AleSmith Barrel Aged Wee Heavy

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

Bottle at home ... Deep brwon red ... sweet vanilla bourbon nose ... big bourbon front ... toffee malts ... very rich ... very heavy ... way too much bourbon... heavy going... little chocolate.. 3.3

tk2 later that evening... big rich and toffee ... this definitly has a great mouth feel ... and quite a rich falvour... bourbon is still a bit much ... im maybe enoying it a bit more... but in a lot of ways a sesion all is just easier and more satisfying ... all in all its a bit of a conundrum 3.5

2006 vintage, bottle #136 of 254. Pours a clear, dark, crimson-mahogany hue. A frothy, foamy, khaki colored head leaves behind some dense sheeting that breaks apart into scattered micro-spots. The aroma is rich with nougat, brown sugar, and caramelized dark fruit, with just a touch of peat smoke, all wrapped in a shroud of soft bourbon and vanilla laden oak. The flavor is very similar, deeply malty and brimming with dark fruit, with a soft bourbon overtone that isn’t overbearing. The oak influence is quite apparent, and there’s a hint of lightly tart bugginess that just seems to work well here. The body is a good deal thinner than the regular Wee Heavy, though the carbonation is soft and balanced. Another great brew from Alesmith.

Special thanks to Beerlando for bottle 136. Aroma is strong bourbon. Flavors of bourbon, malts and a slight tartness. Nice.

Noogfest High 5. Sample from a bottle thanks to BeerHawk. Dark brown-red, thin off white head. The aroma is caramel, whiskey, oak. Taste is dominant whiskey, oak over sweet malts, vanilla hints.

Huge Huge Huge thanks to fishingnet for this one. 06 Version Bottle 163/254 A: Pours a murky amber hue with a small offwhite head. Very little retention and no real lace. S: Wonderful barrelific aromas. Tons of fresh oak, vanilla, and wafty booze. Subtle smoky aromas hide beneath with brown sugar coated dark fruits. T: Alesmith knows how to barrel age beers. As we all know the base beer for this one is world class to start with. The great part is the base beer is still there. Wonderful sweet malt, caramel, brown sugar, and toffee can all be picked out. The barrel does push it to another level though. The way the oak, vanilla, and booze seem to meld into the base beer is perfect. M: Full in body, rich, smooth, wonderful. D: I could sip this one all night long.

Got to try a bottle of this courtesy of "hannont". His bottle had " ’06 72/254" written with silver pen on the back of the bottle. Colour... medium brown with no head. Nose... tangy with lots o’ caramel. Palate... WOW! Burnt toffee, caramel, sweet malt, treacle, bourbon-boozy and a very long warming finish.

Bottle courtesy of Fishingnet. #163/254. Poured a murky brown red. Nose is smoke, wood, booze, sweet fruits, bourbon and some vanillin. Flavor is a complex mix of sweet malts, oak, warming bourbon, alcohol sweetness and woody vanilla drying tastes. I didn’t want it to end. Amazing beer.

’06 Bottle, big thanks to fishingnet for sharing! Poured a deep reddish brown color, slightly hazy, almost no head. Aroma is quite boozy with wood, vanilla, and raisin. Full velvety mouthfeel with slight alcohol burn. Flavor is massive bourbon, oak, dark fruits, vanilla. Finishes quite vinous with lots of warming alcohol. Very nice!