AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

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

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.

Date: 08/02/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

Appearance: black, whispy tan head, nice lace, lots of chocolate, roasted, and coffee aroma with a hint of bourbon,
Body: very creamy body,
Flavor: lots of rich chocolate flavor, great coffee character, the bourbon adds a nice extra element of complexity without being overbearing, nice light bitterness in the finish to bring nice balance, aged character to mellow it out a bit
-------- /> Date: 02/01/2008
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2004
Score: 4.2 to 4.3

Appearance: black, scant head, wispy lace,
Aroma: sweet chocolate and bourbon aroma,
Flavor: rich chocolate and bourbon flavor, low bitterness,
Overall: aging very well

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 10/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.3/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***4

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, blankboy, tupalev, jerc & garthicus - courtesy of garthicus. 2006 vintage, bottle 57 of 235. Deep ruby-black with a wispy tan head. Aroma of charred malt, burnt wood, bourbon, vanilla-soaked raisins, and some boozy warmth. Medium bodied, a bit creamy. Very well integrated flavours of malted milk, coffee, whiskey/bourbon and chocolate. Long, luscious finish with a mild herbal character. Excellent!

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.

Dark dark brown, not quite black coloured beer with a surprisingly decent well retained tan head. Aroma has lots of malts in it, a bit of coffee, and wisps of whiskey. The flavour had a lot of alcohol in it but it’s controlled by the tons of other flavours; fruity, coffee, oaky, some roasted malts in there as well. Somewhat of a drying finish, but it’s still luxurious and full of flavour.

Finally. Me and a bottle. Palates ready, I’m ready, lets do it. 2006 bottle. Acquired for a bottle of their BA 05 Decadence. Slightly regret getting rid of that bottle, but this beer is what I’ve been trading for. Aroma boozy bourbon tied in with a great licorice and chocolate sweetness. Smells tasty. Looks good too, a little less thick/syrupy as I thought it would be or remember the regular, but memories told tell a whole story too well. Flavor is truly remarkable, amazing coffee, chocolate, booze, dark burnt malts, some caramel, fruits, dark ones. Overall quite the experience. Glad to finally get that notch on my belt. Shoulda saved it for 1000 or something, but I wanted it tonite.

Brewtopia 2004, bottle #19, thanks to Eyedrinkale: Black with little head, huge nose that is filled with bourbon, wood, and sweet chocolate. Full bodied, huge fight between sweet and bitter in this one. I hope to try this again someday. One sample was not enough.

Bottle (2006, #165) from brewery. Slick black upon pouring. Low carbonation. Very oily appearance. Dark fruity aroma. Bourbon and vanilla, along with some oak. Big bourbon flavor up front. Somewhat boozy. Huge flavors. Some sweetness. Warming going down. Some bitterness in the finish. Seems like it could age a longer. Good impy with a lot of character. Nice coffee finish.