AleSmith Speedway Stout - Barrel Aged
750ml bottle. 2006. #40/233. Dark chocolate truffle, just a bit of coffee, not a lot of barrel on the nose. Plenty of dark, roasty, chewy and thick malt. Dark, dried fruit skin (raisin and prune). Barrel and malt are fairly in balance. Some pepper. Pours the requisite oily black with a think, dark khaki head. Nice... but standard pour for a BA Impy. Flavor is initially loaded with the dark chocolate that I found to be quite nice on the nose. Vanilla, dark fruits, coffee... Plenty of barrel presence. Some toasted nuttiness. Better than your average BA Impy... but the alcohol is rather distracting on the tongue throughout. Silky on the tongue with a shorter, boozy finish. I like the intense chocolate flavors initially on the tongue, but the barrel, coffee and alcohol tend to distract later. Nevertheless... an admirable effort. Thanks Jonathan!