AleSmith Brewing Company
My Bloody Valentine Ale
American Amber/Red Ale
California
6.66%
22oz, Single
$5.99
Healthy finger plus head of deep tan hue, even surface with credible density and retention, nice spider web of thin lacing across any open glass. The liquid is a dark mahogany red closer to brown than orange, fine clarity but dark enough you don't easily see through it, only a few visible bubbles. Graham cracker, honey, pie crust and chocolate notes give the nose immediate appeal, conversely there's a firm underpinning of dank leafy hops and pine sap to give it erectness, likewise has an earthiness which matches up well with the apricot paste to dried pineapple fruit scents. Full-bodied, has a creamy mouth feel to it that eventually leads to more prickle at the end. Piney and close to minty at times, not much lemon citrus but plenty of cocoa, toffee, hard coffee candy and that honey dappled pie crust. Here the hoppiness has more precision but less staying power, its razor edge exhausts itself quickly. More minerally than earthy, cleaner than the nose suggests. No real fruitiness. What nags at you is that no one element seems to excel and when taken all together as a whole it's nothing more than competent. Content to drink more but would not seek it out again.
3 out of 5