AleSmith Barrel Aged Wee Heavy

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
San Diego, California USA

Thanks to seaoflament and john_adam!! 2005 release: This beer was amazing, tons of bourbon, scotch, and caramel. The pour is kinda ugly (looks like muddy water), but what counts is how it smells and tastes. The bourbon is not overpowering and blends well with the scotch flavors. I am really glad I tried this one, Ale Smith rocks!!!

I already forget what batch I had, but I am pretty sure it was the 2005 release. I had been sitting on this brew for a while waiting for the right time to taste such goodness, and the time was a friends birthday. Poured a deep brown hue with a light tan head. Aromas of oak, scotch, peat, and caramel. The carbonation mellowed out quite a bit and helped accentuate the beers flavor and the age helped subdue the oak overtone. The flavors were amazing...... vanilla, chocolate notes, some smokiness....mmmmmmmmmm...... amazing.... Damn I love alesmith!

Bottle@DrBills 05 158/222 Sweet smell of cherry bourbin. Pours red/brn in color. Bubbly ring head. Starts sweet and strong and although it was a little flat the smooth bourbin end left no complaints.

Courtesy of Odeed, thanks Jake! Dark brown, with no head. Aroma is a strong bourbon, oak, toffee, caramel, light alcohol. Taste is a nice toffee, alcohol, and bourbon mix, bourbon is a bit on the strong side, some caramel. Interesting stuff here, but would prefer less aging in the barrel.

Rating #1200

Courtesy of toncatcher who opened this gem at the fordest tasting sharing it with fordest, padrefan98, wetherel and of course toncatcher. I’ve been waiting a very long time to try this special elixir. Pours a clear amber with weak tan head. The aroma has nice woody barrel age qualities that smack you with a booze coated wooden plank. I also get soft caramel candy and faint peaty earthiness. YUM!! The taste starts with an explosion of flavors that seem to hit all at once with wood, booze, wood, creamy caramel candy, and then more caramel, peat and even more caramel goodness. Wow. Everything seems pretty well balanced allowing for a nice woody, slightly sweet yet drying booze sensation as well as great notes of creamy caramel, peat and earthiness from the base beer. Sure glad toncatcher opened this one for us.

An important side note: very few chairs were broken during the fordest tasting.

Vintage 2004, Bottle #205 of 234. This is my personal experience with this bottle and this vintage, but this beer was almost totally flat when I poured it. I got it from a source I trust to have stored it properly. I’m wondering if maybe this bottle happened to be capped by the same machine that capped their IPA in the last year or so and did not make a tight seal. I am sure there are posts here on RB about all that mess. If you wish to inquire PM me. Pours a dark caramelly brown, with barely enough bubbles to cover the top of the beer in the glass. Beautiful smells of bourbon and wood and vanilla. Alcohol as well. Tastes just as good as it smells. Bourbon and dark fruits up front, caramel and alcohol on the finish. As many other reviewers have said, the Wee Heavy base is pretty well covered by the flavors from the barrel. Thick and full palate. I am very sad that the carbonation is gone. With even a minimal amount of carbonation this brew would have been perfect in this category. Even though its flat, this brew is the second best barrel aged beer that I have ever had. Behind only the BA Decadence.

2005 bottle 85/222, All the wonderful oak and bourbon that this was aged in rewards the procurer with a mezmerizing caramel smoke malty aroma , with plenty of wiskey saturating the escaping fumes,smooth rich bourbon chcolate taste,with hints of vanilla nad butterscotch,with the wiskey pretty much taking you to the finish. The bourbon may dominate a tad to much in the finish,but many of us love that. Top notch,first rate,thanks Overlord

Bottle shared by Odeed #75/222; Nose of oak, bourbon, dark raisiny fruit, and vanilla; hazy dark brown with a few beige bubbles; flavor of chocolate, caramel, raisins, light bourbon, and oak with a light alcohol finish. Great job by AS!