Decadence 2014 - Barrel Aged
AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego, California, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Wheat Special Out of Production|
Score
7.63
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We originally brewed this Wheat Wine Ale in 2014 as part of our annual Decadence series to celebrate our nineteenth anniversary. One lucky portion of the ale was set aside to be aged in bourbon barrels for this year’s release. After a lengthy period of hibernation, the beer’s profile has become magnified by the barrel’s rich oaky character. Now, notes of vanilla and bourbon have combined with the Wheat Wine’s honey and ripe fruit flavors to make this limited release a truly memorable experience. Enjoy now or continue to age in a cool, dark place.
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7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
750ml (thx to some SD dude whose name I was too lazy to check, lol!) @ Ryan's. Appearance: a bit hazy copper with a quickly dissipating tan head. Aroma: some dark fruits and oak, moderately sweet, some light tartness. Taste: along the same lines, with a lighter body than a regular would have. Overall: ok.
Tried
on 05 Dec 2024
at 07:58
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Poured from 750mL bottle (thanks beerplace). Hazed amber brown with small off white head. Caramel malt, underlying bourbon notes, feint dark fruits. Has held up decently despite its age.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Dec 2024
at 07:28
7.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Cask @ the brewery. Pours an amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty woody spicy vanilla caramel and toffee aroma. Fruity malty woody bourbon vanilla caramel and toffee flavor. Has a fruity malty woody bourbon vanilla caramel toffee finish.
Tried
from Cask
on 29 Mar 2017
at 09:05
8.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
Burnt reddish brown. Looks like prune juice. Smells great Like a toffee fudge, prune, raisin, fig and bourbon bomb. lovely aroma. Alesmith’s barrel aged beers almost never disappoint. Nice flavor, a bit oxidized. It’s possible I held it so long. Wow ther’s this like serious cotton candy flavor with vanilla, clove, pepper, brown sugar, maple syrup, mollasses. IT”s loaded with a ton of fruits and a terrific mouthfeel. It’s velvety, dense, sweet. soft carbonation, sweet potato and brown sugar finish. lovely shit.
Tried
from Can
on 27 Mar 2017
at 09:10
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
On tap at AleSmith, pours a hazy dark amber with a small white head. Aroma is loaded with bourbon notes, followed by candied sugar, toffee and light fruits. Flavour is quite boozy, with lots of vanilla, bourbon and booze. Body is rather light, but that's to be expected from a wheat wine. Complex, boozy but light on the palate. Definitely an improvement on the original. Lovely.
Tried
from Draft
on 11 Feb 2017
at 02:51
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
On tap at the Anvil and Stave. Pours a cloudy copper with small off white head that lasts. The aroma is vanilla, wood, chocolate, toffee. Medium body, caramel, vanilla, wood, nice boozy finish, very nice.
Tried
from Draft
on 09 Jan 2017
at 14:00
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
On draft at the brewerry. Pours a cloudy mahogany with an ecru head. Aroma of raisins and bourbon. Flavors of prunes, raisins, oak and vanilla.
Tried
from Draft
on 26 Sep 2016
at 16:11
7.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Sample at Anvil & Stave. Hazy copper color with a medium thin light beige head that dissipates steadily to a film. Stringy lacing on the glass. Oaky aroma with notes of malt, fruit and vanilla. Full-bodied with flavors of oaky bourbon, roast malt, caramel and hops. The finish is boozy with a bourbon and malt aftertaste. Good beer overall.
Tried
on 02 Sep 2016
at 20:45
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
750mL bottle pours with a slightly hazy coppery amber colored body that supports a thin tan head of foam. The aroma offers up smooth bourbon, soft sweet malts, a sweet wheat sensation, caramel, a dash of vanilla and then thin yet sharper notes of booze and oak toward the end of the draw. The taste is similar where a silky smooth mouthfeel delivers soft bourbon notes climbing into more and more boozy bourbon to midway. Running parallel to that are notes of smooth soft sweet malts, some thin vanilla notes and a caramel sort of molasses sensation around the edges. It definitely has some booze soaked oak floating around here and there creating a bit of a harsher experience until a small sweet island of prunes and figs is noticed. This is a nice sipper but the barrel seems a tad forward, but maybe this beer needs it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 May 2016
at 22:26