AleSmith Decadence 2007

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

Bottle. Aroma of semisweet chocolate, rich, nutty, earthy, and again, rich coffee, alcohol, sweet, lightly roasted cookie/cake malt. Decadence is a perfect name for this brew, and in the mouth that becomes even more evident. Incredibly rich incredibly vinous maltiness, coffee, cookie, cake, chocolate, decadence upon decadence. This is a monster, but a monster to be adored and cherished.

750 ml bottle - thanks to ironchefscott for the trade; i was excited the moment i heard they were putting out an imperial porter this year and this didn’t disappoint; pours thick and jet black w/ foamy chocolate colored head; takes a while to settle and leave slots of lacing; huge aromas of sweet roasted chocolate; medium body with that great rich, smooth texture; slightly chewy and silky smooth; chocolate is mixed very well and never overpowering or unpleasant in any way; just a rich mixture throughout; totally kick ass and i would love to see a porter as part of the regular AS lineup

750ml bottle. Short rating... Dark, oily brown pour with a thin khaki film. Bittersweet chocolate and lightly roasted coffee on the nose. A bit of dark fruits emerge as the beer warms. Bitter chocolate and cocoa powder on the tongue. Starts out nice but some astringent, bitter malt and spicy anise distracts. Bitter espresso, alcohol, vanilla extract on the finish. Slick and oily mouthfeel. Decent.

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!

Pours almost black with no head. The nose is chocolate and roasted coffee. The flavor is more astringent and hot. Not very smooth on the palate. Disappointing.

750ml bottle from xmarcnolanx....pours a relatively dark cola brown with reddish hues at its edges. a thin and fastly dissipating light brown head topped it off....nose had a chocolate, mild fruit, and a boozy component to it..... roasted malt, chocolate, and booze made up the flavors with a hot,bitter finish. mouthfeel and carbonation levels were for the most part average.

With thanks to HogTownHarry. Appearance: Pitch black with a nice large pancake mix head. Aroma: Chocolate, latte, raisins, hops, yeast and a tiny hint of alcohol. Deliciously creamy. Flavour: Glorious, peat - like an Irish pub, coffee, bourbon, malty and quite hoppy, chocolatey and a creamy mouth feel with a long wood/coffee finish.

Bottle, at cgarvieuk’s, with Stella, the kids, and Traci. Really great tasting Craig—thanks! Black with brown highlights, sticky tan fine head. Bright high-frequency sort of nose. Fresh cut hay, smoke, vanilla, raw wheat. Some kind of fresh sawn wood...doesn’t smell quite like oak to me (though it well could be), maybe birch. Silky, raisin sweetness, a winey dark chocolate quality to the finish. Fairly light body for the abv, but full of flavor and not hot. As nice as this was, I think this would have the potential to get more integrated with a few years of aging.