AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

2006 Vintage. Pours an oily black with no apparent carbonation. Fully opaque. A little swirling the snifter kicks up a few bubbles, then goes back to still blackness. Aroma is sweet, and quite fruity; Dark fruits, that is. Just a little coffee on the nose, with cherry and plum/prune. Just a little wood and bourbon aroma. The flavor is pretty huge on this one, way bigger and more complex than the regular Speedway. Very tarry, lots of cigar smoke, leather, booze is alive and present. Huge espresso is present, with dark chocolate. Sweet, but not an all-out sugar assault. Again, there is dark, smoky tar throughout. Extremely chewy. Only faintly bitter. If you swish it around in your mouth, you get some more carbonation, as you can almost feel the cavities developing in your teeth. I’m glad I got to try this. Definitely not a session beer (Of course if you’re reading this, you likely already knew that. I mean, like anybody other than the CEO of Alesmith would have the means to session this anyway.), but very soulful for just a glass now and then. Overall, excellent.

Bottle 191 of 447 from Hophead22 beer tasting. Not very aromatic. Had a very sour after taste. Something happened to this bottle unfortunately. Maybe it sat in a hot car or garage for too long. I was very disappointed. Looking forward to trying the new batch and will re-rate this.

I’m really thinking that Alesmith’s barrell aging program just isn’t for me. Anyway, the aroma here was pretty subtle with nuts, pecans, wood and dark chocolate. Tastes of dark chocolate, coffee (not too much), wood, and is more acidic or astringent than I anticipated. Finishes all wood and astringency. Full bodied to be sure, but plenty easy to drink. Regular Speedway is the better beer.

In short: An bourbon aged coffee stout that spent too much time in the bourbon barrel. Excellent but I prefer the regular Speedway.
How: Bottle 750ml. Sent to me by many people (doubleO, hophead84, kegbear, more…). This rating for a 2007 vintage (from kegbear I think).
The look: Black body topped by a short lived small tan head
In long: Drank a full bottle next to on of the regular Speedway that WeeHeavySD brought to me over a year ago. So both beer are about the same age. No need to describe the BA beer, better to describe the difference between the regular Speedway that we all know and love. The nose of the BA has moderate bourbon, some vanilla and very little coffee. Overall the nose is a lot less roasted and less coffee than the regular Speedway. The taste is overloaded with vanilla (that the regular Speedway doesn’t have), light roasted level (less than regular Speedway), quite a bit of black liquorice (a lot more than in the regular Speedway), some bourbon (less than I expected), some port-wine (something the regular speedway didn’t have). The carbonation is softer than in the regular Speedway. The alcohol is a little apparent (more apparent than in the regular Speedway). Overall the bourbon barrel aging is so over-done that the beer barely feels like a coffee stout. Barely any coffee notes. I’ve had chocolate stouts that had more coffee flavours than this one. This really is a very good brew, going through a 750ml by myself was a pleasure, something I cannot say about most of 12%+ beers. However I cannot believe that some people can genuinely find the BA better than the regular Speedway. Hey, I just had this great idea, why not use Bourbon Barrels to make scotch!!!

Bottle 53/233 from 2006. Pours an elegent thick dark brown/black with a wisp of brown head. Aroma is dried red fruit, sweet cafe mocha, and a hint of spicy hops. The flavour is very refined with vanilla, sweet milk chocolate, café au lait, dried cherries, and a slightly bitter finish. Alcohol is clearly present - like the pleasant warmth from a fine aged rum. A very fresh, lively stout that I am glad I had the chance to sample.

750, capped and foiled. ’06. #102/230. Pours opaque black with a thin tan head. Aroma of sweet oaky chocolate, vanilla, smoke. Medium body. Sweet coffee, coconut, prune and bourbon taste. Well worth lingering over this one.

Bottle #53 of 233, 2006. Oak, vanilla, coffee and spices explode out of the glass. Coffee and chocolate liqueur flavor with cola and some new oak on the finish. Not as dense as you’d expect, but superb all the same. So smooth. This is spectacular.

Bottle # 221/233 from 2006 written in silver marker on the side of my gold foiled 750 ml bottle. Pours a mostly solid black body with a bubbly beige head. Aroma is great with notes of vanilla, bourbon, slight chocolate, very mild roasty notes, hint of coconut and butter, very slight alcohol. Medium bodied with strong carbonation for a bottle that has been sitting in a barrel and three years of age on top of that, finishes slightly thin and warm from the 12% ABV. Flavor of bourbon, syrupy chocolate notes remain rather strong despite the age, vanilla extract, and some wet wood. Really nice and a huge thanks to Jon for sending me this one, thanks bro.