AleSmith To Release Decadence Anniversary Ale, Two Other Rarities

AleSmith Brewing Company has announced a new limited-release beer in honor of Anchor Brewing's founder Fritz Maytag working on the California Common beer style over 45 years ago. This Imperial California Common is brewed the same way as that resurgent style, but with a much higher alcohol content.

In addition, AleSmith has announced it will sell Barrel-Aged Old Numbskull Barleywine and Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout online in limited quantities on a first-come, first-serve basis.

All of the details on both beers can be found in the release from AleSmith below:

San Diego, California (July 27, 2016) — When it rains it pours. From a meteorological standpoint, this might not be such a good thing, but when water from the sky is replaced with rarified beer from one of the world’s top-rated breweries, this adage never sounded so good. Over the span of the next three weeks, San Diego-based AleSmith Brewing Company will release a trio of one-off beers rife with delicate, layered flavors painted across high-octane canvasses: 2016 Vintage Series Decadence Anniversary Ale, Barrel-Aged Old Numbskull Barley Wine and Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout. Each resonates with long-time fans and newcomers alike thanks to a varied host of attributes ranging from inventive design to oak-aging and infusion of rare ingredients.

Since 2005, AleSmith has produced a different imperial (high-in-alcohol) style of beer each year under the moniker Decadence Anniversary Ale. The 2016 edition is an imperial California Common, a style of beer popularized in the Golden State around the time of the Gold Rush. The style was later revived under the nickname “steam beer” by San Francisco’s Anchor Steam Brewery under American brewing pioneer Fritz Maytag in 1971. This tribute-beer of sorts celebrates the 45th anniversary of the style’s renaissance. Like traditional California Commons, this year’s Decadence was fermented with lager yeast kept at temperatures typically utilized for ale fermentation. The result is a beer with a combination of fruity, mineral-like flavors borne from lager yeast esters, and a smooth drinkability that belies its 9.5% alcohol-by-volume (ABV). This is the only time AleSmith has ever brewed this beer, making it an instant collectible that will do well socked away for future enjoyment or decanted during a lovely summer day. This beer is on its way to select bars, restaurants and retail establishments across the country.

In early August, AleSmith will release the newest editions of two highly rated, much anticipated, extremely coveted beers. The first is the bourbon oak-matured version of the company’s acclaimed American barleywine, Barrel-Aged Old Numbskull. The base-beer, a hoppy, 11% ABV strong ale with a complex and caramely malt-bill, has won numerous accolades (gold and silver medals at both the World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festival). When aged in whiskey-soaked barrels for multiple months, it takes on the vanilla and char of those receptacles, making for something full-flavored and truly exquisite on the palate. Available in tandem with Barrel-Aged Old numbskull will be Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout. A rare 100-point beer (as graded by users of RateBeer.com), this is a special version of our year-round, 12% ABV imperial stout brewed with Vietnamese coffee. Incorporating this exotic coffee varietal provides an intense java character punctuated by backend spice that intermingles perfectly with the beer’s inherent bitterness. Even with such pronounced flavors, the beer remains smooth as silk and balanced, making for a quintessential dark, imperial beer experience. Bottles of Barrel-Aged Old Numbskull and Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout will be available online via EventBrite.com from 11 a.m. (PDT), Monday, August 8 to 11 p.m. (PDT), Friday, August 12 (or while supplies last). Kegs of Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout will also make its way throughout AleSmith’s national distribution footprint in August.

Photo Courtesy of AleSmith Brewing Co.