AleSmith Wee Heavy - AleSmith Brewing Company

Rastacouere

Quebec (Canada)

4.75/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Almost opaque deep brown. Honest light brown head becomes a ring. Big malty aroma, no compromise. You can feel it in your bones that this is a scotch ale, caramel and toffee in abundance. Almost smoky at times. Close to flowery hops. Terrific blending and mutual flavor completion. Just a light alcohol hint in mid-mouth. In mouth, simply put, the beer tastes good. It has everything you wish your scotch ale to have while never being too sweet thanks to a generous (but restrained) hop profile, somehow grassy. Hints of candy, cream, coffee, chocolate. Fantastic creamy mouthfeel, rocking smoothness, this is an easy 5 for texture with so soft carbonation... Awesome, even with just a few months of age. Cheers rodolito!

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2004 20:58:07 | More by Rastacouere

Crosling

Colorado

4.05/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Mahogany.

Mellow aroma but still enjoyable. Hints of smoke, wood, peat, alcohol, molasses, burnt caramel and heavily toasted malts.

The malts provide the beer with a subtle smokiness in the backround and notes of wood, prunes, raisins, toffee, grape, chocolate and caramel. Obviously this beer is more malt accentuated but the hop bitterness is this on the finish.

I like it but it's nothing compared to the others.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2004 19:27:43 | More by Crosling

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.05/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Nice clear auburn appearance. Thin light brown head with decent retention. Lacing is spotty. Nice aroma of bourbon barrel, vanilla, oak, peat and thick malt. There's a nice oak/woodiness going on in this one. The alcohol is definitely noticeable. The malts are meaty and just a tad smoky. A littled roasted chocolate malt is noticed. Hops seem to add just a titch of bitterness (and when combined with the alcohol sting leaves a nice lingering dry aftertaste). Body is about medium and the carbonation seems about right. This is definitely a good Wee Heavy, but not Top Tier one IMVHO.

Gotta send out props to the Man, I mean the Dude, I mean the Bum. Thanks guy.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2004 02:20:32 | More by Bighuge

jonnylieberman

California

4.05/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750 ml bottle into my snifter a dark brown with some deep-copper present if held up to light. The head looked like capacino foam. Decent lacing. It looked like a stout pumped through nitro.

Very vinous smell -- wine like aroma. The alcohol, all 9.5% of it, is present. Raisins are present along with a smokey tang.

Sweet! This is a very sweet tasting beer. All malt, all the way.Smokey on the back of the tongue with a dry finish. The dry, roasted finish nicely compliments the sweet initial taste. Never cloying. Alcohol warmth is present as well. Mild bubblegum flavors are also present.

Mouthfeel is medium thin. Quite light, really.

A very drinkable Scotch ale that avoided ever tasting anything like syrup. Finishing all 25 ounces was not a problem.

Notes: Not the best I've had from AleSmith, but I do plan on aquiring another bottle and letting it age. Also, Might be really great with food.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2004 05:44:34 | More by jonnylieberman

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Deep ruby chestnut mahogany tone with a caramel cream head leaves ample sporadic lacing behind, another beer from Alesmith, oh joy! Aroma: Awesome air of peated malts strong alcohol presence but doesn't overwhelm. Excellent malt backbone compromises medium to dark toasted malts to form deep vanilla and oak aging notes along with a strong deep over ripened fruit note, nice. Taste: Smokey malts not too hardcore, great cohesive taste excellent blend well hidden alcohol with fruity smoked edges, mild hop profile and oak barrel aging this beer would go well with a nice cigar. Mouthfeel: Medium to fuller bodey nice even carbonation excitably smooth on the palate. Drinkability: Oh yeah, one of the best Wee Heavys around nice west coast style but kept it some what traditional, I am a fan thanks for the sample beergeek279 and cupbeerman.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2004 20:26:35 | More by WVbeergeek

beergeek279

Pennsylvania

4.7/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served as a sample from the 750 mL bottle. The color was a dark amber/brown, with a ring of white head. The smell was a slightly smoky, slightly sweet malt. The taste started with a peaty smokiness, and then a very strong vanilla sweetness came into the taste, and finished with just a hint of the alcohol. Mouthfeel was chewy. As for drinkability, I could have quite a few of these.

