AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

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

2004-edition, bottle #104/228, thanks to René for sharing. Black coloured with a medium sized lacing beige head. Roasted aroma of chocolate, wood and vanilla. Roasted flavour of chocolate, wood, vanilla, hops and liquorice. Very balanced.

Opaque, deep and chocolatey black in color with grey dust in a swirl winding around at the surface to form a reserved head. Aroma imparts wafts of decadent chocolate truffles infused with a caramel bourbon tract, providing a baseline sweetening, but not over-the-top and independent - decadent, rather. Glazed caramel chews with hints of frangelico, sweetened with brown sugar and melting chocolate shells. It’s a thinker aroma, surrounded by a huge caramel avec bourbon compliment. Balance is the aromatic key here. Refined is another way to put it.

The notion of control is also well fed in the flavor. Delicate, boisterous chocolates melt like truffles over hot springs. The roasty espresso bean complexity is muted, capped and trapped under an engulfing dark chocolate coating. Warming vocal box voices joyous sentiments before the mind comprehends its speech patterns. Mocha grinds are pressed upon bakers chocolate bricks but the coffee elements are very subdued, hiding the boisterous elements of the regular Speedway with rounded corners, like melting milk chocolate Godiva squares infused with creme de cacao and smooth Magellan. Oily, full-fledged, big-bodied beer and an overall palate treat. Smooth, melting, delicatessen chocolate finish is free from bitter coffee arraignments, instead imparting mild tannic lingerings, and succumbing to the smooth chocolate force.

ENORMOUS THANKS to Blake (1FastSTi) for sharing Bottle No. 13!

a-freak-ing-mazing. mike and i had this on our two year anniversary, coincidentally the one we had was from the 04 batch which is also when we got together :) anyway, lots of smooth rich chocolate malt, with a good dark coffee/mocha latte feel to it. there were hints of vanilla and the oak was pretty prevalent. the whiskey kind of hit you up front then faded as you tasted, instead of burning as it went down. very nice. this is by far the greatest beer i’ve had thus far...

I acquired this bottle in San Diego via Peter BEFORE it was released. Bottle #13/240. We decided to compare this side-by-side with a regular Speedway that MAY be from the same batch of beer. I thought the aroma of the BA version was much bigger and better. Whiskey and coffee. A ton of coffee. A ton of chocolate. Whiskey. Perfect coffee and whiskey, dark chocolate, and other sub-components in the flavor. MUCH more balanced than the regular. Creamy and perfect mouthfeel. This is great. I’d say that this, PP Le Woody, and artusory’s brett-pale were easily the best beers of the night.

2007 Vintage. Thank you Peter and Jessica! Pure, opaque, onyx with a high viscosity and a very fine, creamy, tan head. Amazing fresh aroma for a barrel-aged beer that combines both fantastic oxidation, wood, and bourbon characteristics from the aging along with fresh coffee, dark berry fruits, dried fruits, bitter chocolate, and hops. Flavor conveys much the same but with the addition of more well-balanced sweetness and alcohol and a smooth smokiness and penetrating bitterness. Posesses a perfect body that disguises the 12% alcohol while conveying the huge intensity of this beer across its immense, packed flavor profile. Carbonation level is very fine and creates a very nimble mouthfeel that washes over the tongue and stimulates all of your taste buds variously. This is a very fine beer--a real "Rolls Royce" of imperial stouts.

Wow what great stuff. Had this at the first ever tapping at O’Brien’s Pub. Felt lucky to get my share of the 2.5 gal keg. Dark dark, with a brown head. Strong aromas of barrel. The flavor of the barrel was evident too, but more in the aroma. Flavors of chocolate, whisky, alcohol, and roastiness. Wonderful.

Had at DLD.BA Speedway it was great,chocolate and coffee with a tan head.,rich and roasty.CHEERS

2004 Number 74/228. Words can not express my gratitude to Zug4abby for sending this my way. Shared this with Yourdarklord, rooftoprogue, landseer, and my wife. Pours black with frothy brown head. What a complex aroma of molasses, oak, chocolate, and coffee. Nice mouthfeel, not as thick as I was expecting, which makes this so dangerous. I could have drank the bottle in no time. A lot of the aroma carries into the flavor. Flavor of coffee, dark roasted malt, with an mild accent of bourbon, all nicely blended. Pleasantly mild bitter and coffee finish, with some slight dry woody notes. Lingers very nicely without being sticky or cloying. Alcohol very well hidden. Peter did the right thing and released this when it was ready. No need to cellar, it’s ready right now. Simply put, and outstanding beer that is worth the hype, and then some. Thanks Edward for lettting us trash your kitchen and leave without cleaning up!