AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

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

2006 Bottle @ Anders37. Black with a dark brown head. Smooth, oily, lot of vanilla and toffee.

Bottle #79/235 from the 2006 batch. Rating #4000. Thanks to MaltOMeal for this one! Pours a black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty coffe and chocolate aroma with some hints of bourbon and vanilla and some oak hints. Strong roasted malty chocolate and coffee flavor with some hints of vanilla and dark fruit. Raosted malty dark chocolate and molasses finish with some woody vanilla hints in the aftertaste and also some bitterness in the aftertaste. Lovely!! Thanks agian Bill for this bottle.

Draft from Dec ’05 in SD Obriens right before the Strong Ale Fest. Opaque jet black pour with thin small head. Big roasted coffee and dark malt aroma, with some notes of vanilla and oak. Smooth and silky creamy. Loats of roasted malts balanced with big coffee flavors, with vanilla, some oak and touches of bourbon, with some chocolate as well. This was most excellent.

Wow, was surprised to find this on a menu at The Linkery while having dinner at RBSG. Fucking aweosme! Pours pitch black, with a medium light brown head. The smell is of some nice bourbon, dark malt, and rich creamy chocolate. Rich and roasty, with an oily consistency. Big chocolate malt, roasty nuts, and bourbon all mesh together nicely to create the identty of this brew. The bourbon isnt overpowering which was nice, but had some good balance to it. Really tasty!

(Bottle 84/228) Knoxville tasting courtesy of Springslicker, thanks Jay. A double deep dark brown pour without much of a head. An aroma of chocolate cake with bourbon frosting. The aroma makes your mouth water like a fresh baked cake as well. A very warm beer with a flavor of oaked bourbon and espresso with chocolate syrup with a light hint of butter. Good carbonation good full palate a palate that I wish all beers could match. The summary in my notes was "wtf else can I say". It was great. thanks again Jay

Ok, it’s official. This beer deserves all of the accolades it gets. Luckily, Bartzilla got the LAST one, and I, as neighbor, fellow beer geek and long time friend, get to share in the experience. And, it did not dissapoint. So rich, so complex, yet refined and drinkable. Just amazing velvety mouthfeel, and the oak is just present enough to mix with everything else that’s going on. I can actually taste the whiskey in here too. Amazing stuff. Sampled the Dark Lord afterwards and im sorry, it just doesn’t compete with this heavyweight.

500th rating - 2006, bottle #92/235. Sampled side by side with a regular 06 speedway. I’m happy to make this my 500th rating. I got to drink this beer, the BA version of the beer that got me into craft beer, with the guys that originally got me into craft beer. Pretty awesome. Sersdf didn’t like it, but I did. Very similar to regular speedway with a savory, soy saucy component. Really much more complex smelling than the non BA version. Chocolate and coffee are hidden somewhat by the oak. Really world class.

Sampled at Dr. Bill and Steiny’s. I made sure to take a little extra time with this one. What can I say, it lived up to the hype and is the best stout I’ve had to date. The aroma was a perfect balance of vanilla, coffee, chocolate, oak, and just a hint of bourbon. Flavor is rich chocolate and coffee. Not overly roasted or burnt, but just the perfect balance. Palate is velvety smooth and finishes with just enough warming alcohol to remind what you’re drinking. Fabulous...