AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

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

Poured from 75cl bottle at Alesmith dinner. This was an unknown vintage bottle that they brought to the dinner in Las Vegas. What else can be said about this beer? It’s really more a work of art in a bottle. Huge aroma and flavour that covers everything from whisky, to chocolate to roasted malt to smoke, coffee and finished with some alcohol heat. Outstanding. ***Update: found out this was a pre-release of 2007.

Bottle #4/115, thanks to herbjones for trading me this. Dark brown/black in color, with a very small, brown head. Aromas are coffee, chocolate, alcohol, whiskey, and wood. Flavor is coffee, whiskey, wood, smoke, and vanilla. Body is on the medium to full, with the alcohol right there, not hidden at all. Palate would be better with more carbonation. A nice treat for my 40th birthday. (Note: As this beer warms, it gets better. The coffee seems to mellow somewhat and more sweetness reveals itself). 12/31/2009 - I’m going to up my rating from 4.4 to 4.5, after having some of the 2006 (painted label version). Just fantastic stuff.

Poured a nice black color with a light tan head. Aroma was lots of coffee beans and a strong scent of alcohol. Flavor was somewaht complex with a nice espresso flavor mixed in with some chocolate sweetness, but a bit too much overpowered by the bourbon barrel flavor.

Bottle from 2002 - Very dark brown body with a red brown edge, small beige head; Coffee, caramel, dark malt and lots of alcohol in nose; Super smooth body with a very, very little soft carbonation, bitter sweet with a great balance and a pleasant alcohol burn; Long greatly evolving finish, great alcohol burn, hoppy bitter, hoppy aromas and lots of barrel vanilla like aromas. Great....but actually a bit disappointing. Thanks Chris!................Bottle from 2004 tasted blind 7-4-6-3-12=3.2 - Black body, big bubbled light brown head; Very milk chocolate soft nose, a very little cardboard and a fruity Bourbon like sourness; Soft texture, slightly fruity almost acidy, slightly burnt bitter; Medium long bitter finish with lots of roasted aromas, cocoa bean and lots of fruity Bourbon aromas.

’04 vintage, 49/228, BIG thanks to Drewbeerme for this one. Sampled at "An evening with Pantanap #3. Dark brown to opaque black with beautiful motor oil brown small head. Aroma is bourbo vanilla, dough, dark malt, a little fruit, ver dark, rich. Roasted malt with bournon alc backbone, chocolate/milk chocolate, very well balanced, oh so good. Creamy full body. Well balanced chocolate and bourbon, alc.

Bottle shared at the CA-GA cultural beer exchange hosted by alexanderj, 2003 bottle, #43 of 196. Dark brown / black pour with no head. Not lively looking at all. Aroma is strong bourbon, very hot, chocolate malt and black licorice. Flavor is also very hot with the strong bourbon, roasted chocolate malt, licorice, some wood. Pretty boozy, burns my tongue.

Sample from a bottle of 2006. Many thanks to Moejuck for providing the bottle and Rogueone for saving half of her sample for me (you are the Queen!). This is one of very few beers I would kill to try and I was starting to worry that it might come to that. Pours dark brown with a minimal head. Aroma is heavy bourbon with some chocolate. Alcohol hits you at first taste, but quickly smoothes out to a megaton of chocolate with a creamy vanilla finish. The only thing keeping me from giving this a perfect score is the fact that it has way less of a coffee presence than regular Speedway. Aside from that, amazing beer. Lived up to the hype.

Happy Easter! Paired with the regular speedway and I am really glad I did that. The oak is very apparent in the aroma with a distinct wood flavor that trumps all of the vanilla in the original. Still getting some roasted coffee though. The flavor is still creamy and full of chocolate, cocoa, and coffee. It is enhanced a bit by the aging with a tinge of nutty woody flavor. Then on the finish there is more of a bourbon and peat sort of flavor as opposed to the cocoa and milk chocolate from the original. A truly subdued, muted, and complementary oak aging used to enhance the original version of a very fine beer.