AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

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

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!

Pitch black colour with a light brown head. Complex light roasted malty aroma with a soft chocolate sweetness and some coffee bitterness along a light fruityness. Wellbalanced chocolate sweet and coffee bitter flavor with dark fruit sweet notes.

A fountain found in Hades was spewing this dark musty liquid in forlorn dungeon-like caves…Terrifying bourbon aromas were said to be emanating from the source which was evidently filtering some sort of bitter roasted cereal somewhere in its growling intestines…When the Great Master of the Underground heard of this blackest of discoveries, He ordered that the strong, dry potion be aged in the wood of his favorite sunken ships in order to impart one of his most precious flavors: living death…Oh, such an evil, all-purpose ceremonial brew…I don’t know how hopsrus got a bottle of this to share (I don’t want to insinuate anything ;P), but I am devilishly grateful that he got hold of this one for our symposium!!!…

Bottled: Pitch black coloured. Huge chocolate brown head. The looks dosn’t get any better. Smoke, alcahol, chocolate, roastyness and fruit in the aroma. Alcahol is dominant but not in a unpleasant way. Coffee, cocoa, roast, loads of alcahol (more smoot than the aroma), malt, spices, you name it the beers got it. The alcahol almost totally burns you lips in the end before a delightful bitterness lightens up everything. Not as complex as I would expect from a top 5 beer, but still a damned good beer.

2002 batch, bottle #2, poured by Peter Zien at the GABF. Definite bourbon in the nose, though not overpowering like many attempts at this style have become. Still has some big charred chocolate malts, rich smoky bourbon and wood flavors, without too much of a biting "fresh" wood flavor, but rather a slightly aged quality which is certainly preferred when it comes to tasting big stouts. Peppy on the tongue, just slightly hot for 12% ABV, frothy as it’s being swallowed. Finally it’s soothing as it coats the throat, warming it’s way down. Rich and dry finish, with some butter rum, a slightly burning caramel flavor, with some light hops but not too strong given the power of this stout. Within the fad of bourbon barrel aged imperial stouts, this one stands out as one of the best, although I really do prefer a stout to be non-bourbon barrel aged, and I still prefer the standard Speedway Stout over the BA version.

Bottle 13/240 ala Matt. Opaque brown color with a few tan bubbles forming a lid. Irish whiskey and coffee aromas, that have a mild sweetness of maple syrup. Vanilla and rye flavors mingle with rooty licorice and dark chocolate. Strong and tarry flavors. Sorry I’m not a strong and licorice kind of guy. Not my style. But I keep trying.

Bottle@Home. Thanks Edo! Great and unbelievable beer. So complex, yet perfectly balance. I really don’t know what else to write down. Amazed.

Bottle 101/115 graciously provided by DrunkAsaSkunk. Tasted at Larry Pitonka’s September Tasting in Seattle
Dark brown color, black edges. Tan lacing with light head. The nose is lightly coffeeish with some astringent roast and woody antique guitar notes (no pun) with a bit of cobbwebb. Very rich and creamy, lots of caramel and a touch of soy sauce. Nice, very nice. I think this aged nicely and it really is quite a different animal than the original.