AleSmith Decadence 2010 English Style Old Ale Barrel Aged - AleSmith Brewing Company

UCLABrewN84

California

4.05/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Tieman for sharing this one at his tasting.

Pours a clear dark orange with a foamy orange-tan head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of malt, brown sugar, caramel, bourbon, and wood. Taste is much the same with an alcohol kick and a woody finish. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer with a great smell and some tasty flavors.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2012 08:40:16 | More by UCLABrewN84

MasterSki

Illinois

4.4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to Javier for sharing this one. Served in a Hill Farmstead tulip.

A - Lightly tan foam settles to a thick collar, leaving behind spotty lace. Dark ruby red body with some transparency to it.

S - Tons of sharp oak, bourbon, and vanilla - a bit hot out of the gate here. As it warms you get more old ale sweetness in the way of treacle, dark fruits, and sugary malts. Mild alcohol, but not excessively so for 11%.

T - The taste is a lot more mellow than I'd expected given the aroma, and it's a more enjoyable beer for it. Lots of oaky vanilla, but balanced by caramel, figs, dates, toffees, brown sugar, and molasses. The base beer is a lot more recognizable and is accented by the barrel-aging here.

M - Sticky, medium-full body, with fairly low carbonation. Smooth texture, with a mild amount of alcohol warming appropriate for an old ale.

D - A very nice beer that was surprisingly easy to drink once I got past the bourbon-forward aroma. While highly enjoyable right now I can imagine this being a stunner in a few months as some of the barrel influence and alcohol mellows a tiny bit more. Would happily drink again!

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2012 21:36:58 | More by MasterSki

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4.16/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Someone shared this at the Voodoo Barrel Room release, March 2013, but due to my sleep-deprived state at the time, I can't recollect who it was. Regardless, thanks for the share.

Rusty brown color, with a small layer of bubbles on top; minimal retention and lacing. Aroma of dark sugars, dark fruits, vanilla, slight barrel presence. More of this in the taste, rich caramel malts, toffee, brown sugar, vanilla, oak, rum raisin, roasted marshmallow. Tasty. Smooth mouthfeel, about medium in body, perhaps "thinner" than you'd expect from a big beer, low carbonation, and a bit of expected alcohol warmth. Quite good overall.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 21:43:25 | More by Rifugium

HopHead84

California

4.75/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

8/18/2012

Bottle into a snifter. Great looking bottle.

A: Very dark brown with a reddish hue and an inch of beige foam. Great color.

S: A very complex aroma with just the right amount of barrel influence. Treacle blends with maple, vanilla, coconut, and brown sugar. Notes of nutty toffee waft from the glass, accompanying oak, bourbon, caramel, prune, and date. There's a little alcohol in the nose and touch of oxidation that augments the complexity.

T: Rich dark toffee blends with prune, date, vanilla, oak, and bourbon. The barrel doesn't overwhelm the base beer, which is a very good thing considering how good the base beer is. You don't take an exemplary Old Ale and drown it in bourbon, and thankfully that's not what Alesmith has done. There's a touch of molasses and some nuttiness. Oxidation is complimentary and sherry-like.

M: Full in body with medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is chewy and sticky with alcohol warming.

Overall: Masterfully crafted. Highly recommended. I wish I had more of this.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2012 02:51:20 | More by HopHead84

largadeer

California

4.43/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Reviewed from notes, opened last year when it was fresh.

Clear dark auburn body capped by a finger of head.

Very brash, boozy nose with a ton of bourbon and caramel malt. Stewed dark fruit and brown sugar. A lot of booze at this point, which I imagine will tone down with a bit of age. 

Caramel, oak and boozy bourbon hit the palate first. Dates, molasses, burnt sugar. Full bodied, rich, sweet. Boozy caramel finish with some drying oak. Very tasty stuff that should improve with age.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 23:12:09 | More by largadeer

FosterJM

California

4.43/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

1566th Review on BA
Bottle to Snifter
750ml

Shared with Daysinthewake & Litheum94
Purchased from Alesmtih website

App- The perfect color for an old ale. More of a dark brown with some reds intermixed and was just a little let down at the lack of bubbles in the glass on this one either. It was again like the base version more of a cordial look.

Smell- Wow. This was such a great aromatic beer. Had a ton of vanilla, oak and dessert sugars behind it. Balanced out by some of those soft fruit aromas from the already good base beer. This was just kicked up to another level.

Taste- This is the best old ale I have had. This was everthing it was supposed to be. It was a great balanced beer with a ton of vanilla, oak, malty sweetness and a layered dessert like flavor. When you also take in a little bit of toffee, molasses and a little tinge of a creme brulee, cream and sugar flavor. Just amazingly smooth and rich as well.

