12 Beers of Christmas 2012 – Day 11 – Yulesmith from Alesmith Brewing Company

On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

Yulesmith Holiday Ale, Alesmith Brewing Company, 8.5% ABV

Yulesmith Holiday Ale from Alesmith Brewing Company.

It’s the home stretch! Only 2 more holiday beers to review, including this one. This holiday beer comes to us from San Diego craft brewer Alesmith Brewing Company. I’ve been to their brewery several times and they’re always doing interesting things. Let’s see how interesting their holiday ale is.

Yulesmith Holiday Ale in a glass.

Yulesmith Holiday Ale pours out reddish brown with rosé colored highlights and a beige head. The aroma is a hoppy combination of pine, floral and citrus. There’s a perfumy alcohol character as well. The malt aroma is caramel like with some toffee notes. The flavor  is a balance between caramel malts and resiny hops. The hop bitterness is medium. This is a full bodied beer with medium-high carbonation and a balanced finish with slight alcohol astringency.

Back of the bottle for Yulesmith Holiday Ale.

While there is a substantial hop character to this beer, it is balanced by an equally robust malt character. In a season of typically malty beers, it’s nice to see some balance and a slight return to hops.

Mele Kalikimaka!