In an effort to confuse and confound their customers, Alesmith makes two different beers with the same name: YuleSmith Holiday Ale. One is a hoppy red ale released during the winter holidays, which makes a certain sorta sense. The other his a double IPA released in June, which… doesn’t. The word “Yule” is derived from a Germanic winter festival that was absorbed by Christmas (like a lot of holiday traditions), so the summer one doesn’t really fit unless you consider the dubious holiday of Christmas in July an event worth celebrating. And if you look at the bottle, it seems to be portraying the 4th of July, what with the fireworks and all (and Christmas in July is usually celebrated on the 25th of the month). Alesmith makes good beer though, and this one has quite the reputation, so who am I to complain?
YuleSmith Summer Holiday Ale – Pours a hazy orange color with almost no head. A little worried about that, as the bottle didn’t seem to have much pressure going on when I popped the cap. Aroma is very nice though, lots of pine and caramel malt character. The taste is sweet, caramel malts with a ton of resin and pine hop flavor coming out in the middle, and some citrusy goodness coming out to play a little too. That resin is the dominating flavor though, and it seems to be driving the bitterness in the finish. It’s actually quite nice, and reminiscent of a lighter version of Alesmith’s Old Numbskull (their barleywine). Mouthfeel is a little too light on the carbonation, as feared, and it comes off a little sticky, especially in the finish. The carbonation is at a cromulent level, but it could really use a little more of a kick in that respect. It gets better as it warms, but I’d still like to see some more carbonation in this. It’s got the markings of a great beer, but it didn’t quite get there even if it’s certainly very good even like this. Truth be told, once I started drinking, the stuff went down awfully quick! B or B+ (I can’t seem to make up my mind…)
Beer Nerd Details: 8.5% ABV bottled (22 oz. bomber). Drank out of a tulip glass on 7/3/12.
Looking closer at the bottle, the text on the back of the bottle sez that this is YuleSmith Holiday Ale 2011? This is actually printed in the description – there doesn’t appear to be a bottled-on or best-by stamp on the bottle, so I don’t know if this is actually from 2011 or if Alesmith just neglected to update the text on the back of the bottle this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if I accidentally bought a year old bottle, as perhaps that would explain the carbonation issues…
Regardless, Alesmith continues to be one of the more interesting breweries out there, and I will most certainly be exploring more of their catalog!
Update: I have it on good authority that the bottle I had here actually was from 2011. Poop. But at least it explains some things about this beer…