Perhaps that's an unfair comparison, since this is nowhere near a DFH malt bill, but still, it reminded me of it.

Copenhagen 5/7 2018. 35,5 cl can from Kihosk, KBH V. Very green can with the Alesmith logo of a Beer glass balancing on an Anvil. Kind of Cute. Warning about being Aggressively Hopped.

Pours hazy to the point of opacity with small white head. Settles as thin layer of foam obscuring the surface of the beer. Very moderate lacing.

Aroma is rich, intense and laden with alcohol. Exotic fruit in the beginning stages of decay and fermentation, Grape fruit with an strong under-current of alcohol. Resin. Citric yet sweet.

Medium carbonation. Medium thick, oily soft texture. Lightly prickly.

Flavor has strong sweetness. Followed by and balanced by strong bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter. Distinct alcoholic burn. Lingering.

Muscular DIPA with good balance between the malty alcohol and the prominent hoppy bitterness.

 

 

16oz canned 1-16-25, opened 3-9-25.
2 finger barely off white head with excellent retention. Fully laced. Glowing golden body with good clarity.
Oranges, limes, subtle pine, peach, melon and some green (garlic/onion)....outstanding aroma and the flavor follows.
Medium body, bright entry, medium carbonation. Good bitter punch and a flavorful dry finish.
Outstanding.

The big brother of Alesmith IPA, and it’s a 8.0 abv version, not 8.5 and I’m sure I’ll still get pretty buzzed from this pint. Pours medium-light gold, nice head, and smells very bright with citrus, tropical hops. The taste is bitterness, bright tropical and citrus with the requisite west coast dryness. This is a banger for card carrying hop heads and it’s not as nicely balanced as the IPA but it’s a solid brew, cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

Shared bottle at local tasting, thanks to gunnar. ABV is 8.5%. Golden colour, huge white head. Sweetish aroma of malts and orange marmalade. Distinctly hoppy flavour throughout, very bitter finish. Maybe not very complex, but good.