• Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company
• Country: USA
• Style: American IPA
• ABV: 7.25 %
• Size: 650 ml
• Bought from: Online, ~8 euro
• Beer Advocate
• RateBeer

I recently got hold of some beers from AleSmith (their IPA, Old Numbskull and Speedway Stout), and will be trying the IPA first. AleSmith’s IPA is the top-rated IPA at RateBeer and 9th-placed American IPA at Beer Advocate, so expectations are naturally high. I couldn’t find any official information on the ingredients used in the beer, but homebrew recipes floating around online suggest a malt bill consisting of 2-row backed up with light caramalts, and a hop bill consisting of Columbus, Simcoe and Amarillo. AleSmith’s webpage informs me that the OG of the beer was 1.072, meaning the FG should be around 1.016-1.017 to give an ABV of 7.25%. A surprisingly high FG for a West Coast IPA, but it should be right down my alley (as I’m not a fan of super-dry (I)IPAs). Of course there is no freshness indications on the bottle, but it should hopefully be quite fresh. Let’s see how it tastes!

[easyreview title=”AleSmith IPA” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a slightly hazy golden color (some hints of amber), and a slight off-white head is formed with the pour. Some lacing is left along the glass as the head collapses.” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is mostly hop-dominated, with floral, citrusy (grapefruit and orange) and resiny tones present. There are some hints of caramel hidden behind the hops as well. I wonder if the aroma has suffered slightly on the way over from California.” cat2rating=”4″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor starts off with a honey-like and caramelly maltiness, that is joined by smooth tones of grapefruit, resin and pine. I feel the hop flavor is ‘raw’, i.e. it reminds me of the aroma of dried hop cones and that is a good thing, and it finishes off with a pleasant bitterness and a semi-dry finish. The beer is well balanced, and the components come together nicely, with the caramelly malt backbone balancing the hoppy flavors and the smooth bitterness fantastically. Still feel the beer is lacking a bit of freshness, as the hop flavors seem a bit subdued.” cat3rating=”4″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium body and carbonation level, and it is easy to drink for such a big beer. The beer has a smooth and slightly oily mouthfeel.” cat4rating=”4″ summary=”Overall a great beer, combining a nice maltiness with tons of hop flavors in a easily drinkable package. Even though there was plenty of hoppiness present, it felt as if the beer wasn’t super fresh, which was a shame. Alesmith seem to know what they are doing, and it is not a surprise that this beer is highly ranked.”]