AleSmith Speedway Stout (Vanilla and Coconut)

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

Serve in Snifter

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Hand bottle courtesy of GT2, thanks! Black color, scant brown head. Aroma of intense coconut, chocolate, vanilla, like a fancy Mounds bar. Taste is smooth dark milk chicolste and coconut. Tasty.

UPDATED: AUG 11, 2012 Sample (thanks to a friend at the release, I missed the samples they were pouring earlier in the day). Pours with a pitch black and viscous body with a small tan head. Some mild lace, okay retention. Aromas of coconut (as stated) that reminds me a bit of medium toast french oak, coffee, vanilla (not too sweet), dark roast, chocolate, richness and alcohol. A bit of a lactose note. Rich flavors: coconut and vanilla cocooned by the rich chocolate and coffee notes (and alcohol). Minimal bitterness, but the beer is not cloying. Smooth, lightly warming (mellow, but you can feel it in your stomach), velvety texture. Amazing, wish I could have gotten a full sample (or two, or three...).
Fuller sample at the Full Pint Anniversary event. Murky near black hue, very slight brown head. Aromas are straight almond joy, huge chocolate fudge and vanilla. Otherwise pretty clean. Flavors are of vanilla, mild bitterness, coconut, cocoa, banana and lots of chocolate. Booze is under control. Silky mouthfeel. Really excellent. At a 4.3 I am still probably under-rating it.

A huge thanks to someone who saved me a precious taste of this amazing brew. The coconut was the most noticeable flavor and aroma with the vanilla being subtle and delicious. What a treat and I am very glad I could support Peter and the Alesmith crew in person.

As with all Speedway: the beer is black and has a tan head. Wow, what a nose. Lots of raw coconut and vanilla which play very nicely with the intense roast, coffee, and dark chocolate aromas of Speedway. The flavor is almost like chewing on fresh shredded coconut. Tons of vanilla to it as well. A nice sweetness of chocolate and toffee, plenty of roasted malt and coffee, too. Just a fantastic beer.

Tap at O’Briens for Night of Million Zillion Speedways. The best of the 16 on tap by a mile, and one of my favorite RIS experiences since BCS Rare. Rating #4700 on this site! The pour is inky with a small, menacing head when I was fortunate enough to get a 10oz pour later in the evening :0 Nose is nearly perfect- fresh coconut meat, cocoa butter, pistachio, Nutella, bourbon. It exudes a better, more integrated nose than the actual Pistachio and Nutella Speedways, and creates a faux bourbon barrel character like Pappy Van Winkle by simply HAVING toasted and fresh coconut and vanilla mimicking the much more expensive and time consuming hints of wood vanillin and coconut from high end American bourbon. The higher 12% alcohol sweetness blends perfectly to make this essentially the "Poor Man’s BCS Rare". Taste is perfect- insane amounts of chewy coconut, bourbon, pistachio, Nutella. By far the best Speedway I’ve ever had and better than the actual BA version. Better than BCS Rare. Drank a total of 25oz of this stuff FTW.

UPDATED: NOV 14, 2011 Sample at the BA Speedway release. Pitch black with a tan head, pretty standard. Milk chocolate, toasted coconut, real vanilla bean, dark chocolate, balanced by a very nice slight roasty coffee. It’s tastes like those nice dark chocolate coconut balls while enjoying a good cup of espresso. Excellent dessert beer, wish I could have had more.
Earlier Rating: 11/8/2010 Total Score: 4.6
Tap at O’Briens. Pitch black pour, tan head. Milk chocolate, nuts, delicious coffee blend, mmmm roasted coconut, light hint of vanilla. The flavors work so well together, smooth and completely covering up the alcohol. Amazing beer, one of my favorites.

1st rating of this brew, and first tick in a long time for me. Tried this today at Obrien’s amidst a sea of people and an unseasonably hot November evening. This seems to be everyone’s favorite from this new speedway styled flight. I really liked this and I’m not a coconut fanatic like some people. Pours black with a lighter whiter head than I’m used to with speedway. Nose is big on the coconut, very very appealing. The taste is fantastic, its like speedway with coconut, the fact that coconut is toasted is also quite evident. YUM.

Big chocolate and coconut nose, just a little bit green. Taste is sweet and moderately bitter, lots of chocolate and roast, plenty of buttery coconut. Tasty.

Sample at the BA Speedway and Decadence release. This was an amazing offering. Pours a deep coffee brown, fairly viscous with a creamy beige head, nice lacing. Tons of coconut in the nose as well as vanilla, coffee and burnt malts. Not quite as much coconut on the palate which was a good thing, might have made the brew a bit to cloying.

On tap @ Alesmith release - I actually got the last sample poured. This was very good, but I was expecting more coconut and vanilla. It had the same great Speedway appearance and finish. I think I liked it the best of the three special tap releases that day. Good stuff!