Well, I'm shocked...a West Coast beer without hoppiness!! Seriously, though, this is amongst the best Wee Heavys that I've had, and hopefully I'll be able to have this one again.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2004 16:23:49 | More by beergeek279

TheLongBeachBum

California

3.35/5  rDev -20%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A trip to, and a tour of, the Alesmith Brewery, was the second stop on EyeChartBrews recent Bachelor Party ‘Tour de Force’ of San Diego.

I had chance to pick up a mixed case of Alesmith brews whilst here, which included 4 x 750ml bottles of the Wee Heavy. I had committed the cardinal sin of asking for J.P. Gray’s Wee Heavy when ordering my Case. Apparently, “old JP” was Skip Virgilio’s maternal grandfather. According to the AS Website, JPGWH was release in 98, 99, and 2000, but I also have had a bottle dated from 2001 which does not appear on the Site. Interestingly enough, this beer is described as both 8.5% and 9.0% on the Website. Note to Alesmith – update your Website please!!! Anyways, I digress, as brewmaster Skip had himself ‘skipped’ (so to speak) Alesmith, the precursor has now been dropped. Hence, the new name for 2004, simply “Wee Heavy”. This will now be an all year round beer.

Whilst the distinctive Belgium green glass 750ml bottle remains, the bottle design has distinctly changed. Gone is the high quality gold leaf that is on the empty 2001 bottle that I still have adorning my kitchen worktop. The 'Pint on Anvil' logo is now white and purple. The printed bottle has the word “Alesmith” in a small white Arial like font, whilst “Wee Heavy” is in a much larger purple scripted font below. It is finished with the words “Scotch Style Ale” in white wording close to the base. Listed as 9.5% ABV, stronger than past years I note. The presentation is finished with some thick black foil over the simple brass colored crown cap. No cork.

Pours with a beautiful looking cherry wood body, lots of mahogany that sparkles with a ruby hue when backlit. But what happened to the head? Erm, not much carbonation at all. This is a big difference from the original JP version I note. I’m sat waiting for something to happen!?! On the second glass I get a quick “fizz” that releases a thin but solid light brown disc like head, but this almost immediately disappears to reveal a broken covering and a tan colored ring around the edge of the glass. Flat looking.

Molasses and caramel malts in the nose. One dimensional, but nice. As it warms it reveals lots of dark bonfire toffee. The initial taste is of malts, caramel, sweet dark toffee and dark fruits which are all exhibited in the mouth with a moist sponge like Parkin feel. The body is of a solid Ale, but the burning raw sugary sweet aftertaste and warming alcohol bite are a little too much for me. It is malty to start with and aggressive in the back end. It lacks complexity and the gorgeous smoke character that I remember from the 2001 J.P. version I had previously. It feels like all the ingredients are here, but they need time to synchronize and synergize in my opinion. Very raw at the moment.

I dearly love Alesmith beers, but I have to be honest here and say that this was somewhat of a disappointment overall, especially for $10. I hate to mention cost, but like it or not, in the real world, everything has a price. The Abbeye des Rocs Grand Cru that I can purchase locally for $6.99 for the same volume is now my Bench-Mark “premium” drink straight away or cellar beer. If you’re going to compete in the higher priced echelons of the beer market, you better get your shit right and know your competition. That said, this is not a bad beer, far from it, but it is rather more that I expected greater and better things from it. It’s good, but I think this one needs a lot more time to be great to be honest. If I splashed $10 and drank this fresh, then maybe I would be a tad let down. Give it another 24 months, or more, maybe only then will I be happy with my investment. But that's a long time for a return on a high priced beer. Thankfully, I have a few more bottles that are stashed away. But this will have to do much better to even have me consider splashing out another $10/bottle to even contemplate cellaring any more than the few I already have; the Grand Cru and Speedway Stout are much better for the same coin IMVHO.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2004 06:41:42 | More by TheLongBeachBum

jcalabre

California

3.63/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Originally sampled on 18 July 2002. This baby is a dark reddish brown w/ a tan head. Sweet w/ tastes of carmel & dried fruit greet you. Lots of malty taste on the tongue. But it was a touch too sweet for me. I'm sure many will really enjoy this one, but for me, it was very good, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2003 20:23:56 | More by jcalabre

