AleSmith Decadence 2007

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

Bottle acquired via pdelreal...Thanks Phil!!! This beer has a densely packed latte-colored 1/2 inch head sitting atop a mahogany bordering black body. Aroma is bitter chocolate and dark-roasted coffee bean. Flavor exhibits vanilla sweetness and dominant flavors of cocoa butter, kona beans, and vanilla extract. The lacing here is amazing...another winner from AleSmith!!!

Courtesy TheCheeseman. Pours a dark brown/black, with a small light brown head. Smells of malty roast, with light traces of vanilla and chocolate, with some toffee there as well. The flavor was pretty prfound on the alcohol, got it right away, and it lingered throughout. wasnt a bad thing where this beer was concerned though. Good doses of chocolate bitterness, with some dark fruit in the finish are certainly noticeable. Really nicely done, and certainly worthy to celebrate this newest anniversary.

bottle cortesy of thefnballincheeseman: pours a dark chocolate brown with a small tan head great colour. aroma is fantastic chocolate one of the best i have had, good caramel flows in and out of the chocolate some roast also but i cant help but focus on the chocolate.. flavour is just excellent fanastic chocoalte bittersweet, chocoalte dries out perfect onthe palate, good sweet carmel. excellent brew. thanks chz!

thanks cheeseman rate#50 dark black pour heavy roast aroma bittersweet chewy caramel chocolate nutty slight coffee raisiny plum fruits slight alchohol warming very very good

Tasting...courtesy of cheeseman...Deep, opaque chocolaty brown w/ a tan head that left some drippy lacing. Huge nose of cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, slight smoke...Flavors were an incredible mix of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, and dark fruits. This beer is so complex, but so easy drinking and smmoooottthhh. The alcohol is well hidden, and the flavors so well blended that it makes it very hard to put down. Simply terrific!

Bottle from ebay, sampled with stegosaurus. Dark brown/ blackish pour with very thin head. Roast,chocolate and wood aroma.. Dark fruit and roast taste with a mild alcohol punch. This was pretty good.

Bottle from South Bay Drugs. Once poured, the liquid created a dark brown that was nearly opaque with a topping of head similar to a spray of whip cream. My nose was instantly gratified once I took a sniff of the sweet roasted malt that sent coffee and chocolate reminders to my memory of smell. The flavor was even richer than I could have ever imagined from the aroma alone and I instantly began to fall in love with this porter by the moment. The initial taste is of bitter milk chocolate and has roast malt to a degree of perfection unknown to compare to other porters sampled, but I still am in amazement of the rich and smooth balance of dark malt profile right down to the palate and level of ABV present. Such an astonishing porter and I am in the belief this thought of an “ Imperial Porter” can be, and will be, an idea worth experimenting with for others.

A vigorous pour produces a three-finger thick, frothy, brown tinged, tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is a full black color, that shows a brilliantly clear, deep ruby hue if held up directly to the light. The aroma is a mix of sweet fruity brandy notes, light smoke, light roast and burnt raisin notes up front. Underneath this are very rich malt aromatics that take on umami-evoking thoughts of concentrated richness. Toffee malt notes, salty cocoa and richly caramelized sugars form a solid aromatic backbone. Other notes of smoked prunes, darkly toasted bread crust and dark chocolate are also noticeable. This just has a really rich aroma to it, much more complex than I was expecting.

Sweet tasting up front, but only lightly so. A rich, chocolate flavor couples with a soft creamy mouthfeel up front. This offset by a sharp roast note, corresponding burnt grain bitterness (hop bitterness too) and a salt, almost peat smoked character in the finish. The roast profile in the recipe actually does a good job of mimicking the flavors of smoke, especially towards the finish. Quite rich tasting, though it is a touch drier than one might expect from a beer this rich tasting. A touch of warm, almost spicy alcohol mars the overall creaminess of this beer towards the finish. This only becomes more accented as the beer warms up and it finishes with a slightly astringent, burnt note that really lingers on in the palate after a bit.

I definitely like the mouthfeel that this beer achieves; creamy, soft, inviting, yet not overly viscous or heavy. This really does start to get more sharp, almost harsh as it warms up, which isn’t all that pleasant. Still it is a pretty good beer and it should actually mellow out with a bit more age on it. Definitely more drinkable than the 2005 version was freshly released.