AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

Bottle shared by mreusch. Pours an oily jet black with a small mocha head, thin iodine colored legs and spotty lace. The nose is of sweet, roasted malt, milk chocolate, molasses, oaked bourbon and straight alcohol. Full-bodied and creamy with a dry, bitter, warm finish. Dark bitter roasted malt, molasses, ashy charred oak and light bourbon. This is a tasty beer. But, other than a fuller mouthfeel, I can’t really say that I found this to be an improvement over the regular version of Speedway. I can, however, honestly say that I never thought I would get the chance to try this beer. So, again, thanks a ton for sharing this rare treat with me, Matt!

750ml bottle, 2006 vintage, #34/235, with a HUGE THANK YOU to sfoley333 from over @ BeerAdvocate for the trade! Pours a syrupy black with a late forming creamy tan head, minimal spotty lacing. Aroma is bourbon, oak, milk chocolate, molasses and espresso in a near perfect harmony - deep, rich and enticing! Flavor is a bit more over-charred oak than I’d hope, with a nice espresso bitterness also in the front, but the milk chocolate, molasses and even bourbon gets pushed to the background, making the flavor profile more one dimensional than I’d hope. I wouldn’t call this a "let down" per se, but agree with others that it doesn’t top the regular Speedway Stout. Thanks again Sean!

Great, but I have to say that I prefer the original over this one. The extra dimension of the bourbon barrel brings out the alcohol as well as the taste of figs. Overall the intensity of the flavours are unparalleled, but as a final product, I wouldn’t drink this very often.

Slightly better to go with the BA over the regular version. This beer needs it’s own category, for it’s not an imperial stout, but an alcoholic shake of malt and coffee. The creamiest of brews that is well balanced and hides it’s strength and only spreads a rich taste not overdone.

From FlacoAlto, Thanks! Finally someone stepped up and sent this to me, guess now I can die and go to heaven.... Anyway, 06 bottle which pours black with burgundy hue and small tan head that leaves rather quickly. Aroma of chocolate, brown sugar, wood, dark fruit, and light bourbon. Very light coffee flavor compared to the regular version which was surprising. The taste was medium sweet with wood, dark fruit and some dark chocolate. Minimal carbonation and smooth on the palate. Medium bodied. So this was BA Speedway...good beer but not as good as I would have thought, and really not on the level of the regular version IMO. Glad someone didn’t hold it hostage like others do and make you beg and plead for the shit.

Vintage 2006, bottle 70/235; Sampled June 2008
A fairly vigorous pour produces a one-finger thick, darkly browned, tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is simply black as it sits in my glass and no amount of putting up to the light makes it anything but opaque. The aroma has a tartness to it that is strongly influenced by Bourbon-like notes and likely coffee. Roast coffee notes actually play a big role and mix with some fruity, burnt prune notes and lots of deeply toasted malt notes. There is also a nice aroma of richly toasted coconut that still has a touch of sweetness of coconut meat. It also seems to get just a touch musty at times, which mixes in with a lightly spicy oak character and a touch of estery alcohol aromas.

Thick and rich feeling as it firsts hits my tongue, creamy dark malt notes hint at lots of residual sugars, but don’t really contribute much sweetness to this beer. A very light carbonation also contributes to the creamy feeling of this brew. Towards the finish the beer thins out considerably while picking up acrid roast notes and sharp, burnt acid quality and a huge bitterness that seems just as much from burnt malt and roast coffee influenced as from the hops. The dual roast influences of coffee and malt actually contribute a tartness that is noticeable throughout the flavor profile, not just the finish, but it is tempered a bit up front by the unctuous body.

As the beer warms up a bit it begins to lose a touch of the acrid character, but seems to pick up a bit more alcoholic heat. This last seems to accent a note reminiscent of burnt prunes. While rich and malty this is surprisingly dry tasting; the thick residual sugars seems to be so well balanced by the roast and barrel flavors that they are not really noticeable. At most there is a noticeable chocolate / cocoa note here, but even this is pretty devoid of sweetness. There is also a touch of almost salty, sort of peat like smokiness that is likely a combination of roast malt and barrel influences. By my second pour the salty, peat-smoke like qualities of this brew are accented even a bit more. This last, in combination with the rich, dark malt flavors really save this beer for me; though it still has an overwhelming bitter and acrid finish at times.

I do like that the barrel influence does not absolutely overwhelm this beer. I am not sure if this is still too young or what, but the roasted grain notes really get overly acrid and bitter in the finish. The barrel influence also contributes to an overall impression of this being unbalanced. This is not nearly as unbalanced or undrinkable as the BA Old Numbskull though, and is even enjoyable in its own right. I think that the complexity of the aged, base beer and the lightish influence of the barrel make this at the very least worth procuring for me.

06 BA Speedway-750ml bottle @Noogfest4.0-thanks JohnC–pours brown bubbles for a head and black color. Aroma is tar/anise, dark malt, sharpness, dark fruit. Taste is tar/ash/anise, oak, dark malt, sharpness, dark fruit.

Thanks JohnC, for bringing this 2006 version to Noogfest ’08. The body was perfectly black with a khaki head. The aroma was malty with whiskey and vanilla notes. There was also some rich pancakes. The was strong vanilla with some oak and blueberries. There was also some almonds and coffee. Well done.