AleSmith Decadence 2006

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

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7/23/07. Poured out of 750 mL bottle, purchased at Red Carpet Wine in Glendale, CA 7/23/07. Pours a dull dark copper-burgundy with moderate translucence. Billowy carbonation with a tightly uniform, long-lasting pillow of dense, creamy and fluffy pink-tan head. Lacing is sticky with thick ribbons after a uniform, slow crawl down the glass. Strawberries and bright fruit in the nose, with a double-layering of juicy and resinous hops and then some soggy, aged caramel malts (and rye?); some scrubby and zesty candy-spice (reminds me of hard, red Christmas candies, the name of which I can’t remember), and a little (but unfortunate) bit of metallic tinge that keeps it from being really wonderful. The flavor backs up *some* of the aroma, but not in the most flattering way one could hope for-- the zesty spice is reincarnated as an aged hop and broken-down caramel malt combo, with brown sugar and spiced cookie being a few positives to draw from the experience. Finish (if you let it sit a good while so the hop tingles fade) brings in some burnt sugar (like the crackly crust of a creme brulee) with a toasty quality that is really fun. The palate is otherwise very frustrating-- I love the fluffy, creamy carbonation and the tingling sensation as it disappears from your tongue (even the gentle alcohol singe combined with the sticky goo of brown sugar), but I hate the soggy cardboard and paper notes that are left behind in the finish after the tingling fades. I’m usually very forgiving with oxidation, but there’s just not a whole lot else going on (or not enough to make me think this will hold up to repeated tastings-- the sad part about rating a one-off beer [it’s rating will change over time in accordance with how well the beer ages, which is not entirely fair since not all beers are meant to be aged]) that can make up for the decay that has undoubtedly already begun. Good, but not a classic by any means. Still, I wouldn’t mind seeing another release of this down the road so that I could try an EXTREMELY fresh sample in all its gooey, brown sugary and sticky resinous glory.

750mL bottle, sent from Glouglouburp (thanks a lot Dany!), pours a beautiful dark mahogany with a large foamy beige head. Divine aroma of plums, raisins, brown sugar, heaps of caramel malt / toffee, and even a feint trace of hops still roaming around. Flavour brings out huge grapes, some plum and maybe raisins, toffee, and brown sugar - hops have all but died, but doesn’t matter, this is exceedingly well-balanced and sort of reminiscent of a barley wine. Absolutely no signs of oxidation or anything going off about this. Finishes quite dry and semi-sweet, with everything working in perfect harmony. Sticky, viscous palate and uber-decadent in all aspects.

Bottle at Churchills, San Marcos. It pours very deep ruby, with a thick off-white head. The nose is pine, resin, raisin, currant, plum, caramel and brown sugar. The taste is caramel, varnish, dark fruit - cherry, prune, plum ,raisin, earth and toast, with alcohol warmth in the finish. Full body, moderate carbonation and slightly sticky mouth-feel. Great balance. All-round it’s very good.

750mL split at Churchill’s pub in San Marcos. Pours clear deep mahogany to blood ruby with a larger, thick yellowish head. Awesome tawny Barleywine nose with caramel, wood, butterscotch, thick brown sugar. Fresh lemon. Thick, poofy lace. Taste is sticky, malty, nice older malty character with red fruits. Red fruity, big raisin and date finish. Not too oxidized or papery. Nice aged feel despite the style. Very nice lacework. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

brought up by Alex, thank you sir .. . Pours a deep tawny tan .. medium foam, little sticky lacing .. . light citrus, thin molasses, fruit, and caramel .. . age has calmed this down quite a bit .. . good drink .. . . I’ll be playing with your mama tonight. ...62.....

Getestet beim LCRBM Hopfiger, stark würziger Antrunk, vermischt mit dezenter Süße. Der malzige Ton scheint vorerst noch zurückhaltend und legt erst nach dem Auftreten eines herben Tons so richtig los. Zuletzt süßer. Leckere Mischung. Test vom 11.9.2007, Gebinde: Glasflasche Noten: 11,11,10,11,11,11 - 10,85

bottle shared by fappa78 at DLD. a pleasure, Mat. Notes of brown sugar and raisin sweetness, pleasant bready sherry oxidation, a touch of leather. touch of sweet earthy booze. has held up pretty well over the years, it seems. mellow. nice body. pretty good!

750 ml bottle shared by foppa78 at Dark Lord Day 2011- thanks again, Mat! Pours a dark ruby-brown color with a thin beige head. Aroma of caramel malts, dark fruits (plums, grapes, raisins), toast, and nuts. Flavor of dark fruits, caramel malts, toasted brown sugar, mild spices, and toffee. Medium-bodied, with a sweet, sticky mouthfeel and fairly low carbonation. Pretty interesting beer that has held up well for 5 years.

DLD ’11, bottle another huge thanks to Matt for getting to try this rarity. Big reddish pour, nice white head. Aroma is full of sweet toffee, vanilla, and burnt and caramelized sugars with a nice wood, tannic oak presence that leads to a slight earthy, spicy hop bitter. Taste is a perfect carb level, with notes of deep toffee, burnt sugars, caramel, vanilla, some slight ripe red fruit with a nice oaky, tannic, dry finish melding well with the slight earthy hop bitter. Delicious.

750ml received in a past trade with JCB. Thanks again Jason! Pours a deep, dark ruby color that’s completely opaque with bright golden ruby edges when held to a light and a 1.5 finger light beige head that slowly fades into a lasting ring. Sporadic streaks and chunks of lacing are left behind. Sweet leathery malt aroma that is nicely balanced out by hints of dark fruit, earthy pine and citrus hops. I’m really surprised how hop-forward this beer still is given that it came out five years ago. Although it is still plenty hoppy, the leathery malt profile is most prominent with hints of caramel, toffee and biscuit. Medium bodied and fuller than expected with a good balance of earthy and sweet hops and sweet, leathery malt. Only slightly boozy and not really hot at all with subtle warmth in the finish. Very complex with the sweet pine and citrus hop flavors complimenting the sweet caramel, rye, toffee and hazelnut notes. A bit dry and bitter but still nicely balanced. The malt backbone is slightly toasted with a nice dark fruit presence, especially dark cherry, grape and plum. I’m glad that this beer held up but I think it might have reached it’s peak.

The beer pours a dark resigh brown with about a finger of tan head, good retention and great lacing. The aroma is strong with tons of malt and alcohol. The malts present as mostly caramel with light hops, uncannly similar to a barleywine. The taste is also very bwish, sweet caramel to start balanced by a light hopw finish. The biggest problem here is the feel, light to the feel, not much of a finish. Overall, this is a great easy drinker.