AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

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

Bottle #39 -- Black, black, black body, topped by medium brown head. Aroma is rich, molasses sweet, oak-aged bourbon, vanilla, coffee. Taste is big, delivering just what the aroma promises. Very full body. There's something wonderful with the way a bourbon cask can interact with a big stout, and this beer does it better than any other I've had. Absolutely delicious beer.

2006 bottle from Mashmaster, shared @jbrus’s place. Dark chocolate in the aroma, with hints of oak and ash. Full bodied, thick mouthfeel. Milk chocolate, fruit confit and oak in the flavor. Cacao. Whisky in the finish. Very complex and brilliant beer. Thanks Mashmaster, for giving me and the Dutch RB’íans the chance to taste this world class beer.

Thanks to JohnC for trading this bottle 104/228 of black beer. Great looking black beer with a brown head, the aroma is just fantastic, complex, a bit roasted malt, chocolate and wood, some vanilla and licorice, and the taste is perfect, smooth also chocolate, vanilla and licorice, wood and a hint of coffee. I´m just glad it came in such a big bottle, it´s the best beer I have had so far.

(750ml bottle) Pours an opaque dark brown (near black) body with a spare brown head. Aroma of oak, bourbon, coffee, roasted malt, light vanilla, and chocolate. Flavor of roasted malt, oak, some burnt, bourbon, and coffee with a bitter finish.

Wow, what a treat to see this one at Rich’s Yeha (huge thanks to EDA). ’02 vintage, bottle #15/115. Poured a dark black color with a small sized tan head. Aromas of coffee, roasted malts, wood, bourbon and some vanilla. Tastes of coffee, roasted malts, light vanilla and bourbon. Very good, but not as good as the regular Speedway I had on tap in CA (don’t get me wrong, I’d kill for another bottle of this one).

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.

Black body wears a thin off-white head. I can’t wait for the old numbskull version. Obvious bourbon barrel aroma. It comes out minty (after eight chocolate) and candyish with all the usual stoutish aspects. Big whiskey and roasty suggestions. Large hop presence although the barrel aging really seems to mellow them out for the best. Bitter bourbon finish. Mild acidity doesn’t alterate the pleasure. Fruity and almost anise reminiscent. Great balance for such a monster. Thick body with smooth low carbonation. Good going Alesmith. I didn’t notice any coffee. To me, this is far more pleasant than the regular speedway. Thanks again hopsrus.

Re-rate... The second batch (originally brewed in 2003, bottle #11 of 125, I think) as of July, 2005, rocked even harder than the first. Smells like a S’more... coconut, chocolate and a campfire roasted marshmallow. My only complaint is that the coffee nuances are almost entirely sucked out of the beer and into the barrel. Who cares? Incredible brew!....Original rating.... First batch... bottle... Co-rated with Scraff... #40 of 115 bottles. This beer rocks! Pours midnight black with no color... even when held up to very bright light. Light brown, creamy head. The aroma is of vanilla, roasted hazelnuts, bourbon, dark chocolate, burned cherries, American white oak and alcohol. The flavor mirrors the aroma with bourbon, espresso, bitter-sweet chocolate and plenty of warm alcohol. Ridiculously full-bodied with an alcoholic mouthfeel and mild carbonation. Lengthy, bitter and burnt-as-hell, alcoholic finish. This is world class beer! Too bad they didn’t make more of it!