AleSmith Speedway Stout (Chipotle and Morita Pepper)

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
San Diego, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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sampled during the 2011 RBWG weekend Special thanks to Dak and Joe for putting this together, going into the weekend I thought the Kopi Speedway would be the clear frontrunner. Boy was I wrong. Chiles and stouts go so well with each other and this is the best example of one I have ever had. Pours thick black with a tall dark brown head. Huge sticky toffee aroma with tons of pepper presence, but in the nose smell more like bell peppers to me. Flavor is light smoke, bitter cocoa, chiles, a little bit of heat from the peppers and a dry earthy finish. One of the best beers this year for me, and one I’ll remember for a while.

Draft at RBWG. My favorite version of Speedway to date! Pours black, thin tan head, spotty lacing. Nose is hot peppers, sweet cocoa, lovely coffee notes here too, quite sweet-smelling, and amazingly open. My only complaint about the Kopi Speedway was how closed it seemed, this beer is wide open! Flavours of spice, smoke, strong chipotle notes, big coffee, big chocolate. I love regular Speedway, I really liked Kopi Luwak Speedway, I could drink this stuff until the day I die. Almost perfect!

On tap at Alesmith. Black pour with an expresso head. Aroma is spice, light chile heat, chocolate, and coffee. Noticeable spice on the aroma compared to the regular speedway. Taste is light smoke, legitimate chile heat/spice, roast, coffee, chocolate, and a whole lot of fucking awesome. The chile spice and heat lingers for minutes after each sip. Smooth and even feel in the mouth. Mind blowing imperial stout with chile heat and among the very few takes on this style iteration I’ve had this is by a long shot the best.

UPDATED: JAN 31, 2012 On tap at the brewery: Dark as coal with a frothy mocha head, Strong coffee aroma with a hint of smoke. HUGE coffee dark chocolate flavor with a little pepper heat and a long dark chocolate/coffee bitter finish followed by lingering pepper heat in the throat. Full body is rich with soft carbonation. Nicely done..

Draft RBWG ’11 (notes). Pours black with a medium sized, foamy, tan head that lasted. The aroma has espresso, big roasted malts, caramel and some chocolate with a mild amount of smoky chipotle pepper. The flavor has quite a bit of similarities to the base Speedway with the addition of the smoky chipotle peppers. There is a decent amount of pepper heat that grows with each taste. Finish is peppery spice and some roasted mocha goodness. Full bodied and creamy smooth. I enjoyed this as much, if not more than the Kopi version. Thanks to all that set this up.

Hell yeah! Black pour, brown head. Loads of coffee and chocolate in the nose with good chili presence. Flavor of chili peppers is in the beer, but no spice. Seamless blend of all the ingredients here. Wow and wow. Thanks Alesmith, Peter and Joe. Bravo.

AZRBWG courtesy of Daknole and Smokepot23. Draught pour is black with a beige head. Aroma shows notes of dark chocolate, coffee, light smoke, and a touch of the chilis. Flavor shows the same with additional dark fruit and green pepper notes. Overall body is full, viscous and finishes with a nice little kick of heat. What’s really interesting about it is how well the peppers played. Not only did they lend a nice vegetal sweetness in the front, but finished up with a well balanced heat. Bravo!

1000th rating. Growler pour courtesy Daknole. Thanks Dak for sharing this awesome treat at Hunahpu day. This one pours a nearly pitch black color with some mahogany at the edges and topped by a small head of dark mocha colored foam that settles quickly and leaves micro spots of lace around the glass. The aroma is fantastic and shows typical of regular Speedway with the dark chocolate and fudge comprising the base along with the roasted coffee and the toasted caramel. The difference comes from the earthy, softly smoked chile peppers and the spicy heat that they bring. The chile pepper heat goes perfectly with the dark chocolate and coffee roast. The flavors follow suit with the rich, dark chocolate up front followed by the coffee roast and toasted caramel with the dry, smoky chipotle pepper spice and heat on the finish. The flavor didn’t disappoint at all and show a perfect balance between all the components. The palate is nearly full bodied and sufficiently dry thanks to the peppers with balanced carbonation that leads to a smooth chocolate finish and nice pepper heat. This is an awesome beer and right up there with Hunahpu in terms of pepper infused stouts. Great stuff and just really happy I was able to try this. Definitely worthy as a milestone beer.

UPDATED: MAR 15, 2011 The pour is typical of Speedway, which is to say extremely dark mahogany in color, nearly black in fact, with a small, smooth head of dark mocha foam. Small spots of lace dot the glass, despite the fact that this was handbottled weeks ago. It definitely looks the part. The aroma is simply outstanding. The requisite Speedway chocolate-coffee fudge brownie malts comprise the malt base, deftly showing a very nice balance between soft roast and sweeter caramelized notes. Then there is the twist....beautifully warm, earthy, softly smoked chile peppers. They lend a peppery punch that I feel goes beautifully with the chocolaty stouts (very much like Hunahpu’s). Flavors show more of the same, luscious and chocolaty up front, layered with roasty, earthy coffee and toasted caramel, then finishing with dry, smoky chipotle and a definite capsaicin punch. Awesome stuff. Somehow it manages to comes across as balanced and dangerously drinkable, not overly sweet. The palate is nearly full and robust, but again, well balanced and sufficiently dry, benefiting from the punch of the dehydrated chiles. Great beer. Right up there with Hunahpu’s in terms of dessert-like chile-infused imperial stouts.

Brown/black pour with tan head and lace. Aroma of light chili, chocolate, and coffee. Peaty, chocolate and coffee. Medium bodied with good carbonation.