Olde Ale
AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego, California, United States 🇺🇸
Traditional Beer - Old Ale Rotating|
Score
7.69
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Originally brewed in 2005 as the first in our annual decadance series, AleSmith Olde ale follows the tradition of classic British-style old ales. This rich, multi-forward ale showcases soft notes of currents and dried fruit along with complex dark sugars, all of which are balanced by a subtle bitterness derived from the addition of traditional English hops. AleSmith Olde ale is ready to be enjoyed now or I can be age for upwards of twenty years to further enhance its amazing depth of flavor. A hearty ale designed to please Bacchus himself.
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8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Huge thanks to moejuck for sending me this beer. I have been waiting a very long time to try it. After joining ratebeer the first half of ‘06 I realized by late in ‘06 I needed this beer but couldn’t find it anywhere in the SD county area. Thank you Joe. Pours copper brown with light copper edges and thin tan head. The aroma is yummy rich dark fruitiness with dates, prunes and mashed aged cherries blending together and mixing with a nice layer of caramel goodness and some booziness. The taste has smooth barleywine notes with a pulse of smooth sweetness from dates, figs, prunes, raisins and minced sugar stewed cherries. Toward midway a thin river of caramel is noticed just as blunted pine hops with aged bitterness come to the surface. It smooths out even more into the finish with dark sweet grape jam, smooth chewy malts and fading aged pine hops. This was everything I was hoping for. YUM!
Tried
on 13 Jun 2009
at 23:10
8.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
courtesy of ibrew2or3. pours copperish / brown with thin off white head, and nice golden lacing. Aroma caramel malts, plenty of dark fruits for a resinous flavors. Taste, caramel malts, grainy, light bitter finish, some cocoa nibs, insanely smooth and drinkable with a toffee like palate.
Tried
on 03 Jun 2009
at 23:10
7.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
2010 bottle courtesy of BrewEngineer on 10/22/2010. Clear caramel amber body with a small creamy tan head. Sweet caramel and molasses aroma. Sweet caramel, light fruit and dry molasses flavor. Medium full body with moderately low carbonation. 8/3/8/3/16 - 3.8 Bottle courtesy of Numenor on 03/14/2009. 2005 English Style Old Ale. Somewhat hazy dark amber body with a small creamy off-white head. Big caramel, molassas and earthy malt aroma with some earthy hop notes. Sweet caramel, molassas and earthy malt flavor, more earthy malt. Very smooth silky caramel finish. Medium full body with moderate carbonation. 8/4/8/4/16 - 4.0
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Mar 2009
at 17:57
7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
750 mL bottle shared by Numenor. Thanks! Pours a dark brownish red colro with a very thin head. Poor retention and lacing. Aroma of chocolate, raisin, citrus and earthy hops. Taste is bitter citrus and pine hops with toffee and dark fruits. Full bodied.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Mar 2009
at 23:34
6.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Cloudy amber. Chewy aroma has lots of caramel. Big chewy body but with a soft milk chocolate character. Robust alcohol finish is also a little bit candyish. I don’t remember having this when it came out, but I’m not sure this is coming together now...just lots of malt and nothing really special. Re-rate A few months later, tackling this again and while I enjoy the soft brown sugar note, there aren’t that many elements to cheer about. I scored it a bit higher and my numbers will reflect both samplings.
Tried
from Can
on 02 Feb 2009
at 13:02
6.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
2005 Bottle aged approximately one year.
Raw, fresh and messy in the nose, it certainly has that unpasteurized, unfiltered feel to it that is so appealing about alesmith. Unfortunately, the hops are decidedly obnoxious and burst forth with cherry, lychee, grapefruit and orange peel notes, dominating the aroma and limiting the malt presence to a sugary chocolate-meets-caramelized raisin. The flavor, then, is not surprisingly heavy on the hops and Im amazed at how bitter and bold they are after a year in the bottle. Oranges and ruby red grapefruit dominate the opening, with a wash of toffee in the middle that is in turn enveloped by staunch bitterness and alcohol on the end. Low carbonation, and fat malts lead to a typical hop lovers mess but as usual, I dont approve. Would be more interested to try a bottle with 3 years of age on it now. Interesting, anyways, and wholesome, but too messy for me.
2010 Decadence bottle drunk 8/14/15.
Well, the hops certainly weren’t a problem this time and as far as old ales go, it does have some enjoyable malt flavors of toffee, caramel, plums, raisins, vanilla and the alcohol somewhat dries it out. But in the end, the oxidation, combined with just too much booze and soggy-sweet flavors just dosent have any appeal for me whatsoever. Scored the same, but for different reasons.
Raw, fresh and messy in the nose, it certainly has that unpasteurized, unfiltered feel to it that is so appealing about alesmith. Unfortunately, the hops are decidedly obnoxious and burst forth with cherry, lychee, grapefruit and orange peel notes, dominating the aroma and limiting the malt presence to a sugary chocolate-meets-caramelized raisin. The flavor, then, is not surprisingly heavy on the hops and Im amazed at how bitter and bold they are after a year in the bottle. Oranges and ruby red grapefruit dominate the opening, with a wash of toffee in the middle that is in turn enveloped by staunch bitterness and alcohol on the end. Low carbonation, and fat malts lead to a typical hop lovers mess but as usual, I dont approve. Would be more interested to try a bottle with 3 years of age on it now. Interesting, anyways, and wholesome, but too messy for me.
