AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

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

Bottle shared by ajm at the 09er as the clear centerpiece. 2007 vintage, 86/447. Pours charcoal with a sugary brown head. Smells like BCS. Tastes almost like The Dark Knight Returns. The combination is as mellow as a qualude. Its like the barrel served as a cacoon and the beer went in as coffee and came out like bourbon spiked date juice. Truly amazing.

Clutch beer. So hard to see how it relates to the regular Speedway because the coffee is eliminated by the barrel. I personally like it, and the highly oaky and vanilla-laden nose gives way to a full, fig-laden palatte. No real sugar happens in the taste which made it seem to me like a quad. Thanks to everyone at AleSmith!

<b>Bottle 75cl. @ home.</b>
<i>[ Trade by Dunk ].</i> [Batch #211/235 ]. Clear dark brown black color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, beige to light brown head. Aroma is heavy malty, milk chocolate, bourbon - whisky, cask wood notes, alcohol. english licorice notes. Flavor is moderate heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration. Bitterness is both hop and malt bitter. Body is medium to full, texture is oily - creamy, carbonation is soft - flat. Very nice beer to celebrate that Nicky did win his third world championchip in speedway. [20081020]

2006 Bottle (04/01/08 release) #142/235 provided by my cousin, I finally got a chance to share this with some beer loving friends. This looks identical to the regular speedway so I’ll spare the details. The smell was dope, like regular speedway but better, my friend siad it was like candy. The flavors were also very close to the regular speedway, dark coffee bitterness. There was a little bit of a booze but it was quite subtle. This was a very solid stout but honestly I can’t say it is an improvement over the regular speedway.Damn you Alesmith! The four people who drank this agreed that it was not something you would want a whole bottle of. My verdict is that this is good but don’t trade your cellar away for one. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 06-13-2008 04:16:14

2003 bottle 44/196 from Joey, shared with MaxxDaddy. The cap popped with almost no sound, and the pour was similar, with almost no carbonation. It works with this beer, however. Deep aroma, lots of vanilla, bourbon, oak, coffee, cocoa, cauliflower. Rich and thick, wonderful mouthfeel, like a chocolate shake going down. There is tons of cocoa powder in the flavor, with a sweet, oaky and corn syrup finish. Delicious. My favorite of the BA Alesmiths by far, this is one hell of a beer.

Bottle 231/235, 2006 BA speedway. Last bottle i had of the night, opened at midnight to ward off the traditional champagne toast. What i really liked about this one is the massive cloying coffee in the regular speedway is consumed by a light bourbon malty vanilla flavor. Much better then its predecessor, my favorite of the BA alesmiths.

No better way to celebrate review #500 than to break out the barrel-aged version of one of my favorite beers ever. Huge thanks to hoppymeal for the opportunity! 2007 bottle #316 of 447. Pours black but not completely opaque as hints of mahogany show through the edges. The head is one-finger tall, very bubbly and remains a swirl of small bubbles and a ring for the duration, leaving traces of lacing. The aroma is exceptional. The bourbon is present up front but is supported by dark roasted malts, bakers chocolate and a whiff of coffee (not nearly as dominant as in the regular version). The barrel presence is evident with a bit of vanilla. All of these things seem to come together into one cohesive aroma. The taste has the sweetness of the chocolate and some dark fruits up front before the dark malts and roasted coffee step up in the middle. The finish is big on vanilla and bourbon and leaves an alcohol warming as it goes down. The mouthfeel is very smooth and medium bodied for the style with less carbonation than I remember in the regular version. This is a fantastic beer though I dont think it quite measures up to the regular version to me. Either way, its not to be missed. Thanks again to Derek for his (continued) generosity!

Bottle. 2007 Vintage #46/447. Blackish beer with a nice tan head. Bourbon, rich malt, vanilla, and light coffee aroma. Bourbon, malt, vanilla, light fruity flavor with of course, coffee. Medium-plus bodied. Bourbon lingers with vanilla, rich malt, and light coffee. Lighter bodied than expected. Bourbon components are strong, but they complement more than in the BAON I’d had.