AleSmith Speedway Stout

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

Pours black with creamy brown head. Aroma of coffee and chocolate. Huge coffee flavor with hints of chocolate and caramel. Finished smooth.

I can’t deny the greatness of this beer, it just didn’t quite live up to my understandably lofty expectations. A simple case of way too much hype. Pour was thinner than I expected, very dark brown with a tall dark brown head that settles down to a nice creamy layer after about a minute. Very rich aroma of roasted chocolate and coffee malts, raisins and a lot of booze. Despite the alcoholic aroma, I found the 12% very well hidden. It has a surprisingly tart flavor with an oily, salty finish. I tasted notes of chocolate, coffee, raisins, and lemon. Very smooth on the palate and a tad thinner than some of the other Imperial stouts. I personally like the thicker, richer chocolatey, dark fruity versions of this style. The sourness put me off slightly on this one. But it is undeniably very well made, complex and extremely tasty.

750ml in pint glass. (Snifters are for wussies.) Black with brown head and lace. Roasted coffee chocolate and licorice cinnamon wood earth aroma. Roasted dark chocolate coffee caramel bourbon with very understated fruitiness and bitter roasted coffee finish. Full body with a warming alcohol finish but very well disguised alcohol presence in nose and flavor. Rich and impressive, slightly intimidating yet unbelievably enticing. I can’t savor it slow enough. Deserves the hype.

Let me begin by saying it’s hard not to have overly high hopes for this beer given the rating and the fact I’ve bee sitting on it for over a year. A year later, the coffee is nearly absent. Still lots of roast and nuttiness, but I would have not thought of this as a coffee stout otherwise. Chocolate and hops as well. Smooth, and easy to drink for a 12% beer, but surprisingly light on the palate... not as creamy as something like Expedition--more slick. Very good beer, but didn’t live up to the hype. Would like to try a fresh bottle, assuming the coffee notes would be more present.

This beer is unbelievable. Great coffee aromas with chocolate and dates. Smoother than the Bells Expedition. Amazing beer.

Poured ultra dark brown with a short tan head that faded to a thin swirl of bubbles and allowed only spots of lacing to creep up the side of the glass. Aroma is nice chocolate and thin hints at burnt coffee with definite hops and some raisins or figs as well. Possibly some cherry. The flavor was well balanced between coffee, chocolate and hops. The hops were cedar and pine cutting through chocolate, coffee, raisin an cherry. Mouthfeel is above average, 12% is completely hidden. A well crafted example of the style with very few faults.

Bottle aged 2 years. Coffee seems to fall more to the background after aging letting the flavors blend together for a smoother chocolate roasted malt flavor. I have not tried the new version of this but I guess they tweaked it a little. The vintage stuff is still damn tasty.

Coffee and chocolate nose with a very subtle head out of the tap. Chocolate taste with strong coffee aftertaste. Does not taste like a 12% abv beer. Probably my favorite stout.