#041: AleSmith Brewing Co. - YuleSmith Summer Holiday Ale (DIPA)

In celebration of summer...!

The Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Co. (San Diego, CA)
The Brew: YuleSmith Summer Holiday Ale (DIPA)
Availability: 22 oz. Bottles
ABV: 9.5%
Rating: 8.5/10
Location: Home

The Story? AleSmith, oddly enough, is one of those breweries whose offerings are readily available to me and I've heard great things about, but every time I go to pick up my next haul it's "OK, next time, I just need to pick up one of everything they have." But it just doesn't happen.

Passing through Fingerlakes Beverage Center (as usual) for some sessions on a night in, I saw one lonely bottle of YuleSmith Summer on sale. Now is the time.

I'd heard about this summer offering by name alone. It's rare that I go into a tasting totally blind without researching the beer first (BA score, history, etc), but I did for this one and it really added to the experience.

For those keeping score at home, YuleSmith comes in two varieties - a winter holiday which is an Imperial/Double Red Ale and this summer variety, a Double IPA.

The Beer? Hazy, golden color with a couple fingers of fluffy, white head. Let's dive in.

Wonderfully boozy for a brew with the word "summer" on it. Tart, hoppy, strong, and nicely bitter. Robust, sticky hops with sweet, sturdy, bready malts. Raisin, pineapple, pine, resin, and hints of spices I can't quite put my finger on. Smooth and refreshing with w a far lighter mouthfeel than 8.5% or the word "holiday" might infer.

One of my new favorite DIPAs, especially for the price. Looking forward to finally exploring the rest of the AleSmith line.

#035: Green Flash Brewing Co. - Palate Wrecker (Double IPA) #IPAday

In honer of IPA Day, time to wreck some palates...

(amazing how photo editing on a different comp can change pic settings...)

The Brewery: Green Flash Brewing Co. (San Diego, CA)
The Brew: Palate Wrecker (Double IPA)
Availability: 12 oz. & 650 mL Bottles
ABV:  9.5% | IBUs: 100+
Rating: 9.5/10
Location: Home

The Story? It's IPA Day! Let's play with some heavy hitters.

The Beer? I can already smell the hops from a foot away taking the picture on this one! Pours translucent copper with a bit of lacy head. Do they make air fresheners of this?

Beautiful, refreshing hop goodness. Hints of sweet on the first sip, but bitters quickly.

A hop lovers dream in a bottle right here. Puckery grapefruit, with a solid malt spine, providing robust support. Definitey on the brighter, acidic side of things and it works in its favor.

A bit of boozy tang in the background which grows throughout the glass... not sticky sweet like a barelywine, but does become more and more prevalent. Nice.

Funny thing is, I like this one better in the bottle. I've had it on draft twice of late and cold, out of the bottle I'm able to pull a far broader spectrum of flavor.

I've seen some remarks that this beer is overwhelming and unbalanced (even taking in the nature and purpose of it), but I find it, while still Palate Wrecking, to still be well crafted, balanced, while packing a huge hop punch and letting it shine.

It's never abrasive. Dry, bright, and bold, but I can still sit and hang out with it knowing it's a beer and not some while liquor or herbal disastor.

#028: Green Flash - Saison Diego (Saison / Farmhouse Ale)

One for the subtle ones...

The Brewery: Green Flash Brewing Co. (San Diego, CA)
The Brew: Saison Diego (Saison / Farmhouse Ale)
Availability: 12 oz. & 650 mL Bottles
ABV:  4.2% | IBUs: 20
Rating: 7.5/10
Location: Home

The Story? Green Flash's offering have peaked my interest for a while and Saison Diego was next up, in my attempt to make my way through their entire bottled line. After Le Freak, Pallet Wrecker, and Friendship Brew; this had high expectations.

Green Flash lists the beer as "Unfiltered golden farmhouse ale, brewed with Seville orange peels, Chinese ginger and grains of paradise. Light, bright, spicy aromas, lively carbonation and earthy flavors co-mingle with musty notes that add funky complexity" - a great number of those words, especially in the combination sound like tasty to me.

The Beer? Mmm... a nice Belgian noise with some mild funky/sour hints - sour dough bread, maybe?  Hazy yellow coloring with a medium head after the pour.

First sip - the ginger is very mellow and not spicy at all. More of the earthiness of the ginger is present than the usual spice. A mild, bright taste with perky carbonation. The orange peel is in there somewhere along with the grains of paradise. Hints of pepper, white bread, and yeast all dialed back with some funk in the back of the room.

Finishes with a bit more earthy, funk imprint at the end of the bottle, but never aggressive.

Overall, a very delicate beer. Not as attention grabbing as I had hoped, but good for those looking for subtle, mellow, and light.  Reminds me of the Game Of Thrones Blonde from Ommegang (another brew featuring grains of paradise) - neither is a disappointing beer by any stretch, but in they're both a bit mellow for their own good. Saison Diego has a lot of potential for wowing beauty with the citrus, ginger, funk, grains of paradise, and yeasts present, but none are present enough to lead the pack.

I'd be very interested in comments from anyone who seeks out more delicate beers such as this and their thoughts on the matter.

#022: Green Flash - Le Freak (Belgian IPA)

"Belgian IPA" is likely the most understated description possible for this Freak...

The Brewery: Green Flash Brewing Co. (San Diego, CA)
The Brew: Le Freak (Belgian Trippel / American Imperial IPA)
Availability: Bottles
ABV:  9.2% | IBUs:
Rating: 10/10
Location: Home

The Story? The beers from Green Flash are those kind which I should just keep in at all times. Anything really. As long as something of theirs is in the house, we'll be good to go.  I had a couple close calls finding this on draft, and for that reason put off diving into it until then.

The official description from Green Flash is "An ‘out of the box’ modern ale crafted by converging two beer styles, Belgian Trippel and American Imperial IPA. Dry-Hopped and Bottle-Conditioned – it’s a zesty brew with enticing American hop and fruity Belgian yeast aromatics." - which is really dead-on compared to some overzealous (or underzealous) from the brewery descriptions. Get ready..

The Beer? Crazy, complex nose - big booze, lots of hops, and Belgian spice all vie for my olfactory attention. Nice lacy head too. The taste - zesty indeed!! Those hops and Belgian spices build wonderfully on each other. It's like a feedback loop of brew-tasticness wonderment in my mouth. You almost have to exclaim something after drinking it. Vibrant and bold.

There really is a lot going on here. Very west-coast on the hops in the best of ways, a bit tart, with the slightest hint of must. A very refreshing, complex beer. I want more now...