I’ve heard a lot of great things about AleSmith beers, and really wanted to try them, but we haven’t been able to get them here in central Illinois. Fortunately, my friend David, who lives out in San Diego was willing to send me a couple of them. If you live in the San Diego area and need a photographer, please give him a shout – davereedphotography.com. So, as I sit here and watch my Missouri Tigers on TV, I decided to crack this one open.
Location: Poured into a snifter glass from the 750ml bottle at my home in Bloomington, IL.
Numbers: 11% ABV, 340 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It’s dark copper-red in color and very clear. It’s got a decent amount of carbonation, giving it a thin, tan, foamy head. The aroma is full of caramel maltiness.
Taste & Feel: The body is full and the mouthfeel is a bit crisp from the carbonation. There’s a sweet caramel and honey flavor immediately up front, followed by a solid malty flavor in the middle. It finished with a bold, but smooth, sweet caramel maltiness mixed with a citrusy hop flavor and bitterness. The aftertaste was mostly maltiness, with some citrusy bitterness and alcohol warmth.
Food Pairing: This is a rich, flavorful beer with lots of sweet caramel maltiness and some citrusy hoppiness. Since this is such a sweet beer, I’d go with something a little salty or bland. For me, I think a big beer like this needs a hearty meal pairing. Therefore, I’d pair this with an open-faced roast beef sandwich with gravy and mashed potatoes.
Overall Impression: I really enjoy the big, sweet caramel boldness of barleywines, but they are tough to balance with hop bitterness and alcohol smell and heat. This one was able to balance everything out perfectly, and it was smooth and warming, and very enjoyable. I really appreciated all the caramel malt flavors balanced with some citrusy hoppiness, along with it’s warming smoothness. I highly recommend trying this one, especially on these cold winter afternoons.
My Rating: 
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