Mouth- A little bit of the same feel as the base beer. Needed more punch behind it. The body is a smaller medium and the carbonation is a bit of a medium bubbler. Residual vanilla, oak and molasses.

Drink- Just a great beer. I want more. Really good.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 15:05:57 | More by FosterJM

DovaliHops

California

4.6/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Finally decided to drink one of my two bottles. Pours a reddish, dark brown color with a medium, cream colored head that disappears quickly. Scent is absolutely phenomenal! Great woody characteristics with a good amount of vanilla and toffee. Sweet cherry with a TON of bourbon. If it's one thing I can tell from the aroma, this beer will not lack in the flavor department whatsoever. It has a very..."dessert-like" aroma. Taste is just as amazing. Boozy bourbon flavors, but not overwhelming. Great vanilla, cherry, toffee, and dark fruit flavors. Some aspects of sherry. The booze is definitely there, but it compliments all the amazing flavors oh so well. Mouthfeel is full bodied, boozy, and slightly syrupy. Drinkability would be fair if this wasn't so damn tasty. This beer is definitely up there with BA4D and the other great Old Ales. Overall, an AMAZING beer! I'm so glad I bought two of these. I was planning on trading the other...but after tasting this, it may be hard to let go of.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2012 09:29:37 | More by DovaliHops

kawilliams81

Illinois

4.21/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Reviewed from notes. Poured from a 750 ml bottle into a Half Acre snifter.

A- pours a dark copper with a half finger tan head. minimal lacing

S- Sweet toffee, brown sugar, dark fruits/fig

T- Sweet caramel and toffee, brown sugar and dark fruits.

M- Full body and medium carbonation. Syrupy with a dry finish.

O- Nice BA Old ale, but not in the same league as Fruet or even ba4d. Slight oxidation.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2013 16:54:54 | More by kawilliams81

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

4.23/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

huge thanks to kawilliams81 for sharing this beer with me its been a long time want!

poured into tulip glass.

reviewed from notes.

Appearance: light brown bodied beer with dark crimson red hue. Really small cap that drops down to nothing.

Smell: Malty sweet and really boozey. Huge dark fruit notes with spicy booze. Sugar cookie dough, caramel, and brown sugar.

Taste: its a barrel forward old ale. big bourbon notes and oak. Dark fruits, cherries, butterscotch, and caramel. Finishes with more oak, leather, and a hint of black licorice.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer with low end of moderate carbonation. Has a warming and spicy boozey feel. The oak feels sort of dry in this beer. Surprisingly, the beer has a touch of watery or thin mouthfeel.

Overall: This was a good BA old ale, but was a little dissapointed with it. I might have set my expectations too high for this beer; I was very impressed with BASS earlier in the year. I think that it will benefit from a few years sitting in the cellar to mellow the beer out. I would like to revisit it then!

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 23:31:26 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT

pmarlowe

California

4.73/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Tulip glass.

A: Pours a deep ruby brown with maybe a half finger of light tan head, receding quickly to some awkward large bubbles. Despite the dark hue, this has superb clarity.

S: Bourbon and dark fruit forward, complemented by cinnamon, vanilla bean, some dry red wine, tannins, mild oxidation, and coconut.

T: Dark fruit is a little more prominent, with the bourbon and barrel characteristics in supporting role, along with dark chocolate shavings, maple, and a touch of sherry. Excellent balance between the base and barrel treatment.

M: Medium body and medium-light carbonation. Super smooth, alcohol is barely noticeable, but warms the belly going down.

O: Well crafted BA old ale, with the barrel enhancing the base. A contemplative beer, best enjoyed over the course of an evening.

I thought the regular 2010 Decadence was decent enough (all 4's), and this is a definite improvement. But what old ale isn't better when BA'd?

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2012 04:41:21 | More by pmarlowe

SubpoenaDeuces

California

4.6/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: not excessively carbonated but nice frothy lacing and deep garnet tones at the center. A bit light for the style but a nice looking beer.

S: There's oak, vanilla, you get some of the scratchy heat but nothing offputting. Nice sticky caramel maltiness. just a fantastic bouquet.

T: this is actually really mellow and presents macaroon and light chocolate aspects that combine with the sweet dark fruits.

M: A bit light for the old ales I am accustomed to and, as a result, I feel it is even better and more drinkable.

D: See above, fantastic execution of what can sometimes be a confused style. Comes across like a great hyrbid between strong ale and barleywine.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2012 17:52:47 | More by SubpoenaDeuces