AleSmith Decadence 2005

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

750 ml gold foiled wrapped bottle sent to me from TheBeerSommelier, thanks a ton Matt for this retired gem. The pour is not that attractive but hell this bottle is over 3 years old now. The outer most edges are a deep burnt orange with a chestnut brown center. The head on this one is a small bubbly beige that is only visible with a very vigorous pour. The aroma on this one has really come on nicely with notes of toffee, wood, caramel, raisin, slight vinous notes, fermenting honey. Medium palate on this one with the softest touch of carbonation and suprisingly all of the alcohol heat for an 11% beer has faded. Flavor is toffee, wood, caramel, slight rum notes, grain. Excellent beer that Im glad I got try and since Im doing an entire 750ml 11% ABV by myself Im also glad that Im off tomorrow.

.. like a caramelized plum, oh ya .. . medium brown tawny color .. . nice foam .. .quite hot still, but insanely drinkable .. . hot sherry and chocolate flavours . . nice and smooth .. . very balanced.. delicious .. could age longer .. . has a hint of boccie ..

Bottle courtesy of Numenor on 03/14/2009. 2005 English Style Old Ale. Somewhat hazy dark amber body with a small creamy off-white head. Big caramel, molassas and earthy malt aroma with some earthy hop notes. Sweet caramel, molassas and earthy malt flavor, more earthy malt. Very smooth silky caramel finish. Medium full body with moderate carbonation.

A beautiful dark mahogony body with a light ivory head. Aroma is amazing, nice alcohol hotness with some caramel and dark fruits. Taste is smooth, plums, bananas, cherry with some nice molassas. Ending has a slight spice with a very nice smooth ending. Great beer and I’m glad I held onto this one.

750 mL bottle shared by Numenor. Thanks! Pours a dark brownish red colro with a very thin head. Poor retention and lacing. Aroma of chocolate, raisin, citrus and earthy hops. Taste is bitter citrus and pine hops with toffee and dark fruits. Full bodied.

I got this in a trade with a Cali BA, either oodeftone or Metallitone1, can’t remember. Either way, thanks! I went into this already having tasted the barrel-aged version first and not havign had this fresh. It was a dark ruby-orange, decent head at first, looks similar to the barrel-aged but less murky. Nice smells of candy, grapes, cognac and barleywine. The flavor was toffee, caramel, really nice. I will say this is better barrel-aged because it adds a boozy, bourbon-vanilla but still the regular version is an excellent barleywine/old ale and the 11% ABV is completely hidden. I’m glad I still have one bottle of the BA version, mmmm. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 05-10-2008 05:32:55

Cloudy amber. Chewy aroma has lots of caramel. Big chewy body but with a soft milk chocolate character. Robust alcohol finish is also a little bit candyish. I don’t remember having this when it came out, but I’m not sure this is coming together now...just lots of malt and nothing really special. Re-rate A few months later, tackling this again and while I enjoy the soft brown sugar note, there aren’t that many elements to cheer about. I scored it a bit higher and my numbers will reflect both samplings.

bottle graciously provided by bockyhorsey...

pours hazy a rich chestnut-y auburn brown with a small tan head and a bunch of spotty lacing. the aroma has distinct barrel aged qualities to it yet it has not seen wood... oak, vanilla, tons of cognac spiciness, brown sugar, orange and cocoa butter. there’s a nice oxidized/aged smell in the background that i am really digging into. the palate is sweet for sure but never reaches cloying. astringency and nearly bitter spiciness clean off any residue and alcohol lends a hand to clean off the tongue.... the flavor has some caramel, cocoa butter, coffee, clove, cinnamon and vanilla in addition to the aroma profile... so rich. decadent possibly? medium bodied with a lux mouth feel and the perfect amount of carbonation. bitterness and spice make it really easy to keep drinking! 8/4/8/4/16/4.0