AleSmith Decadence 2007

Formerly brewed at AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
San Diego, California USA

Pours a very dark opaque chestnut with a medium-dense, fine, milk chocolate head. Aromas of dark roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, fruit, some lactic character, and earthy hops notes. The flavor is dominated by strong roasted grain bitterness with coffee, toffee, and bittersweet chocolate and also a touch of fruity hops, general dark berry flavors, and alcohol. Big, though well balanced body with a lot of dimension that unfolds throughout a long finish.

Bottle. Thaks to cbkschubert for the generous bottle he sent! Poured a adark black body with thin head. Aroma was a beautiful boquite of vanilla, choclate and a small amount of hops. Flavor is dark chocolate, hops and velvet. Very smooth.

Pours a dark black-brown with a light tan head. Aromas of semi-sweet chocolate, coffee, and figs. Flavors of bitter mocha and dried cherries. This beer is unbelievably smooth and rich, completely embodying the label "decadence." An excellent effort, although it is not the paramount example of this style...

Pours black with a light tan head. Aroma is coffee and baker’s chocolate. The flavor has quite a bit of the bitter chocolate and licorice with a slightly woody finish.

Pours very dark brown with a small, mostly dimnishing, light brown head. Aroma is of lots of coffee, some dark fruits, and caramel/molasses. Creamy/ smooth mouthfeel with lively carbonation. Taste is initially sweet, and ends on a bitter/alcoholic note. Although the alcohol note is not that noticeable. Flavor is also malty with some trace of hops. Not my favorite of beers. I feel as though the sweetness factor was overdone in the beer and so was the coffee/ chocolate flavor. It was difficult for me to drink. Just my opinion; everyone else seems to love it!

750ml bottle. Didn’t even know this was distributed in Ohio, was quite happy when I saw this at the local store. Pours brown black with an off-white head. Nice retention and lacing, per usual with Alesmith. Nice milky chocolate aroma, pure and creamy and clean. Not much else going on, malted milk balls, graham crackers, the normal porter stuff but a bit bigger and nicer. Fruity notes are present but subtle. Flavor is all chocolate. Creamy and smooth mouthfeel, very smooth. Alcohol presence not detected in any way, masterfully hidden. Another quality beer from a master brewery.

750 bottle poured a dark brown color with minimal head even with an aggressive pour. aroma has coffee, roasted malt, dark chocolate, licorice, and faint raisin. mouth feel is medium full with thick coating and little carbonation. flavor has dark chocolate, bitter coffee, dark chocolate malts, a touch of roast, and a molasses like sweetness. fairly hefty porter with a good mix of bitterness, malt, and underlying sweetness. this does say imperial porter not strong ale.

Appearance: Pours a very dark brown body with a thin, wispy, beige head. Smell: Aroma led by a distinct roastiness and a scent of used espresso grinds with accompanying notes of melted dark chocolate, star anise, and touch of booze. Taste: Rich dark maltiness with a potent taste of grains, dark chocolate ice cream topping, black licorice extract, and quad-shot of espresso. And, yes, there is a decadent sweetness on-hand. This is counteracted somewhat by an earthy, roasty bitterness. Splash of a beefy cabernet. Further lingering tastes of dark chocolate and roast on the finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Uncommonly delightful! One of those 750ml bottles you can cheerfully finish by yourself in one short sitting.