BetterBeerBlog

Alesmith is one of those breweries that was originally on my list of places to visit. At first, I was 50/50 about going but after getting recommended by a former San Diego resident and beer lover, I decided that this place definitely needed a visit. Located near what seemed to be an aircraft museum, Alesmith is tucked away in and industrial park, not unlike Lost Abbey. Unless you were specifically lookiing for them, there’s really no way you’d be able to find them on accident. Yet, when your reputation starts to expand far beyond the confines of your brick-and-mortar location, getting found becomes the least of your problems.

It’s quiet outside when we pull up. Sammy and I enter through a side door into the Alesmith tasting area. So far, it’s nothing to write home about. There are stacks and stacks of palettes all around, each containing either kegs, bottles or brewing supplies. We round a corner and see the tasting room set-up that Alesmith has. They have a small bar surrounded by about 10 or so people being manned by one, Alesmith employee. Not necessarily quiet but not quite buzzing, it feels as if we’ve walked into a private tasting party. Jessica, who is holding down the fort, gives us a warm smile and invites us to join in.

Being unfamilar with their beers, Jessica gives us a brief introduction to their beers before pouring us a sample. Each sample is .50 cents and you are able to purchase their beers by the growler or by the bottle. As with many other places, they also have shirts and glassware for sale. Sammy contemplates picking up a shirt but “Lil’ Devil” is out and she feels “Horny Devil” is… setting the wrong example. She does settle on the “Periodic Table” of beers poster though.

Jessica, as we learn chatting with her, is in an “all-around” sort of position in Alesmith. She does some distribution, some marketing and a whole lot of physical labor. In fact, just about everybody in Alesmith has the ability to wear different hats. You kind of have-to when there are only 6 of you. Open only between the hours of 1pm - 4pm, there’s not a lot of time for us to sit back and really get to know each other and the beers. Jessica does a great job with the samples and before we know it, we’ve tried everything Alesmith had on tap that day. I wish I could say that I tasted everything they had to offer but they were out of some stuff and the new stuff would be ready days after we left. Just another excuse to come back and visit San Diego.

Here are my notes on the beers:

Nautical Nut Brown Ale, 5% ABV

Reddish brown in color with amber highlights and a beige head. Clean malt aroma with grainy/nutty notes with medium/medium-low hop aroma. Malty and grainy flavors hit my tongue first followed by slight nuttiness. The hop flavors appear in the finish are medium-low in intensity and bitterness. This beer is medium bodied with medium high carbonation. This is one of their lighter offerings and is pretty good. I wish my photos were better but the tasting cups were translucent instead of transparent.

Lil’ Devil Belgian Ale, 6.66% ABV

Nope. That is not a typo. This beer’s ABV was specifically crafted to be 6.66%. Whenever I think of Belgian ales, I usually thing of abbey ales or Trappist ales yet I can’t tell you the number of Belgian ales or Belgian-style ales that have clearly demonic overtones in their names. Go figure. I think it’s a testament to the abilities of the brewers to be able to dial in your beer’s specific gravity to give you a devilishly interesting ABV. Lil’ Devil is cloudy, pale golden straw in color with a creamy, white head. Sweet malt character, slight wheat malt, spicy Belgian yeast and corriander are in the aroma of the beer. The flavor is sweet wheat in character with a compliment of spiciness from the yeast. Hop bitterness and flavor is low; body is medium-low/medium with a high level of carbonation. Even though the alcohol level is high for this particular style of beer, it’s hard to say anything really bad about it other than that.

Anvil ESB, 5% ABV

This was the very first beer produced at Alesmith and is considered their flagship ale. It is amber in color, clear with a beige head. I’m picking up a sweet malt aroma with low/medium-low hop aroma. The beer’s sweet, caramel-like malt sweetness is upfront with a medium hop bitterness and flavor in the finish. This beer is medium in body with medium/medium-high carbonation level. The Alesmith website will tell you that they use imported English hops in this beer and I will be the first to say that I can’t tell. This is all to do with how I haven’t drunk enough English ales to burn those hop characteristics onto my senses than it is anything Alesmith has or hasn’t done. A much long winded way of saying my tongue is ignorant on English ales.

Wee Heavy, 9.5% ABV

So far, both the beers I’ve tried prior to this Wee Heavy are light on hops, at least by American West Coast standards. Also known as a Scotch Strong Ale, the Wee Heavy-style of beer is a result of circumstance and geography. With a climate unsuited to growing hops, Scotland has had to import all of their hops at a highly taxed rate. Having sufficient malt production capabilities, they brewed a strong ale that was low in hops. All the Scottish/Irish beers are similarly low-hopped. Alesmith’s Wee Heavy is a dark brown with beige head. Very low hop aroma with clean, yet sweet malt aromas with slight smoke. Sweet, slightly toasty malt flavors dominate this beer with toffee, caramel notes and noticeable alcohol presence. This beer is full bodied with medium-high carbonation. If you ever get a chance to try this beer, please do so as it is a world-class example of the style.

Old Numbskull, 11% ABV

Unlike the previous ales I’ve tried from Alesmith so far, this is by far the hoppiest, yet balanced. Caramel color, clear with a beige head. Citrus, floral and piney hop aromas with sweet malt characters underneath. Some alcohol notes as well. I find this beer is pretty well balanced. There’s a very sweet malt profile that is slightly toasty and caramel/toffee-ish in character that is kept in check by an equal amount of hop bitterness and flavor. The hop bitterness is immediate but not clingy. This is a medium bodied beer with medium-high carbonation. At 11%, the alcohol character is smooth and not harsh. A very tastey barleywine.

Speedway Stout, 12.5% ABV

Holy crap this is a good beer!. I don’t have to be a Recognized-level beer judge to know that. This is also a big beer. 12.5% is a huge number for a beer, particularly this style. If I wanted to get all technical, this could be considered an Imperial Russian Stout. The Speedway Stout pours an opaque, black with a tan head. Roasty, chocolatey, some hot peppery spiciness make up the aroma. Sweet and roasty malt flavors, chocolate flavors with a touch of soy sauce make up the flavor profile. The hops are there, enough to support the malt character but the balance is definitely in the malt end of the spectrum. There’s noticeable alcohol character in both the aroma and flavor but in either instance, it is neither harsh nor solventy. This is a medium-high/full bodied beer with medium/medium-high carbonation. Wow, what a beer! Just when I thought I was out from enjoying stouts, this beer pulled me right back in!

I wanted to stay longer and talk with Jessica more but it was closing time. Seeing as how San Diego has a gazillion sunny days a year, I’d hate to keep her working any longer than she needed to. I wanted to pick up three bottles of beer while Sammy was contemplating picking up a shirt. In the end, we bought a bottle of their Wee Heavy and of the Speedway Stout. I wanted to bring back a bottle of the Old Numbskull but Sammy used her “alotment” to pick up the “Periodic table of beer” poster instead. It’s not hung up yet but it’s pretty cool. Very beer geek!

If you are a fan of good beer, I would highly recommend Alesmith beers. They are good all across the line and are multi-faceted and, in the case of their bigger beers, complex and nuanced. Unless you call ahead to schedule an appointment, don’t expect a brewery tour during their tasting hours. I am assuming that they only staff one person during that time and they don’t have the ability to run the tasting room and give a brewery tour at the same time. The physical location of the place isn’t much to look at but does it really matter? It’s the beer that counts. Good thing Alesmith as its priorities straight.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 11:35 pm and is filed under American Brown Ale, Beer in Review, Reviews, Spotlight On. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.