AleSmith English Wee Heavy - AleSmith Brewing Company

kojevergas

California

3.43/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served on-draught into a plastic taster cup at Alesmith's remodeled taproom in March 2012. Reviewed from notes. Cost was $1.00. Expectations were high given the brewery.

A: Pours a half finger head of nice cream, good thickness, and abysmal retention. Colour is an opaque nontransparent solid black. No yeast particles are visible.

Sm: Rich chocolate, wonderful cream, toffee, alcohol, and attenuated yeast. Toffee and caramel are dominant. A moderate strength aroma.

T: Lovely dark caramelized malts form the foundation. Cream and caramel. English toffee is present. Balanced, but it doesn't fulfill the promise of the aroma. Pretty well built, but it's a bit too malty.

Mf: Smooth and wet, with some nice cream. A touch too thin. Could use more cream.

Dr: Drinkable, but far from Alesmith's best offering. I'd have it again, for the style it's far from ideal. Hides its ABV impressively well. Will satisfy fans of the style.

B-

Serving type: on-tap

03-30-2012 04:14:39 | More by kojevergas

HopHead84

California

4.6/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12/8/2011

On tap at Alesmith. Apposed next to regular Wee Heavy.

A: Very dark brown, bordering on black with a large beige head.

S: Aromatic plum and date. Malt is incredibly rich, with pronounced graham cracker and caramel notes. Earth blends with brown sugar and a touch of smoke. The caramelization smells awesome. This is one of the best aromas I've beheld on a Strong Scotch Ale.

T: Bold caramel profile with notes of brown sugar, prune, and plum. The malt is rich and complex, deigning to bestow graham cracker and bread notes upon the beverage. Nuttiness melds with earth, and alcohol is very well hidden.

M: Upper medium body with lower medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is sticky and silky with substantial warming on the palate.

Overall: Excellent all around. One of the best examples of the style that I've had.

Serving type: on-tap

12-09-2011 05:01:22 | More by HopHead84

pmarlowe

California

4.47/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at AleSmith for 2011 San Diego Beer Week. Listed as "English Wee Heavy - Wee Heavy Fermented with English Yeast".

Pours a deep copper brown with a ring of light khaki foam. No lacing and decent retention. Smell is caramel malt with lots of fruit (cherry and strawberry) and some sherry. Taste is lots of sweet caramel and again a good amount of red fruit and raisin, but finishes quite dry. Medium carbonation and medium-full body. Overall, the fruit-forwardness with the caramel works extremely well, adding a degree of complexity missing from some Wee Heavys. This is a big beer, a sipper, that remains quite drinkable. Reminds me more of an old ale than a Wee.

Serving type: on-tap

11-07-2011 00:44:44 | More by pmarlowe