AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

An aged bottle to go along with the fresh bottle I had eons ago.Another in a long line of barrel aged beers where the original bersion is the better version and should be left that way. It looked as good as the original speedway with a shimmering solid black appearance and a creamy dark brown head. Again, not a fan of oak and bourbon and both are here but they don't detract as much as they could have. Not something I would return to anytime soon.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Maybe I'm not that sane but I actually like the non barrel aged version better. With all the good barrel aged beers out there this one just doesn't stack up at nearly 40 bucks a bottle, not worth that price, and I don't care who's buying!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Same guy who shared the Bruery White Chocolate, shared this puppy. Jason Anderson. Dude... Near black pour, heavy enough, tight ass head and lacing. Coffee, chocoalte, Bourbon (not overpowering at all), light oak, toffee, just amazing. Actually never thought I'd get to try this. Boom.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Another fantastic beer thats reputation is 100% spot on. Occasionally, somebody will bring this beer around and I'll get to try it. Love, love, love. Mild bitterness, plenty of earth, dark chocolate. Serious coffee notes. Delish.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

I didn't like this any better than the regular version. The bitterness just overwhelms any flavour I've been able to find in other stouts. I've come to enjoy stouts, just not this one.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

man...anything i criticize in this brew is nitpicking, but i am comparing it to the best of the best of the best. i can make a case that it is my favorite barreled stout, which is my favorite substyle as well, but i can make that case for BA Blackout, Abyss (certain years), Firestone 13...as well. bourbon slightly more prevelant than i though it would be, especially side by side with a 2009 "regular" speedway. that said, every sip gets better, and it's great from the start...bourbon, chocolate, cofee, roastyness, and an ever so slight touch of hops. ridiculously smooth, like glass, though maybe thinner feeling than the base, though not to a fault. i definitely overpayed for this, but don't regret it. definitely in the upper teir of barreled beers, impy stouts, and really all beers.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

750ml bottle - Herring Creek beer tasting

It's been awhile since I had a beer this stunning. I've had the opportunity to have the regular Speedway and it's always a pleasure to consume, but this is a showcase of what barrel aging can do to an already fantastic beer.

The beer pours out a basically perfect pour. At least a perfect pour to me. Completely black, dense light brown head, long lasting. An aroma just bursting at the seams with depth and complexity. Notes of bourbob, wood, anise, toffee, brown sugar, roastd malts, Tootsie Rolls, malt balls, milk chocolate, molasses...incredible.

The flavor profile echoes the aroma, but the intensity of the flavor is unmatched. Alcohol is much more present in the flavor (as expected) than the aroma, but even then it mixes well with the other flavors. Everything is so damned well balaced it's amazing. Mouthfeel is oily, creamy, dense. The beer just coats and clings to the glass and mouth like no other beer I've had before.

Simply put, this beer has everything that I want and look for in an imperial stout. It's created amazingly well, and the time it spent in the bourbon barrel worked incredibly well. I cannot recommend this beer, if you can find it, enough.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

Vintage 2009 as stated on the bottle, form the most recent release. Shared by a good friend (a very good friend now) we both sat back and sipped on this mighty fine beverage for quite a while. The high quality coffee typically associated with Speedway was ever present and lovely as usual. Heavy doses of chocolate, roasted nuts, oat bran, and toast all stood out. The barrel aging definitely softened this brew and created a fluffy airy quality I can only compare to Batch 2 of the BA BORIS. The bourbon influence itself was perfectly balanced with the hefty stout. Clearly there, but never overpowering. Exceptionally drinkable with a long lasting impression that still makes me smile. With the large amount of barrel aging happening these days, it's easy to get lost in the fold. However, this offering is the best I've had to date. Flawless under my impression and well deserved of a perfect score.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Vintage 2006, bottle 70/235; Sampled June 2008
A fairly vigorous pour produces a one-finger thick, darkly browned, tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is simply black as it sits in my glass and no amount of putting up to the light makes it anything but opaque. The aroma has a tartness to it that is strongly influenced by Bourbon-like notes and likely coffee. Roast coffee notes actually play a big role and mix with some fruity, burnt prune notes and lots of deeply toasted malt notes. There is also a nice aroma of richly toasted coconut that still has a touch of sweetness of coconut meat. It also seems to get just a touch musty at times, which mixes in with a lightly spicy oak character and a touch of estery alcohol aromas.

Thick and rich feeling as it firsts hits my tongue, creamy dark malt notes hint at lots of residual sugars, but don't really contribute much sweetness to this beer. A very light carbonation also contributes to the creamy feeling of this brew. Towards the finish the beer thins out considerably while picking up acrid roast notes and sharp, burnt acid quality and a huge bitterness that seems just as much from burnt malt and roast coffee influenced as from the hops. The dual roast influences of coffee and malt actually contribute a tartness that is noticeable throughout the flavor profile, not just the finish, but it is tempered a bit up front by the unctuous body.

As the beer warms up a bit it begins to lose a touch of the acrid character, but seems to pick up a bit more alcoholic heat. This last seems to accent a note reminiscent of burnt prunes. While rich and malty this is surprisingly dry tasting; the thick residual sugars seems to be so well balanced by the roast and barrel flavors that they are not really noticeable. At most there is a noticeable chocolate / cocoa note here, but even this is pretty devoid of sweetness. There is also a touch of almost salty, sort of peat like smokiness that is likely a combination of roast malt and barrel influences. By my second pour the salty, peat-smoke like qualities of this brew are accented even a bit more. This last, in combination with the rich, dark malt flavors really save this beer for me; though it still has an overwhelming bitter and acrid finish at times.

I do like that the barrel influence does not absolutely overwhelm this beer. I am not sure if this is still too young or what, but the roasted grain notes really get overly acrid and bitter in the finish. The barrel influence also contributes to an overall impression of this being unbalanced. This is not nearly as unbalanced or undrinkable as the BA Old Numbskull though, and is even enjoyable in its own right. I think that the complexity of the aged, base beer and the lightish influence of the barrel make this at the very least worth procuring for me.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Sad to say, I do not feel that the barrel aging process helped this beer a whole lot. In fact, I think it weakened it somewhat (althought based on other reviews the brewer may have given me a bad bottle - no wonder it was free!). Similar qualities to the original version but the barrell aging process seems to add some unnecessary alcohol flavour that ruins it for me.