AleSmith Speedway Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

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Big roast and coffee on the nose and mouth, this beer poured a very opaque color w/ deep brown head and good lacing. The mouthfeel was creamy and well-rounded w/ full body.

UPDATED: FEB 12, 2005 Black as night, pruney as Gramma’s , well it’s more pruney than coffee thats for sure. All that roastiness and coffee can’t seem to hide the overpowering alcohol. Sorry, I really wanted to like this beer but it’s WAY overated IMO. gave me one hell of a buzz though........

UPDATED: FEB 11, 2005 The aroma is definitely fresh roasted coffee. Color is black as tar, head is dark brown but not as big as I’d expect. Heavy coffee notes in the flavor, but a good amount of sweetness as well. Probably the best Imperial Stout I’ve ever had, this one is truly outstanding.

UPDATED: JUN 22, 2009 750 ml bottle - re rate - Pours a totally opaque black color with smallish light tan head. Aroma is chocolatey, with lightly roasted coffee, vanilla, rum, butterscotch, hint of cherry and grains of paradise. Flavor is malty, fair amount of bitter and dry roasted malts, notable roasted coffee notes, touch of oak and vanilla, hint of cherry towards the finish. Fairly dry finish, with a pretty firm bitterness. Very good, but not truly stellar in my opinion.

UPDATED: APR 26, 2005 Initial rating: 1/29/2005. GABF 2004. Upon reflection, I wish that I would have spent more time at the Alesmith table. This is a great stout, silky chocolate roast that seems like a Dove bar has melted in your mouth and transmogrified into glorious beer. Full bodied. The finish lingers nicely, with a touch of roasty driness. Fresh hops undergird the chocolate, and some faint dusty plum flavors seep in occasionally too. Looks exactly like an imperial stout should look, so no lost marks there. Beautiful. 4.3. Re-Rate: 750 bottle into tulip glass. 4/26/05. This is still a great beer, but this bottled version is much more claustrophobic, the roast and coffee dominating and the mouthfeel staying sticky and chewy, almost too full. There are also notes of dry tar in the finish that are less than enjoyable. Not as great as I remembered it from GABF, so I’ve knocked it down a couple of tenths.

it is the best. it’s like chocolate fudge and dark chocolate covered expresso beans. if you haven’t had it yet, you really need to.

UPDATED: JAN 26, 2005 Rating #200!

Poured jet black with a medium fizzy brown head that dissipated quickly. Aroma is delicious sweet chocolate and coffee. Taste is mostly sweet, dominated by coffee with a hint of chocolate, with a roasted coffee bitterness. The finish is bitter but not overwhelmingly so. There’s an alcohol burn but the alcohol itself is nearly undetectable in the flavor, making this almost a little too drinkable. Rather impressive considering it’s 12%. Not fruity at all. Overall this is primarily a coffee stout, just turned up a notch. The palate is nice and thick... not Kalamazoo thick, but thick enough. Although I’m not much of an Imperial Stout person (though I have yet to try the Dark Lord in my cellar), I find this beer to be very agreeable. I could have this every day, but it’s too expensive for that, so I’ll settle for once in a while.

UPDATE: Wanna try something that’s really bad for you? Try adding a scoop of coffee ice cream for a Speedway Float!

This is about as near as perfect a beer as I can imagine. As far as comparing it to other Imperial Stouts its tops on my list. Tons of dark burtness that is offset perfectly by the coffee beans. It wasn’t overly fruity like the dark lord and has just amazing flavors. I could sip on this beer every night. I can’t even imagine how well its going to age. This truly is liquid gold in the bottle. It deserves every accolade it gets. My new number 1 favorite.

UPDATED: NOV 6, 2009 Thick dark black color, small but distict head, rich chocolate, malt and coffee aroma, The taste is big and full, chocolate and coffee smooth a texture as I’ve ever experienced,smooth as silk, alcohol is slightly evident in aftertaste. that velvet smoothness combined with that wonderful full taste becomes more impressive with each sip, a nearly flawless brew. This survived a rough trip to Wisconsin,I can only imagine how good its tastes fresh from the San Diego brewery.

Well, I have been sitting on this guy long enough, I figured it was time to give it a shot. Heck, AFC-NFC championship weekend only comes around once a year. I popped the bottle and poured her in my tulip glass. This beer pours jet black with a fluffy tan head. Sweet chocolate, coffee aroma filled my kitchen as i poured this bad boy. Sat down on my couch and sipped her slowly. Flavor is big chocolate and coffee, with a long lasting bitter hop taste. Hop kick reminds me of some Storm King. But this beauty is more thick and syrupy than Storm King. So, i finish my first glass, the rest is on the kitchen counter. My dumbass cat decides to sit on me when i have an empty glass. I hate to push her off me when she plunks down on me like that, but damn, i had some Speedway Stout on the kitchen counter. So she got the boot fairly quickly. Anyway, this beer gives Storm King a run for being the best Impy stout out there, IMO. Its more thick, so it may be better, but Storm King is more affordable. eh--- they are both fantastic.