AleSmith Barrel Aged Wee Heavy

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

Serve in Thistle

Hazy chestnut colour with a small off-white head. Aroma of malt and caramel with hints of dried fruit and oak. Very sweet caramel and toffee flavour with a hint of brown sugar, and some hot alcohol. The sweetness is somewhat balanced by tannins in this version of the wee heavy

Bottle shared by hallinghansen. It pours hazy dark reddish brown with a medium off white head. Heavy caramelish and toffee like aroma with notes vanilla and oak. The flavour is sweet caramelish with a bourbon kick that has notes of vanilla and oak. Long sweet toasted finsish. Thanks Jacob!

Pours brown/black with tan head. Raisin and brown sugar nose, fusel and chocolate. Chocolate notes, caramel, sweet and super solid. Dry, simple and tasty

1300th rating. 2006 bottle from Daniel at November tasting. Pours a murky dark brown with paperthin beige head that diminishes quickly to nothing. The aroma is a sweet malt vanilla and oak. Thin mouthfeel with a sweet vanilla and nice lingering bitter finish. Wow did this beer hold up well, a very impressive scotch ale from Alesmith. 2009 bottle from Bill at November tasting. Pours a dark brown and ruby hue with a small off white head. The aroma is oak and bourbon. Medium mouthfeel with a sweet finish. Easy to drink, very impressive.

750 ml bottle from lushawn as a wedding gift- thanks, Shawn! Bottle #552/972. 2009 vintage. Those facts were apparently written in ballpoint pen. This is the last of the four bottles Shawn gave us for the wedding, sadly. But it’s a big one! Pours a deep, dark brown color, hazy and opaque in the center but clear amber on the edges, with almost no head, just a small brown ring. Aroma of bourbon, caramel, vanilla, and oak make their way through the complex Wee Heavy base of dark and dried fruits, toasted, dark, and sweet malts, and some of that Scotchy, peaty earthiness. The flavor actually shows more of the dark fruits than the nose, along with peat, caramel and toasted malts, chocolate, oak, and as it warms more bourbon, vanilla, and toffee. Medium-bodied, definitely thinner than the Wee Heavy, with low carbonation and a rich, fruity mouthfeel that becomes sweeter and stickier on the finish. Really awesome BA version of one of my favorite Wee Heavy beers. AleSmith knows how to do barrels, that’s for sure.

(750ml bottle from Dak. ’09 bottle #84/972). Pours dark brown-cola color. No head. Aroma is mostly bourbon vanilla caramel. Taste is sweet with more vanilla, and big coconut. Sticky mouthfeel with a touch of heat. Really tasty. Mostly barrel.

Bottle #844/972 from 2009. Aroma has notes of bourbon, caramel malts, oak, vanilla, dark dried fruits and a touch of smoke and peat. Very dark brown hue that sits almost black in the glass. Small off-white foamy (almost fizzy) head that almost fully diminished and left no lace. Flavor is very sweet. Palate is very full bodied and oily soft. Overall another bourbon bomb but not as offensive as most. The flavors blended well and the bourbon was smooth and well integrated. A good one and I can see why it’s highly rated.

Bottle, 1000th rating ;) Oily brown pour, no head. Aroma of bourbon, tons of molasses, really picking up a lot of oak notes, pretty straightforward barrel-aged malt bomb. Taste is sweet, nice bourbon, vanilla oak notes, light molasses. Palate is almost completely flat, not too heavy bodied or cloying though, okay sipper.