AleSmith X Extra Pale Ale

I picked up a bottle of AleSmith X Extra Pale Ale from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours an extremely pale golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, spruce, and pine. The taste is dry and bubbly on the tongue with a light pale malt flavor, tangerine, lemon and grapefruit citrus, and an peppery finish. The after taste is dry and has a little bit of caramel. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. The X is a light bodied beer that packs a big punch of citrus flavor and a peppery finish. It is quite refreshing and not too heavy, perfect for imbibing during those warm summer months.

AleSmith YuleSmith Holiday Ale (Winter)

I picked up a bottle of AleSmith YuleSmith Holiday Ale (Winter) from Brass Rail in Campbelltown. Since I had previously had the Summer version of this beer, I could not pass up the winter version. The beer pours a reddish amber color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of a sweet Belgian yeast with pine, lemon, and grapefruit. The taste is sweet with candisugar and Belgian yeast before the hops kick in, and boy do they! There is a nice punch of lemon, pine, and grapefruit that leaves a nice drying imprint on the tongue. The after taste comes back with an orange sweetness that is very candy-like. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. The winter version of the YuleSmith Holiday Ale plays wonderful tricks on the tongue between candy sweetness and hop bitterness; a great holiday treat!

AleSmith YuleSmith Holiday Ale (Summer)

I picked up a bottle of AleSmith YuleSmith Holiday Ale from Al's of Hampden. The Holiday Ale is brewed twice a year, once for the winter holiday season and once for the summer holiday season. The summer version is an Imperial/Double IPA. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy and massive head. The aroma consists of lemon, pine, pepper, orange, and apricot. The taste is smooth and powerful before exploding with hop flavor. There is a bit of sweetness on the front end with caramel and toffee and some light hints of apricot and orange. The flavor transitions into lemon and pine and a toasted caramel finish. The after taste is sweet and lightly dry, and the brewer's yeast is very prevalent. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. AleSmith has again impressed me with another excellent beer offering. This Imperial/Double IPA is perfectly balanced and not overly sweet or overly hoppy. I hope this review makes your mouth water, and if it does, there is only one way to quench your summer thirst: with a YuleSmith Holiday Ale.

AleSmith Grand Cru

I picked up a bottle of AleSmith Grand Cru at Al's of Hampden. I enjoyed the previous AleSmith beers that I had in San Diego, so I was looking forward to trying the Grand Cru. The beer pours a reddish brown color with lofty foamy off-white colored head. The aroma is malty and sweet with dark fruit and fig and definitely can pick out alcohol in the aroma as well. The taste is is sweet and malty with a good helping of raisin and fig, orange, dried apricot, and candisugar. The alcohol bites a good bit and the beer finishes with a slight hop flavor that dries the mouth out a bit. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. I really enjoyed the amount of flavors included in the Grand Cru, especially the citrus ones. The alcohol content doesn't let you forget that this is a hefty beer, but it is completely enjoyable.

AleSmith Speedway Stout

Another beer I ordered while out on the town in southern California was AleSmith Speedway Stout. The beer has a dark brown color with a thin tan bubbly head. The aroma consists of coffee and chocolate. The taste starts with sweet chocolate finishes with bitter hops and coffee to complete the Imperial Stout experience. The alcohol content is 12.8% ABV. I thought that the Speedway Stout was a very good beer and well balanced with hops and chocolate.

AleSmith Horny Devil

A night on the town in southern California led me to ordered a glass of AleSmith Horny Devil. The beer has a pale golden color with a little head. The smell is sweet and consists mostly of banana with a light pepper backing. The taste consists of banana with a pepper spice accent. There is also a light malt flavor underneath the pepper. The alcohol content is 11% ABV. I thought that the Horny Devil was amazing and I loved it. It provided a good start to the evening with a good spicy bite and a nice alcohol kick.

Stone Brewery Master Pairings Around the World

On my recent trip to San Diego, two of my friends and I made a trip to the (somewhat) new Stone Brewing Company and Bistro for a beer pairing dinner titled Master Pairings Around the World. Tickets were $40 for the five-course meal. I will apologize in advance for the absence of a few photos of the food and beer, and I was so enthralled with the pairings that I forgot to take a photo of the meal and beer.

The meal started with a plate of cheeses and meats themed from Europe. The menu included traditional French country pate of truffled pork, duck liver mousse, Italian prosciutto, Spanish-style lamb chorizo, Nuremberg bratwurst, French brie de nangis, and Spanish Manchego. The first course beer pairing was Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux. The beer has a yellow-gold color with a filmy and bubbly white head. The taste consisted of banana and orange citrus. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. I really enjoyed the Avec Les Bons Voeux and I thought that it paired really well with the cheeses. The slightly spicy cheese really worked with the citrus flavors in the beer.

The second course was themed from Southeast Asia- India/Thailand. The food provided was mussels in green curry sauce with lemon grass, lime leaves, galangal, shallots, garlic, and cilantro. The pairing beer was the 2009 AleSmith Decadence. The beer had a deep amber color with a light head. It smelled of fig, banana, and raisins. The taste was full of banana with a complimentary underlying of fig and raisin. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. The pairing with the mussels brought out the candisugar and was, in my opinion, the best pairing of the night.

The third pairing was themed from the United States. The course consisted of macaroni and cheese with Cheswick white cheddar, Buffalo meatloaf sandwich and garlic mashed potatoes, and traditional New England style clam chowder. It was a little odd to receive the clam chowder in a double shot glass, but made for some interesting dinner conversation. The food was paired with Stone's own Oaked Arrogant Bastard. The beer had the same characteristics as Arrogant Bastard (see my previous review here) but came with an addition of an oak aroma. The taste transformed to be a little rounded and not quite as hoppy as Arrogant Bastard. However, I was surprised that pairing the Oaked Arrogant Bastard with the macaroni and cheese brought the hops back to the mellowed Bastard.

The fourth course was themed from Oahaca, Mexico The food presented was duck mole with Spanish rice. The beer pairing was Augustiner Brau Maximator. The beer has a dark copper color with no head. It smells strongly of raisins with a light fig undertone. The taste is spicy and heavy on the raisin with a nice alcohol bite. I thought that the duck smoothed out the bite, but wasn't the best pairing of the night. I could see the direction of the pairing, a chocolaty duck with a dark and sweet fruit beer, but it didn't quite connect.

The final course was themed as Asian/French Fusion. The dessert provided was three different crème brulees: green tea, citron, and chocolate ginger. The dessert was paired with Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus. The beer has an amber color and no head at all. The smell is sweet consisting of fig and with hints of candisugar. The taste is sweet with raisin and fig. I thought that the Samichlaus paired really well with the ginger crème brulee, but not as much with the orange crème brulee, which was the best of the three crème brulees.

Overall, this was an amazing experience. If you ever have the chance to check out the Stone Brewery, please jump on the chance. Stone strives to grow their own spices for the food and bring in locally grown and raised food products. The result is some of the best tasting food I have had from a brewery. I would also go as far as to say that Stone is the best brewery I have been to, and I haven't even taken the tour yet. I plan on making a return trip as soon as possible.