AleSmith Decadence 2010 English Style Old Ale
rich dark red hued brown with a brown head that hold up decently. looks real tasty in my snifter. the smell indicates tha this clearly has some alcohol in it. lots of vinous dark ripe fruit is in there too, plum, fig, and raisin. there is also caramel, toffee, and butterscotch with hints of chocolate covered cherry and brown sugar. the taste starts in with very sweet butterscotch and moves to the dark fruits. there aren't any surprises here, it is very like the aroma as far as the fruitiness is concerned though some of the tangy aspects are missing. the is a significant amount of vanilla wood flavors that i didn't detect much in the aroma. as it warms there is a little bit of a maple flavor. i'm finding a bit of a walnut flavor that is adding some biterness. the alcohol has some bite here reasonably boozy at the back end with warming on the way down. very full bodied with mild carbonation, suiting the beer quit well. drinkability suffers some as it's a little much to take at times and i'm kind of wishing i had someone else who was interested in sharing this with me. i should be able to make do though, this is a quality and pretty tasty beer; a sipper to be sure though. it does seem a little young though. if i see this again for a reaonable price i'm gonna pick one up to put away for at least a couple years. (music: marilyn manson - portrait of an american family)(heh.)