AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

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

2002 Vintage - Bottle #44 of 115: Sampled from 53 deg F to 61 deg F.
I shared this bottle with my wife, flutetokill. Pitch black color with a small light brown head. The aroma was very decadent...sweet bourbon, licorice, dark chocolate, cherry. The flavor was huge (like everything else about this beer) with tons of chocolate, coffee, bourbon, sweet fruits, and licorice. The aftertaste is a strong licorice tone with warming alcohol in the throat. The feel was very soft, smooth, thick, oily, and sticky. One of the biggest differences between this and the regular Speedway Stout is that you don't have that crispness here...it works much better. This is the first beer that I've had that seemed perfectly complete, well thought out, and masterfully crafted. It was a completely pleasurable experience. Yee-Haw!!!!

GNBO. Bottle, Vintage 2006, #51/233. Sampled 6/14/08. Pours a rich dark chocolate hue. Nose is full of roasted malt, oak, dark chocolate, and coffee. Wow, full of flavor! Dark roast coffee, oak, chocolate, bourbon. Amazing, can’t wait to get into my 2003! Hmm when to get into that?! Well how about the night of my wedding?! ƙ/26/2009) The 2003 BA Speedway was phenomenal. Wonderful coffee, bourbon, sweet oak tones, vanilla. The mouth is so smooth with a tingle for the barrel on the edges of the tongue. What a treat!!

Got to try this at the columbus tasting thanks to OhioDad.Has a nice bourbon aroma with some chocolate,coffee,and vanilla mixed in.Pours black with a tan head.Very smooth and finishes with a slight bourbon burn.One of my favorite beers I’ve had to this point plus comes in a very nice bottle...

Thanks to Vac (I think) for busting this out at the RBSG 08 Grand Tasting. ’04 vintage. Pours pitch black with a modest cocoa head. Bourbon aromas enhance the chocolate-roast dynamic. Also some red fruitiness in the nose. Boozy chocolate flavor with a coffee roast finish. Nice warming bourbon with the swallow. Same impeccable balance I’m used to out of AleSmith.

bottle. it has a very black color with a large head. the aroma is of roasty dark fruits. the taste is of spicyness and roasty dark fruits. very creamy and nice.

03 - Bottle shared by miketd, Cleveland tasting. Pours inky black with almost no head. Aroma is bourbon, chocolate, coffee, char. Flavor is mainly bourbon, chocolate, roast, vanilla, some dried fruits. Palate is silky smooth, full bodied, almost no carbonation, finished hot. Lacks any carbonation, too boozey, good but not great. 4.1 04 - Bottle shared by moejuck, Cleveland tasting. Pours inky black with a small brown head. Aroma is bourbon, chocolate, coffee, char. Flavor is more chocolate, roast, vanilla, some dried fruits, bourbon, oak. Palate is silky smooth, full bodied, mild carbonation, finished a little sweeter than the 03. This one was my favorite. Silky smooth texture, right amount of bourbon, age has brought out more sweetness and taken the edge off! 4.5 06 - shared by fiver29, Cleveland tasting. Pours inky black with a small brown head. Aroma is bourbon, chocolate, coffee, char. Flavor is more chocolate, roast, vanilla, some dried fruits, bourbon, oak, light metallic notes. Palate is smooth, full bodied, mild carbonation, finished more bitter than anything else. Good stuff, a little young, and harsh for my likings. 4.3 Taking the average of the 3, I come up with 4.3. Huge thanks to miketd, moejuck, fiver29 for putting together the vertical, amazing, most people would give a testical to try one of these!

Thanks Beerlando, sharing this was a treat! Pours jet-black with a bubbly chocolate milk colored head. The aromas of chocolate and alcohol are most prominent. The taste is amazingly complex. I felt like I just bit into the saxophone-playing California Raisin dipped in the finest swiss chocolate. The next sip, I get some grape flavors. The next, back to the Raisinets. A little thinner on the palate then I expected. Superb beer.

Rating #500. Yay! Pours black with a brown head. Aroma is strong coffee and oak. Flavor again is more strong coffee, oak, bourbon, cream, toffee, booze, and just a hint of paper. Silky smooth mouthfeel. Some hint of the abv. I really liked this one, but after everything was said and done I almost prefer the non BA speedway. I did here from a few folks I shared this with it wasn’t up to par with other bottles tasted. Still though, I’m so glad I finally got to try this. Thanks ratebeer in general for this one!