AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

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

Noogfest Four-O

2006 bottle. Dark brown pour, some lighter highlights, decent lacing and a nice head. Roasted notes are bright and full of life. Slight alcohol burn, with smoke and peat, oh and caramel. Flavor-wise there’s lots of roasted coffee, boasting brass horns of chocolate and distant caramel. Vanilla, molasses, and some peat, too. Full-bodied and balanced well. Finishes extremely fantasticfullyinggoodinglyfull. Yeah. Some folks said the bottle was infected? Going to go ahead and disagree on that one.

Tasted a sample of the ’04 vintage at Tasting in the Woods, Part Deux. This beer was phenomenal. Pours to a pitch black color, with a thick, creamy, tan head, and a soft carbonation. The nose on this beer is incredible. Big aromas of dark chocolate, espresso, vanilla, roast, and light smoke flood the nose. The palate is rich, and full on the tongue, with a tremendous, complex flavors. Lots of big dark chocolate flavors, marry with flavors of esperesso coffee, vanilla, hints of black currant, and licorice. This beer finishes with more of those complex flavors up front, then ends with a soothing, warming burn that lingers. Any amazingly good Imperial Stout brought to new heights from the use of barrel aging. World class.

From FlacoAlto, Thanks! Finally someone stepped up and sent this to me, guess now I can die and go to heaven.... Anyway, 06 bottle which pours black with burgundy hue and small tan head that leaves rather quickly. Aroma of chocolate, brown sugar, wood, dark fruit, and light bourbon. Very light coffee flavor compared to the regular version which was surprising. The taste was medium sweet with wood, dark fruit and some dark chocolate. Minimal carbonation and smooth on the palate. Medium bodied. So this was BA Speedway...good beer but not as good as I would have thought, and really not on the level of the regular version IMO. Glad someone didn’t hold it hostage like others do and make you beg and plead for the shit.

2006, bottle 186/233. Poured to celebrate the World Series victory by the Philadelphia Phillies! Pours pitch black, capped with a small brown head. Very appealing aroma of milk chocolate, roasted malt, oak, and some alcohol. Flavor is huge chocolate malt, fresh roasted coffee, bourbon, dark fruit,vanilla, licorice, salt, and moderate hops. Chocolate and bourbon cling to the palate for a lengthy finish. Great beer, but I think the barrel treatment takes away from the base beer.

thanks andrew. pitch black. shit, this smells terrible. it’s somewhere between soy sauce and unami. however you spell that. tastes just fine, a bit pretty hot. a little salty actually. pretty milky. doesn’t seem all that barrelled. i really hate this.... a few days later i tried it again. the horrible umami smell remains, but the flavor isn’t nearly as intolerable. so i’ll up it a little.

Bottle from ebay purchase. Sampled with Stegosaurus. Bottle from 2006 #46 of 235. BANG WOW ! Aroma god like Chocolate, bourbon wood and roast. The pour is almost black but you can see a reddish hue. A very thin tan head. First taste is over whelming. The second taste you notice a perfect blend of Chocolate , vanilla, bourbon oak with a roasty bitter finish. Absolutely world class.

Very dark chocolate, vanilla esters, caramel, and almond. Big, oily mouthfeel with dark-roasted malts and caramel. Too much alcohol in the finish and aftertaste. Still very tasty, though. I'm glad I didn't have to finish a bomber of this....it would eff me up but good! Many thanks to Eric for sharing his bottle! Had at RB Philly gathering February 2004.

First, a HUGE thanks goes out to Wetherel for bringing this bottle to Japan and sharing it with us. 2006 vintage, #113. Roasted, oaky aroma with nice bourbon and creamy malts. The body isn’t as thick as I was expecting, but still quite full. The roasted malts are strong, but not overly so. Oak, bourbon, coffee, some cream, and sweet molasses. Hands down the most well blended barrel aged beer I’ve ever had. Nothing is overwhelming in this brew, just a beautifully complex, expertly blended stout. Sharing this at Ushitora was a nice way to experience this one (so was chugging the last of it from the bottle). Thanks again, Wetherel!