 doubleo (728), San Diego, California, USA
Dec 23, 2007 Updated: Feb 9, 2008
750ml bottle. Pours a dark reddish brown. But it is truly an imperial red. When first poured the head is less dense with moderately sized bubbles but as it sits and even while you drink it the bubbles become very fine and the head thickens and becomes dense and creamy. Smells malty and hoppy, with some cherry and caramel. Tastes very smooth, lots of malt, with some caramel and just the right amount of hops. Palte is smooth up front with some alcohol burn on the back of the tongue and in the throat. Although it packs quite a punch, I could drink this all night...On cask at the Alesmith Barrel-aged brew release party on 9/28/07. Pours a deep dark cloudy brown red color. More brown looking than out of the bottle. Big fluffy, off-white head that fades slowly and leaves lace on my clear plastic keg cup. Big sweet, rich malty nose to it. Very sweet and deep, deep brown sugary nose. Much more brown tasting rather than red tasting like it was out of the bottle. Deep malty sweet sugary flavors. Much less of the red berry, red beer type of sweetness. Mouthfeel is rather excellent. I wasn’t expecting this brew on cask to be this good. I was rather pleasantly surprised by the carbonation and the easy drinking. Way more drinkable than it was out of the bottle.
durhambeer (382), Durham, North Carolina, USA
Aug 20, 2008 Bottle from a trade with Rallison. Managed to sit on this for six whole months before breaking it out, looking at it longingly at each visit down to the cellar, sometimes rubbing it when it looked lonely or sad. Worth the wait. Dark red-tinted brown with big electric light yellow head. Truly beautiful, and amazing carbonation for a two-year old bottle. Big boozy malty aroma with some lovely hop spice as well. Looks and smells thick. Lovely strong notes of butterscotch, toffee, and caramel as well as light citrus hops throughout. A wonderfully balanced and very big beer. Loved it.
emacgee (1010), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Aug 19, 2008 Shared by Bob (durhambeer), thanks bud. Pours a bright ruby brown with no haze. Very creamy yellow head. Still has an impressive carbonation for two years old. The nose is very malty upfront, raisins, sweet, caramel, earthy, light alcohol, you can smell the remnants of a nice citrusy hop presence as well. The flavor is very similar, big malt, raisins, caramel, earthy chewy malt, light grapefruit peel waxyness, light alcohol. The carbonation is very nice and creates a balanced mouthfeel, not nearly as thick as I had expected given the alcohol. Guuuureat.
Glouglouburp (1918), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Aug 18, 2008 In short: A rich heavy beer with well integrated earth/wood flavours. Decadent and excellent
How: Bottle shared by dmac at pre-Cuvée de Castleton Release 2008. Vintage, consumed when about 1.5 year old. You’re my man Dave!
The look: Cloudy brown body topped by a tan ring of foam
In long: Nose is woody, horse blanket, barley-wine-ish. That thing smells both big and countryside. As expected the body is extra-decadent. I’m talking rich fattening brownies wrapped in caramel, pancakes with brown sugar, tree roots and other earthy woody notes. Still quite a bit of hop bite despite the age. A little sticky. To me it’s the mix of heavy (very heavy) body and earthy/woody flavours that make that beer a winner. My 2006 Decadence experience is something I won’t soon forget. Oh, and this beer was great too.
vyvvy (1607), Hazelwood, Missouri, USA
Aug 14, 2008 I’m really stunned to see recent rating so high as the bottle I shared with terminus was far aging well. It poured very dark with a reddish tint and a dense tan head. The aroma had lots of caramel, sourdough and toffee ~ it is very thick and rich and comes off as generic aged and oxidized american strong ale. The body is very slick and thick with gentle carbonation. The flavor stars with very rich and sweet caramel, toffee and a ton of oxidation. The finish adds a bit of spice. This is very mediocre and a nondescript. This is a case where mine didn’t age well (in a controlled environment), others have better bottles or most raters don’t want to give alesmith a bad rating. I love the brewery, but this didn’t age for crap.
sleestak (60), Williamston, Michigan, USA
Aug 11, 2008 Sample generously shared by masonjer. Poured a deep brownish red with a small tan head that was not long for the glass. Aroma was very pronounced caramel malt with very little in the way of hops. Taste was toffee - sweet, but not cloying - and oak. Just a hint of citrus and alcohol burn in the finish. Very rich body, but still very drinkable. Thanks to Jeremy for sharing!
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