AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
San Diego, California USA

Taster – 2008 Great Salt Lake Festivus – Beer Session – One of the best beers I have ever had. This was a huge Impy Stout with so many flavors. It was a beer to be drank slowly and savored. Did I also mention it was a limited brew number 98/228 (2004) in this series. Loved the coffee, chocolate and barrel flavors this beer is one for the books.

2003 bottle from Alesmith release. Yummy. Black with no head. Potent alcohol (this has to be way above 12%), bourbon, vanilla, and oak aroma. Sweet thick chocolate, coffee, bourbon, and caramel taste with an amazing chocolate finish. Excellent. Overall: 5.0 2006 bottle from the BA (Bare Ass? No, Barrel Aged) release. Black with a brown creamy head. Cofffee roasty dark chocolate and vanilla aroma. Rich buttery palate. Bitter dark chocolate, coffee, bourbon and vanilla taste with some alcoholic warmth and an oaky finish. 4.9 total score

Original Sample from Bottle 102 out of 115 (2002): This stout pours with a black as night body topped by a thin to medium thick brown head witha good amount of lacing. Wow, what a different aroma. The aroma is slightly sweet yet bitter and full of alcohol. A slightly smokey, woody character shows throuhg reminding me of a nice bourbon. The flavor is equally unique. It starts out slightly sweet and malty with a slight alcohol note and turns woody, smokey and roasty with a more prevelent alcohol note. After drinking half the bottle, the vanilla and licorice notes start showing through. This is a great beer. It’s full bodied, slightly tingly and warming. Definately a great beer to celebrate Christmas with. I have had this brew several times since this initial sampling and it keeps getting better and better with age. I’ve also had the pleasure of trying some of the upcoming releases of it and was again blown away.

2006 vintage, bottle #183/235, opened to celebrate the opening of the new and improved Redlight Redlight. The pour yields a deep, dark mahogany body that shows nearly black. A small, swirly, tan colored head leaves soapy spots and flares of lacing behind. The aroma is fantastic! Notes of sweet, dark chocolate fudge, roasty Cuban coffee, caramelo, and stewed dark fruits are all infused with a subtle, sour mash bourbon twang. Flavors show perhaps even more depth, as the dark fruity notes begin to better define themselves. Sweet raison and fig join the fudgy-caramel party, while toasty, vanilla laden oak imparts a smoothing effect. There is a good amount of roast throughout, as well as a surprising dose of lingering, earthy hop bitterness. The mouthfeel is substantial, lightly carbonated, and silky smooth, with hardly any alcoholic heat detectable. This is a fantastic beer, though I’m not quite sure it is a significant improvement over the stellar base product. Like most things Alesmith does, this is world-class.

sample at DLD, ’04 vintage. huge thanks to leopoldstoch for sharing. i had this sandwiched inbetween Stille Nacht Reserva 00 and Oak Aged DL! I guess that could only mean at DLD. poured beautiful black with tan head. nose had loads of wonderful cocunut, dark fruits, toffee, caramel, charred wood, and bourbon. an amazing nose. flavor notes of raisins, plums, chocolate, coffee, caramel, and bourbon. alcohol was warming but hidden well. too bad the nose was just better than the flavor. it all didn’t seem to come together that well and the Oak Aged DL i followed this with was more impressive. thanks again for sharing! 4.3.

2/1/08. ’04 vintage. sampled at "An evening with Pantanap #3". Big thanks to alafito for this amazing bottle. pours dark brown with thin beige head. nose is tight with coffee, roast, chocolate, slight bourbon, and aged malts. flavor is coffee, chocolate, roast, nuts, nutmeg, bourbon, oaky charness. body is silky smooth and full. low carbonation. alcohol warmth but well hidden. this is extremely good and easily the best AleSmith BA beer and worthy of a 4 in appearance. 8/4/9/5/17=4.3. 11/3/09, ’03 vintage. pours black with no head. nose of licorice, ashy. flavor is ashy, chocolate, licorice. wow this is not what BA speedway is supposed to taste like, this barrel has dried this out and it is so ashy. 3.1.

Bottle at a beer tasting; 03 vintage, same number as golubj’s; have another of these, but doubt I’ll rerate it. Last beer of a truly great day. Color was dark brown with not much carbonation; looked "dead." Aroma of wood, bourbon, cocoa, alcohol, vanilla and caramel. Flavor was a bit hot; surprisingly. Wood, bourbon, cocoa, and roasted malt/coffee. Flavor really emerged with some warmth. Good stuff.

Pour is black with a thin tan head...smell is coffee and hints of smoke and vanilla...taste is like a muted version of the regular Speedway...the over the top flavors are merged together with a nice vanilla chewy smokey flavor...delicious...thanks egajdzis!!!

This may be surprising, but this imperial poured jet black w/ a small tan head. The taste of the bourbon barrel aging was quite evident. between the bourbon overtones and the coffee flavors, it made for a very nice stout.