X – an Extra Pale Ale
brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company in Sand Diego, CA
X is an Extra Pale Ale that is brewed year-round by AleSmith Brewing Company. The beer is light and drinkable, but I was let down by the flavor. As a big fan of other AleSmith brews, this one disappointed me.
Immediately upon opening, this beer was a gusher. I was surprised by this as it was not bottle conditioned, but I know hydrophobin (a protein created by a fungus that infects malt during the brewing process) could be a culprit.¹ After it stopped gushing, the beer poured a deep gold with a brilliant white head that dissipated quickly. The immediate aroma I noticed was citrus, lemon with some hints of perfumey pear. The scent also had delicate undertones of sweet biscuity malt. The taste of this beer is what really disappointed me – it reminded me of old hops. Pine and citrus were definitely present, but there was a stale off-flavor. Unfortunately this bottle did not have a freshness date on it, so I have no way of telling just how old it was. This beer had a sweet aftertaste, almost medicinal – the lingering flavor was essentially a honey lemon cough drop.
AleSmith X clocks in at 5.2% ABV and 24 IBU. Based on my experience I would not recommend this beer, but as I said earlier it had no date on the bottle so it might be better when fresher.
¹Hippeli, Susanne, and Erich F. Elstner. “Minireview: Hydrophobins, ns-LTPs and Beer
Gushing.” Zeitschrift für Naturforschung, edited by Walter De Gruyter, 2 Aug. 2001,
www.znaturforsch.com/ac/v57c/s57c0001.pdf.
Have you had this beer? What was your take on it?
Polka Dots & Pints. 