AleSmith Decadence 2007

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

Bottle. American Strong Ale? ok.. Peter - you need to correctly label your beers; do not put Imperial Porter on a beer which God deems to be an ASA. Anyway, this PORTER is something I have been looking forward to drinking for a while. Dark brown almost black color with a thick tan head on it. Smell is sweet, rich, chocoalte, coffee, alcohol, and minor caramel flavors. Taste is smooth and rich, with a full body and full of coffee and chocolate flavors. The alcohol is apparent from the first sip, but after a glass and a half the alcohol is really apparent. Damn good shit, this one should be a year round beer as Alesmith lacks a Porter. Great stuff, cant wait to see what Decadence 2008 is.

Dark chocolate hue with a still, finely laced mocha foam. Huge, vinous, rich aroma of chocolate covered cherries. Pure. Graham crackers and sherry. Woodsy sweetness that seems a bit papery at times. Plastic wrapped caramels. All the elements are there but it tapers off a bit seeming a little hollow. Flavor likewise rushes out with this massive, juicy, full creamy roast. This vinous quality of fig and cherry is consistently present, offering a pleasant cooling touch. Seems insubstantial, though; the depth of this dark fruit, roast and chocolate character is concentrated, but shallow, forming a brittle surface on a thick, alcoholic, mineral toned bitterness of coffee-hued dark malts.

Served at cellar temp (c. 55 F in my basement) room temp and oxygen exposure (c.63-64) is treating it a bit better. Chocolate malts are waxing more syrupy, alcohol seems to ride a silky wave of port, while the berry skins and sugar of temporanillo table wine bolster those mineral hints of bitterness more sufficiently. Pruney alcohol caps the mid palate with an erudite, english polish. Not harsh, but pleasantly imitative of the finest spirits. Palate is cool despite this pointed alcohol presence, and gorgeously pillowy and full; soft, barely there carbonation. Light roasted Asian and African coffees finish; spicy, robust, and juicy roast. It’s really surprising and cool how positive this alcohol presence turns out to be. Thanks Andy!

bottle. Pours a dark brown with a thin tan head. Nose was sweet caramel & malt. Taste was roast coffee that I had not noticed in the nose. Mouthfeel was medium and a little chalky. Doesn’t feel like a porter as much as a stout. Pretty good.

Bottle. Pours dark brown with small tan head. Aroma is malt, chocolate, and caramel. Flavor is just that but with a burnt roastiness that i’m not crazy about. However the beer still has a nice creamy mouth feel.

This beer truly lives up to it’s name both in taste and appearance. There’s a whole ocean full of oil in every bottle and no one can drink it but me! I half expect to find flecks of gold lining the bottom of my glass each time I drink this. In my humble opinion, an improvement on the previous Decadence Ale from ’06, and that’s a hell of a compliment, especially considering that it only improves with age.

Bottled. Big thick chewy mother of a head on this puppy. Killer aroma, nice and malty. The flavor is precisely what I need on this cool (ridiculously cool) May afternoon. I’m enjoying this while playing my guitar. Full bodied flavor, warms my innards as it goes down and it coats my tongue with chocolatey caramel deliciousness. Me likey.

Bottle at Paul’s Hoboken Gathering: Deep brown pour with spotty tan head. Some grainy chocolate in the nose along with mild licorice. Creamy body with some alcohol apparent in the flavor. Chocolate, alcohol warmth and a roasted finish, along with more alcohol. Too much alcohol is present. Perhaps it needs more time to mellow.

Pours dark brown with a frothy tan head. Dark chocolate, caramel, and powdered cocoa in the aroma. Bitter chocolate and roasted malt up front that mellows into a sweeter caramel-an-coffee flavor. The Goldings appear throughout, as does a saltiness. Finish is alcohol warmth. Very nice.