AleSmith Decadence 2007 Imperial Porter
The '07 Decadence release is a very dark, chocolate fudge color. It's damn close to opaque, but shows a few burgundy highlights at the outermost edges. A mocha tan head caps it off. It stands about a finger tall. Retention is on the shorter side. Lacing is moderate and very sticky. The nose is very impressive. Chocolate malts stand out in a big way. Smells like a nice mix of bittersweet dark chocolate and sweet milk chocolate. Coffee plays a nice role here. It's not front and center, but it's loud in the background. It complements the big chocolate presence perfectly. There's a lingering fruit scent that I can't put my finger on. It's secondary, but is noted. An earthy scent indicates some residual hop presence. Not much though. This bottle's a couple of years old at this point. They're long gone. Nonetheless...smells delicious. The flavor is equally impressive. What really stands out about '07 Decadence is its delicious chocolate flavor. It's astounding. Sweet milk chocolate with just a touch of bittersweet dark chocolate flavor. Works perfect here. There's some ancillary sweet caramel there, as well. Coffee comes through nice and strong, but doesn't steal the show. It plays its supporting role very well. There's not much hop flavor here. Maybe a little earthiness, but it's faded to a great degree. I am getting a little fruitiness, but it's very subtle and hard to identify. It adds some nice depth to the flavor. I don't know if two years has improved this at all, but it's great beer today. No question about that. '07 Decadence has a body that falls on the light side of medium. It feels medium with warming, but it's still a little thin. Carbonation feels light. It's smooth, but needs more body to feel creamy. Perhaps it'd be a Double Stout then. Maybe I'm being too critical. Drinkability is very high. This is a damn tasty Imperial Porter. It's strong at 10%, but it goes down so easily. This 750...no problem. Alesmith never ceases to amaze me. They brew very high quality beer across the board. '07 Decadence is definitely impressive. About the only thing that would noticeably improve it would be more body. That's just my take. It's great beer. I doubt there's many bottles left out there. It's worth seeking out if you're in the trading market. Go for multiple bottles if the opportunity presents itself.