2010 Decadence bottle drunk 8/14/15.
Well, the hops certainly weren’t a problem this time and as far as old ales go, it does have some enjoyable malt flavors of toffee, caramel, plums, raisins, vanilla and the alcohol somewhat dries it out. But in the end, the oxidation, combined with just too much booze and soggy-sweet flavors just dosent have any appeal for me whatsoever. Scored the same, but for different reasons.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Dec 2008
at 11:09
8.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
2005 Version : Bottle thanks to Sam at Stuffed Sandwiches for what I consider a steal at 17 dollars. Pours with a light brown bubbly head and a murky dark amber body with some yeasties. Acceptable lacing, but nothing special, but good for an 11 percent 4 year old beer. Aroma of dark fruits, berries, chocolate caramel and a slight vinous note. Very decadent. Taste is caramel, berries, toffee, dried and dark fruits with a vinous and yeasty note. Currants and raisins dominate as it warms. Syrupy and creamy mouthfeel that completely coats while the alcohol warms you. Bubbles were in the background and didn’t detract from the amazing drinking experience.
948516:4.2
2010 version: Bottle (($12.99). Pours with a medium sized tan head over a hazed deep brown body. Aromas of strong brown sugar, molasses and caramel. Rich, decadent and deep, light dark fruits. I am opening this a bit cold, so it might need to warm a bit to give me its full bouquet, but I can tell you, even cold it smells fantastic!. Toffee! Some anise, cola, sarsaparilla, chocolate. Taste is rich, cola, chocolate, toffee, light burnt caramel. Quite a lot of kettle caramelization. Burnt toffee, molasses, awesomeness! Big bodied, but creamy and smooth. Excellent. Even fresh this is within .2 of the 3.5 year aged version I have had previously. I am giddy in anticipation of the barrel aged version.
947416: 4.0!
948516:4.2
2010 version: Bottle (($12.99). Pours with a medium sized tan head over a hazed deep brown body. Aromas of strong brown sugar, molasses and caramel. Rich, decadent and deep, light dark fruits. I am opening this a bit cold, so it might need to warm a bit to give me its full bouquet, but I can tell you, even cold it smells fantastic!. Toffee! Some anise, cola, sarsaparilla, chocolate. Taste is rich, cola, chocolate, toffee, light burnt caramel. Quite a lot of kettle caramelization. Burnt toffee, molasses, awesomeness! Big bodied, but creamy and smooth. Excellent. Even fresh this is within .2 of the 3.5 year aged version I have had previously. I am giddy in anticipation of the barrel aged version.
947416: 4.0!
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Dec 2008
at 18:47
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Thanks to Beer_Hawk for sharing this one! Pours a clear dark amber with a lasting off-white head. Complex aroma dark fruits, caramel, raisin. The flavor follows the aroma. Very tasty sipper that is holding up (improving?) very well. Yummy.
Tried
on 18 Oct 2008
at 10:23
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
++++ Re Rate 7 December 2009 ++++
750 ml bottle shared by Indra. Pour is a slight haze golden orange cordovan with a smallish light tan head. Head breaks down to bigger bubbles. Aroma of dusty earthy hazelnut maltiness, some floral, some light oxidation way in the back. Behind all of this is some dry fruit which shows some mild cherry sweetness. Taste is mild soft caramel sweetness, the hazelnut, and followed by some resin earthiness. It amazingly seems to have a mild resin hop bitterness. The oxidation is present, but works really nicely to meld and smooth out the flavors. Palate is medium to heavy, coats the mouth a bit, then transitions to be dry and leafy in the finish. Thanks for sharing this one Eric. (8,4,8,3,16 - 3.9)
++++ Original Rating 12 August 2008 ++++
2005 Vintage. 750 ml bottle generously shared by tjthresh. Pour is ruby, red brown - hazed, with a tan head that falls fast with not much lacing. Aroma of soft sweet fruity caramel. Vanilla woodiness in the background of the nose. Soft, delicate, very engaging nose. Taste is nice; soft caramelly, grainy with a sharp woodiness. Some residual alcohol in the finish that doesn’t detract. This was a really nice beer. Thank you for sharing this one with me Tom, very cool of you. (8,4,8,4,16 - 4.0)
750 ml bottle shared by Indra. Pour is a slight haze golden orange cordovan with a smallish light tan head. Head breaks down to bigger bubbles. Aroma of dusty earthy hazelnut maltiness, some floral, some light oxidation way in the back. Behind all of this is some dry fruit which shows some mild cherry sweetness. Taste is mild soft caramel sweetness, the hazelnut, and followed by some resin earthiness. It amazingly seems to have a mild resin hop bitterness. The oxidation is present, but works really nicely to meld and smooth out the flavors. Palate is medium to heavy, coats the mouth a bit, then transitions to be dry and leafy in the finish. Thanks for sharing this one Eric. (8,4,8,3,16 - 3.9)
++++ Original Rating 12 August 2008 ++++
2005 Vintage. 750 ml bottle generously shared by tjthresh. Pour is ruby, red brown - hazed, with a tan head that falls fast with not much lacing. Aroma of soft sweet fruity caramel. Vanilla woodiness in the background of the nose. Soft, delicate, very engaging nose. Taste is nice; soft caramelly, grainy with a sharp woodiness. Some residual alcohol in the finish that doesn’t detract. This was a really nice beer. Thank you for sharing this one with me Tom, very cool of you. (8,4,8,4,16 - 4.0)
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Aug 2008
at 14:06
6.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
750ml bottle@Hoboken#1-thanks jimmack–pours a disappearing off white head and orange/brown color. Aroma is sweet medium malt, woody. Taste is alcohol, sweet medium malt, woody/grainy. Sipping.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Jun 2008
at 14:44