beerguy101

California

4.2/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Medium reddish brown color. Head is small. Aroma is very malty and slightly smoky. Nice beer. Malts are peaty, smoky and very smooth. Very well balanced. Nice wee heavy. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. The 9% alcohol is not very noticeable. NICE scotch ale
.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2003 19:15:05 | More by beerguy101

mzwolinski

California

4.83/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2001 Vintage. Alesmith knows how to make a good first impression. The bottle is *substantial* looking, with an elegant design and foil wrapped top. The beer itself is attractive, too -- deep ruby in color with a mdoerately sized, light tan head. Great lace down the glass. Aroma is smoky, with lots of deep prune-like fruit on a malty sweet base. Quite lovely. The taste is hearty, with a light smokiness, dark fruit (prune, fig) flavors mid-palate, and a moderately bitter hop finish. Formidable in body, and nicely warming. Definitely a terrific beer for winter drinking!

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2003 18:56:31 | More by mzwolinski

Murph

Arizona

4.63/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a deep ruby/garnet/light brown with a thick tan head that sinks to a clingy film and laces the glass very well. Huge caramel maltiness all over the nose with nice toffee/butterscotch qualities and huge sweet malty aroma. Big, sweet caramel maltiness opens up on the tongue with hints of piney/citrusy hops that are barely noticeable. The hops add little flavor but balance the brew nicely. There is also a nice toffee smoothness with just the slightest smokey maltiness in the finish. The brow flows smoothly across the tongue with a full budied mouthfeel that is not sticky in its sweetness. A massively drinkable brew, especially considering the huge maltiness. If only these excellent brews from Alesmith were available on the East Coast.
A huge thanks to thelongbeachbum for this excellent beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2003 11:28:59 | More by Murph

marc77

California

4.53/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Clear deep garnet hue. Beige head slowly recedes into a tight layer. Sparse lace. Rich, buttery malt and nutty, toffeeish sweetness, along with a hint of roasted barley in aroma. Caramelized sugar atop a buttery malt undertone. Very chewy aromawise. Mellow, burnt caramel sweetness lingers on the palate briefly, then widens into a continuation of the aroma-- buttery, nutty and quite rich. Trace fruitiness. Mild hop bitterness offsets malt sweetness sufficiently to prevent cloying residual sweetness. Hint of heaty alcohol. Moderate bodied, smooth, and very quaffable. Finishes w/ a hint of treacle sweetness lingering briefly. Spot on for style and delicious. Rich, deep, yet simple malt character. One of the very best Scotch Ales I've tasted. Thanks for sharing, Murph. I would've hoarded the bottle!

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2002 08:02:10 | More by marc77

aracauna

Georgia

4.2/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Looks like a good brown porter with the black appearance but far from blocking all light. Nice malt character. Chocolate with some coffee and it seems that there's some peat in the flavor. The alcohol is prominant in the finish. Head sticks around for the long haul.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2002 20:05:55 | More by aracauna

Jason

Massachusetts

4.15/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 750 ml capped dark green champagne magnum, blurb about the beer on the back as well as how to cellar and serve. No freshness date though there is a vintage date of 2001 on the front.

Appearance: Charred chestnut colour with a well received clarity due to the sediment staying compact on the bottom of the bottle. Not a huge head but the lace really knows how to stick to the glass.

Smell: Mild flowing alcohol cradles some caramel and faint ripe fruity aromas. Spiciness from the alcohol warps around a ripe cherry and fig fruitiness.

Taste: Creamy and smooth with a slick back to it, faint undertones of roasted grain and a slight smokiness make themselves known first. Rich malty palate of caramel and mild ripe fruit runs across the taste buds. Alcohol is a well perceived presence but not in any over the top way, just with a mellow warmth and trace fusel alcoholic flavours. Bit of bready malt upfront is mostly lost in the end, the end seems more of a mix of the alcoholic strength and the ripeness it has transformed the byproducts into. Trace roasted grain and a ghost like smokiness appears in the finish.

Notes: This could be a perfect pairing with a cigar or as a night cap or even pair it up with a rich chocolaty & caramel dessert. Strong armed with alcohol and tiny complex flavours bursting throughout. This one has to get better with more age, the alcohol still seems a bit too brash but again not over the top.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2002 20:45:52 | More by Jason