AleSmith Decadence 2006

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

Beautiful mahogany color with a rich, off-white/beige head. Nearly opaque. The aroma is rich and full too. It has lots of sweet plums and figs, with a gentle balance of malts and hops. Caramel and cocoa pair well with this somewhat vinous brew - very complex and hearty,with a delicate earthiness. I’m very impressed.

Thanks to goldtwins for ordering this bottle for me - I was going to save this for sharing, but I’ve had a tiring week, and sometimes you just need to be selfish - slightly hazy, deep, dark amber beer, with a foamy, lasting tan head - sweet caramel malt in the aroma, with some light spices, hints of gingerbread, and the expected, woody alesmith hop profile - yup, there’s some seriously sweet caramel flavor here, but it’s balanced quite with a mixture of hops, wintery spices (nutmeg,cinnimon), and alcohol heat, all in fairly good balance - finishes with lingering alcohol warmth, some dried cherries, and, of course, those ever-present hops - it’s tasty, and well-balanced, but still comes across as brash and a bit too powerful - I’d like to try this one again with some age on it.

Truth in Advertising, beer does indeed pour reddish color with a large, rocky off white head. Aroma is very strong, with lots of sweet malty aroma and a truck load of hoppy goodness. Flavor is intiially sweet, with a hoppy, spicy finish, some alcohol too. Beer is tasty, strong.

Bottle from IrishBoy. Nice deep amber with an equaly light tan head. Aroma is hoppy, but equally as malty, smells sticky with caramel. Taste is a nice maltiness, with a light alcohol, and hoppy background, fruity undertones, with a little spice to it. I guess I just need to be reminded once awhile that Alesmith’s beers are devine... Outstanding beer.

Very much like the barrel aged version but with out the bourbon and wood hints to it. It also had less vanilla and tobacco aromas. This was much more straight foreward, a caramel malt bomb with a very nice equivant of hops to balance the sweetness. A full body and silky palate. It finished a bit fruity and nutty with a slight bitter twinge. The alcohol was better hidden in this, than on its BA. counterpart. Its like an imperial IPA but with more malts than hops. They had said this was an Imperial Red.

750 mil bottle from trade with John C. Thanks John! Pours a murky amber color with a huge rocky head. Aroma is sweet of hops, pine, malt and caramel. Flavor of hops, caramel malt and citrus. Has full bodied mouth feel and a complex hop bitterness. I guess I am just not a true hop head. I didn’t think it lived up to the hype.

Cask @ Hamiltons. One of the best Casks ive ever had. Completely rich, full bodied, caramel, malt, delicately tart but not too sweet. light chocolate but hardly notice. A wonderful earthy appeal on Cask and a lengthy finish that just continues to leave you wanting more.

750mL bottle, courtesy of Brock_Landers. Thanks a bunch, John! Pours a very dark amber-tinted color, similar to mahogany; fluffy, light-khaki head with excellent retention and lacing that lasts forever; a beautiful pour. Very generous aroma, showing some xmas spices (clove, cinnamon, cocoa) with a chocolaty / dried-fruit core that is both satisfying and balanced; nothing hot here. The combinations in the aroma, between the spices and cocoa, actually reminds me quite a bit of Alpha Klaus; I remember the Klaus being a bit more chocolaty, but this certainly shows that nice warm / spicy mixture in the nose. There’s a dry cedar note at the end. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: the one thing that really impresses me about this beer is the fact that it isn’t a chewy alcoholic bomb - there’s balance here: relaxed carbonation, dense dried fruits, a tea-like character (which dries out the palate slightly), warming nougat and caramel at its core; along with a red fruit / cherry note that makes this feel like dessert - all wrapped together with no alcohol to speak of; dense, flavorful without exhausting the palate with sugar or hops, and immensely tasty. That dry tea / cedar note does wonderful things for tempering the mouthfeel. Drink now - this doesn’t seem like it could benefit from much aging, as a toasty caramel is already present and there’s nothing to tone down. Lengthy, caramel and wet malt finish, with just a hint of dried fruit.