AleSmith Barrel Aged Wee Heavy

Bottle #242 of 254 of the 2006 vintage. Aroma reminds me of dark rum and apple cider. Light smoke and a very smooth caramel apple with pecans flavor.

2006 Bottle shared by Daknole for his #2000. Pours a murky brown with scant head. Smells slightly oxidized, big and desserty with tiramisu, vanilla, very much like an Italian dessert. Smooth low carbonation. Creamy vanilla and bourbon flavors but not a lot of wood. Sweet and creamy with a touch of spice at the end. Very smooth.

Rating #2000!! I love the Alesmith BA beers. And this one is no exception. Pours a cloudy brownish color wtih a small beige head. Aroma hits with a mx of bourbon, wood and some fruit up front then you get to some of the caramel, vanilla and brown sugar notes. Flavor starts out sweet with a good hit of bourbon(not over the top) and then works its way into the fruits, raisins, vanilla, and a slight tartness. This is a very complex beer. Both the aroma and flavor fill your senses. Yes Alesmith does it again!

Big thanks to Derek for this 750mL bottle, 2005 vintage #181/222. Pours a deep, clear copper with a very fleeting, bubbly tan head that dissipated immediately and left no lacing. The aroma is very good with more bourbon than I was expecting. However, even with the big bourbon presence, there are plenty of signs of the underlying beer with caramel, toffee and lots of dark fruits. The taste has a huge bourbon sting up front and in the finish. In between there is the sweetness of caramel, toffee, raisins and some brown sugar. The bourbon starts to meld much more smoothly with the flavor as this warms and adds plenty of oak and vanilla from the wood as well. The mouthfeel is very slick with minimal carbonation. The barrel presence is very evident, both with the boozy burn and the dryness of the finish. This is a very boozy Scotch ale that will be tasty for those folks who really like a bourbon-heavy taste. Another world class brew from Alesmith.

2004 Bottle #5 of 234!
Super deep brown coloured body with a nice short tan head. Aroma of alcohol, super strong malt, raisins, yeast, sugars and some more amazing smells. Full-bodied; Such a great sweet taste that fades into the palate. Malty and vanilla aftertaste with plenty of alcoholic and malty feel. Pit fruit is quite blatant as is the vanilla flavour. Overall, a great beer that is tremendous to sample - especially since it’s the last bottle here! I sampled this 75 cL bottle with haddon90 on 23-September-2006 at O’Brien’s in San Diego, California.

750ml bottle. Shared at a BA tasting thanks to Tim. I have to confess I’ve never had the non Barrel Aged. The huge aroma was filled with bourbon, oak, roasted malt and a light smokiness. Deep brown with a smallish tan head. The flavor was sweet malt goodness with hints of all of the above aromas. Medium bodied with mild carbonation and a dryness from the woody and alcohol flavors. I feel very fortunate to have tried this and was very impressed.

2006 bottle 26 of 254 according to the writing on the back of the gold foil wrapped bottle. First off, WOW! Poured a deep dark brown with a smaller sized deep beige bubbly head. Aroma is simply phenomenal. Notes of bourbon, vanilla, wood, peat, very light alcohol, slight smokiness, burnt toffee, some dark fruit and the slightest hint of some butter. The aroma is just so complex and all the aromas are blending together wonderfully. The body is smooth but rather thin and the carbonation is starting to fade just a bit despite the decent looking head and forces me to bump this one down a point. Flavors of peat, wood, vanilla, slight bourbon, and a sweetness of what I imagine artificial brown sugar would taste like. Overall an excellent beer to be sipping on as I toast in the birth of my first daughter, after all both of our last names are from our Scottish ancestory!!

Bottle 156 (I think) out of 200some. Bottle says 2006. This is one crazy beast. Absolutely, 100% no head, despite my efforts. Pours a dark red/brown. Has the clarity of pond water. On the surface the aroma is that of a nice woody single malt scotch, without brutal alcoholic assault on my senses. She is still a little rough around the edges, but nevertheless, I’m enchanted. As it warms, other aromas come out more-maple candy, hint of butterscotch, and caramel/toffee sweetness akin to it’s non-barrel aged brethren. Palate is silky silky smooth, maybe a touch of slickness from some diacetyl. Carbonation level is just about right. The flavor goes through so many stages it’s hard to quantify or qualify. Starts out woody, melds into savory chocolate with a little bit of dark fruit (plum,currant, maybe anise), maple candy, and caramel/toffee sweetness. Finishes remarkably dry with a surprising amount of bitterness and maybe even some earthy hop business and very slight metallic twang. But soon, this finish dissolves as the malt reconquers my tongue coming with tons of savory chocolate and of course caramel/toffee sweetness. Finally the wood comes back in to smooth things out wonderfully. The hop bitterness and metallic twang do hang around for this, but only in a back seat role. There’s a bit of warming alcohol, but really the perfect amount. Let it also be noted that upon first sniff I thought the barrel aging was going to be over powering and the beer would not be so good. I was wrong.