AleSmith Barrel Aged Wee Heavy

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

courtesy of zuluflyboy. Bottle#151/222. Pours dark cola, with no head leaving some nice golden lacing. Aroma had some light oxidation that I think played to the beers advantage. Lots of barrel / wood and booze emanate from the aroma. Taste is loaded with barrel goodness. I am not sure how they do it, but Ale Smith has balanced the hell out of all of their barrel versions and wow these are some fine brews. Malty with notes of chocolate and wood, some dark fruits, plenty of brown sugar some light oxidation and a medium palate. Again, taste a lot stronger than indicated abv.

2006 bottle. The silver ink wore off a bit, I think it’s bottle 49. Pours a fairly deep chestnut color, with a medium-sized khaki head. Aroma exhibits bourbon up front, with wood, vanilla, and chocolate, with peat and alcohol in the background. There’s a lot going on in the flavor, with chocolate, molasses, prune, toffee, vanilla, wood, and alcohol. silky smooth on the palate. Bourbon, chocolate, and peat hang out for a long finish. It’s good, but I like the non-BA version a bit better.

(750 ml bottle (handwritten "2006 Barrel-Aged 216/254") via trade with explosivebeer, thanks Brandon!) Massive...Pours dark tawny chestnut brown with only a slight tan head that recedes to just a very thin ring around the edge. Appears a little flat. Aroma is deep and complex with lots of wood, bourbon and brown sugar on top of rum, molasses, booze, toffee, caramel, peat and overall slightly burnt earthiness. Mouthfeel is very lightly fizzy but actually a bit flat. This feels thinner than I believe the regular Wee Heavy was. Fairly sticky. Flavor is initially lots of big strong port and wood. Then there are notes of rum, molasses, bourbon, tar, peat, toffee and caramel. Some chocolate even develops in the finish as it gets deeper in the bottle. Lots of alcohol presence without feeling "hot". I think the best flavor was at the bottom of the bottle (i.e., less alcohol? and perhaps thicker and maltier). A nice bitter bite closes it out as it warms/ gets deeper in bottle. This is a big, interesting, complex beer but I think I’d still go the Duck-Rabbit for my personal choice of a Wee Heavy.

Reddish brown pour thin beige head, nice underlying hues. The aroma is very boozy, lots of bourbon, vanilla, toffee, dark fruits, roasted malts. Initially very hot and boozy, this is followed by a great amount of pleasant sweetness from all the dark malts, and vanilla notes from the bourbon. Long oaky dryness in the finish as well as lots of warming alcohol. Very good stuff here.

2005 bottle 96/222 graced upon the az guys by sparky27...

murky copper brown pour with no head or carbonation. big time booze aroma is reminiscent of brandy...fruit, wood, deteriorated grain, vanilla, spice and brown sugar. lots of vanilla flavor... almost like it was added to the barrel. sweetness hurts at times but it is worth while... other flavors of malt powder, bourbon, spice, brown sugar and wood with a hot drying finish. full bodied. very rich thick texture and super smooth mouth feel from the lack of carbonation.

i’d be hard pressed to drink another now... but if i could re-cork it and put it back on the shelf i would have a liqueur/apertif that i would sip on every night! thanks E! 8/4/8/5/18/4.3

thanks to fordest for this one. 2006 bottle #59/254, deep brown pour with a thin rocky cream colored head. great nose of vanilla, fruit, bourbon and peaty malts. great smokey bourbon flavor and an incredibly smooth finish.

Bottle 2005. Tastes of raison bread, oak and bourbon. Quite boozy. The only low point was the lack of carbonation, almost zero.

Bottle big thanks to Fordest. The smell is alcohol, wood, fruits, oak, malts, raisans, plums, toffee. A lot going on. The look is cloudy, not too much head. red to brown in color. The taste is alcohol, bourbon, wood, raisans, fruits, sweet. Nice feel and finish.