AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

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

2004 Bottle Pours a dark black with no head and almost no carbonation. This doesn’t bother me, since my favorite in this style was even more still. Ruddy orange fringe. Holy shit. Aroma is a building steam train of gentle coffees and tahitian vanilla beans steeped in fresh whipping cream and brown sugar. Moves into a supple and not harsh bourbon poured into gingerbread and spice cake. A hint of brandy vapor. Some savory herbal notes, with oregano and tarragon. Sweet candied limes dipped in rum sugars, with a finish of black currant and pears. Flavor is priceless and indescribable. Fuckin’ liquid heaven. Really hard to describe because the flavor is so similiar to the flavor, almost to a tee. Palate is a dense, absolutely syrupy sugar elixir that holds, disperses, and perform the flavors with total elegance. Finish and smack carry the very gentle and floral glowing qualities of an exquisite 21-year old single malt. A lot of the rich condensed malt and oaky finish characters ring through. More vinous then beery, with copious rich berry notes and continuing brandy and cognac vapors in the finish. Totally rounded and mellowed by the beers, with NO harsh edges. And the flavors are original each time they touch the palate, without fatigue. Finally, it’s a touch thin, to me, as it could be even denser, but it still has that ubiquitous cold cream texture that stays with the beer and maintains astounding density and quality as the beer continues. All around beer heaven. Thanks Pete! Original rating 4.6/9/3/10/5/19

This was the barrel aged Speedway courtesy of dasilky1 at the So. Cal. RB gathering. Poured black as coal and nearly as thick with virtually no head. Aroma is intoxicating (must be the additional alcohol content from the bourbon barrels), clocolate, molasses, bourbon and hops. Delicious flavor, figs, coffee, dark chocolate syrup and alcohol. Mouthfeel is syrupy thick with little carbonation. An amazing brew.

Thanks to eyedrinkale for bringing this and sharing this at richlikebeers 2005 YEHA! Unfortunately, Mike was sleeping when his possession was cracked open and shared with the masses. Thin dense head that recedes quickly to a thin dark brown foam. Rich and complex aroma with bourbon, vanilla, coffee, roasted grains and alcohol. Essentially black in color. Big whisky flavor which subdues the strong coffee notes that are normally there. Dark chocolate and a decent bitterness are present also. Thick and chewy and coats the glass. Velvety smooth. Warms as it goes down. Creamy and slightly bitter finish. Heavy sweet and awesome. Thanks for sharing Mike!

2002 batch, bottle #2 at the GABF. Bourbon, wood, tannic notes, roasted caramel, and rich chocolate malt. A fine impy indeed. There really isn’t anything that I can say that hasn’t already been said here. If you have the means, I highly suggest you try this one.

Bottle. Vintage 2004, number 74 or 228. Provided by Zug4abby through illinismitty. My deepest gratitude to you both. Sean shared with me, rooftoprogue, and Landseer. An opaque black elixir poured from the bottle and was topped by a creamy tan head. The nose was incredible. One of those beers you want to just sit and sniff for a bit and let those fragrances stimulate the juices. Definite salivating now. Notes of chocolate, molasses, oak, bourbon, coffee, of the finest quality. MMMmmm. I have been craving this experience for some time but worried that the hype might be too much. It wasn’t. If I were to fault it at all, it would be the viscosity. Thicker and creamier would have been the topper. An insignificant thing and perhaps only noticed becuase of the awesome quality of the aroma and flavor. Ah, the flavor. The rich complexity of the aroma fulfills itself in the flavor. Chocolate, coffee, bourbon, molasses. Some slight bitterness of roasted coffee, and truly barrel-aged. A truly erotic, if not orgasmic beer experience. Were the body a bit more oily, so as to coat the mouth and linger on the tongue after it was swalloed, it would have been an extra edge. Sean, you could trash my kitchen anytime!!

2004 Number 74/228. Words can not express my gratitude to Zug4abby for sending this my way. Shared this with Yourdarklord, rooftoprogue, landseer, and my wife. Pours black with frothy brown head. What a complex aroma of molasses, oak, chocolate, and coffee. Nice mouthfeel, not as thick as I was expecting, which makes this so dangerous. I could have drank the bottle in no time. A lot of the aroma carries into the flavor. Flavor of coffee, dark roasted malt, with an mild accent of bourbon, all nicely blended. Pleasantly mild bitter and coffee finish, with some slight dry woody notes. Lingers very nicely without being sticky or cloying. Alcohol very well hidden. Peter did the right thing and released this when it was ready. No need to cellar, it’s ready right now. Simply put, and outstanding beer that is worth the hype, and then some. Thanks Edward for lettting us trash your kitchen and leave without cleaning up!

RBSG 06: Pitch black with small tan head. The aroma is bourbon, vanilla, oaky sweetness, milk chocolate and raisins. The flavor is coffee, rum, plums, burnt and chocolates. Medium/full body with soft and smooth texture. 9/4/9/4/16 4.2

Pre GTMW Tasting Thanks to 1FastSTi for opening this. This bottle wast a bit rougher than the bottle opened at RBSG. It was fairly raw. 8/4/8/3/14 3.7

2003 12 of 225. Csbosox finally breaks this thing out, and it was well worth the wait. Pitch black with not too much head. A good swirl got nothing. The aroma is full of coffe, vanilla, oak, dark fruit, and so much more I just couldn’t wrap my head around. Same with the flavor. Everything mentioned in the nose was present in the flavor. All very well blended. There was some concern at the table that the coffee would not make its way through. It was there and stood tall. The palate was a touch on the thin side, yet very fullfilling. Big thanks to Chris for sharing such a wonderfull beer. I hope my nagging didn’t ware on you too bad. This stuff is great.