AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

Well, I never thought I’d try BA Speedway from ordering it off a menu, but they had it at the Linkery. The menu stated the vintage as 2007. Black pour with a dark, persistent tan head. Aroma has a lot of oak and barrel character present right away over some heavy roast and defined alcoholic heat. The taste is brash but great - the barrel sits so nicely under the coffee and roast. The alcohol is a bit rough at this early age, but I’m often tolerant of booziness in my brews. Great now, but this beer really needs to sit down for a couple years.

2008-08-15. Pitch black body with a nice creamy chocolate mild coloured head that does not last long. Aroma is pretty boozy, dusty roast malt, bourbon barrel. (7+) Flavour is also fairly alcoholic, dry lightly acidic roast, sweet malt undertones. Average to medium palate is lightly carbonated, and is lighter on the tongue than expected. I like that it has a lot less coffee than the regular Speedway, but there doesn’t seem to be enough malt to stand up to the booze and barrel character for my liking. Pretty good. 2006 vintage bottle #57/235, shared by Garthicus

"Protestant guilt is kind of like gingivitis..."

Bottle (750ml). Shared with blankboy, garthicus, GregClow and jerc - garthicus’ bottle via MASSIVE trade with Irishboy. Bottle #57/235 - 2006 Vintage. Hoo boy, I’m shaking - been wanting this for years. Aroma - soooo smooth; light bourbon, dry wood, mild softened herbal hops, a bit like a low-acid iced coffee - simple, sophisticated, amazing. A little more bourbon/vanilla sweetness in the flavour, but deeply roasted, muted alcohol, muted herbal bitterness, even a hint of mint. Silky body, nice acidity, long somewhat alcoholic vanilla/roast finish. Stunning - friggin loved it.

500th rating - 2006, bottle #92/235. Sampled side by side with a regular 06 speedway. I’m happy to make this my 500th rating. I got to drink this beer, the BA version of the beer that got me into craft beer, with the guys that originally got me into craft beer. Pretty awesome. Sersdf didn’t like it, but I did. Very similar to regular speedway with a savory, soy saucy component. Really much more complex smelling than the non BA version. Chocolate and coffee are hidden somewhat by the oak. Really world class.

thanks andrew. pitch black. shit, this smells terrible. it’s somewhere between soy sauce and unami. however you spell that. tastes just fine, a bit pretty hot. a little salty actually. pretty milky. doesn’t seem all that barrelled. i really hate this.... a few days later i tried it again. the horrible umami smell remains, but the flavor isn’t nearly as intolerable. so i’ll up it a little.

Thanks to Vac (I think) for busting this out at the RBSG 08 Grand Tasting. ’04 vintage. Pours pitch black with a modest cocoa head. Bourbon aromas enhance the chocolate-roast dynamic. Also some red fruitiness in the nose. Boozy chocolate flavor with a coffee roast finish. Nice warming bourbon with the swallow. Same impeccable balance I’m used to out of AleSmith.

Wow, was surprised to find this on a menu at The Linkery while having dinner at RBSG. Fucking aweosme! Pours pitch black, with a medium light brown head. The smell is of some nice bourbon, dark malt, and rich creamy chocolate. Rich and roasty, with an oily consistency. Big chocolate malt, roasty nuts, and bourbon all mesh together nicely to create the identty of this brew. The bourbon isnt overpowering which was nice, but had some good balance to it. Really tasty!

Big thanks to Kyle for this one. Tried side-by-side with the regular Speedway. In this one, the bourbon is definitely the defining flavor, especially in the aroma, which is nearly all whiskey. That being said, they do a much better job of blending that with the other examples of bourbon-aged stouts that I’ve had. I enjoyed the regular version more, but this one was still damned tasty.