AleSmith Decadence 2005

Formerly brewed at AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Old Ale
San Diego, California USA

Bottle, graciously shared by blankboy with Hogtown harry and myself (thanks!!!!). Dark ruby red, very small creamy head - looks interesting! Woody malt, some alcohol, dust, spice in complex smell me for an hour aroma. Strong burning alcohol at first sip gives way to an almost Belgian spiciness and some finishing hops. After first sip, you are left with a strong old ale that has a whiskey quality too it, not that dissimilar to a Fullers Vintage. Tasty, warming, this is what drinking and sharing beer is all about. These guys just do not disappoint. Wow.

Reddish brown pour with a malty fruity aroma. Nice flavor, the alcohol didn’t really bother me too much, but I was coming off a Fort so that probably had something to do with it.

big 750 mL bottle , which i believe was from secret santa! a gorgeous ruby color with a thin fragile head that doesn’t really sit anywhere but lives more as a permanent film on top of the liquid. orange and other sweet citrus elements to the aroma, despite an overall dryness to the aroma that seems to me not to belong in an old ale/barley wine. fruity and alcoholic and raisin-like (not so much raisins as dried dark aged fruit; prunes, or dates). must have been fermented with an english-style yeast, because the yeast sediment clumps together at the bottom of the glass like many of the fruity and flocculant english strains - and dry and alcoholic in the finish. good stuff, but overattenuated i think. alesmith has much better offerings!

Cask at O’Brien’s, San Diego. Clear dark reddish brown. Raisiny, near portlike and very sweet with some cherry tones. Very liqueur-like with notes of orange and curacao. A massive onslaught of flavours, but finishes disappointingly dusty and alcoholic.

Bottle courtesy of dough77 pours caramel colored w/ a small tan head. Initial tasting: Wish I had waited ~ a year to drink this one. Reminds me of Iron Hill Old Ale, but w/ much more alcohol. Needs some aging. Too bad this is the only one I’ve got. Good, but will be great w/ age. Second tasting (11/2/2007): Essence of bourbon noted here. More complex. Similar finish as Decadence 2006, possibly the same yeast.

Combination of notes from two tastings. Bottle (both). Coppery brown pour. Strong caramel sweet malty with raisins and some plums. Alcohol very upfront. I’d want to age my bottles some more. But after a year or two, watch out. I’m very glad I have bottles of this in my cellar.

MN Winter Get Together, 2006: Copper color with no head. Sweet malt aroma. This turns a little bitter in the taste, yet retains a sweet and syrupy feel. Slightly spiced. Nice one.

Dark amber body. Strong sweet malts, tad bit of hop bitterness, some alcohol in the finish. Well rounded, would be interested to see how this one ages.