AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

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

Tasting with Casey, Traci, Craig, Stella and Loz 27-09-08 this bottle brought along by Craig, cheers Craig Pours black moving to gravy brown at the edges a mere scattering of brown bubbles in a sea of dark chocolate. Big bourbon thrust, too much at first but give this some air and it improves dramatically and the initial heavy handed strangulation tactic seemingly employed by the bourbon cask use starts to wane and this becomes a better stout altogether, though still not as good as the regular in my opinion. Good thrusty creaminess, vanilla, and lashings of chocolate infused with the fast retreating bourbon, its damn good!

Bottle courtesy of Sparky27...Eric is a great guy and is unbelievably generous to offer up this!!! This brew can’t get any darker...like a black hole, light can’t escape it. A beautiful milk chocolate head sits stubbornly atop this one and leaves solid lacing on the inside of the glass. The barrel definitely left its mark, most impressively, in the nose. Oak, vanilla, and subtle bourbon are delightfully infused into the rich Godiva and roasted Starbucks aroma normally present. Unfortunately, the alcohol isn’t as well hidden and, in fact, fights violently with the other flavors in this beer. With other brews, specifically Angel’s Share, the barrel-aging added to the complexity and enjoyment. This wasn’t the case here. Hot, woodsy, and good...but I’ll still take the one I can get daily!!! THANKS ERIC, for giving me a chance to try this!!!

Aroma was near perfection of the combination of rich high quality bourbon and the wonderful roastedness of a first class stout,taste did not quite measure up to that fantastic aroma, that wonderful bourbon was a little to dominating, and the malt roastedness came on as a little to one dimensional,didn’t the the various coffee and chcoclate flavors that I’ve had in other brews I’ve rated in the upper 4’s,still a brew I would go out of the way for

Bottle shared with GregClow, Hogtown Harry, Jerc, Blankboy, and Garthicus, courtesy of Garthicus, 2006 vintage (thank you!). Smells strong and Barelly - just like so many other Barrel aged Impy’s. Black, small vanilla like head, looks nice. Taste - lots more barrel, alcohol, roast. It is good but man, it is like many other of this style and that is disappointing, given that Speedway on its own is at the top of its class. A good beer but fails to stand up to its non-barrel high standards.

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.

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.

Bottle at a beer tasting; 03 vintage, same number as golubj’s; have another of these, but doubt I’ll rerate it. Last beer of a truly great day. Color was dark brown with not much carbonation; looked "dead." Aroma of wood, bourbon, cocoa, alcohol, vanilla and caramel. Flavor was a bit hot; surprisingly. Wood, bourbon, cocoa, and roasted malt/coffee. Flavor really emerged with some warmth. Good stuff.

03 - Bottle shared by miketd, Cleveland tasting. Pours inky black with almost no head. Aroma is bourbon, chocolate, coffee, char. Flavor is mainly bourbon, chocolate, roast, vanilla, some dried fruits. Palate is silky smooth, full bodied, almost no carbonation, finished hot. Lacks any carbonation, too boozey, good but not great. 4.1 04 - Bottle shared by moejuck, Cleveland tasting. Pours inky black with a small brown head. Aroma is bourbon, chocolate, coffee, char. Flavor is more chocolate, roast, vanilla, some dried fruits, bourbon, oak. Palate is silky smooth, full bodied, mild carbonation, finished a little sweeter than the 03. This one was my favorite. Silky smooth texture, right amount of bourbon, age has brought out more sweetness and taken the edge off! 4.5 06 - shared by fiver29, Cleveland tasting. Pours inky black with a small brown head. Aroma is bourbon, chocolate, coffee, char. Flavor is more chocolate, roast, vanilla, some dried fruits, bourbon, oak, light metallic notes. Palate is smooth, full bodied, mild carbonation, finished more bitter than anything else. Good stuff, a little young, and harsh for my likings. 4.3 Taking the average of the 3, I come up with 4.3. Huge thanks to miketd, moejuck, fiver29 for putting together the vertical, amazing, most people would give a testical to try one of these!