AleSmith Speedway Stout

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

Bottle. Aroma of alcohol, bitter chocolate, standard coffee. Flavor was coffee, the chocolate, and lots of very nice vinous qualities. Mouthfeel was a bit off for me, odd tingly carbonation, unusually clean for an impy, not at all rich and creamy, even when I tried to swirl out the carbonation that was throwing me off. All that vinousness reveals this beer to me as unquestionably worthy, but I can’t say I was nearly as impressed as a 4.35 would suggest. Rerate, bottle. Very different mouthfeel this time, low carbonation, but instead overly muddy; this may be the first time I’ve really gotten a "motor oil" feel from an impy. Still has some nice coffee and chocolate notes, but not as clean as many in the style.

Bottle thanks to iowaherkeye (thanks Joey!). Pours black with a thick dark tan head. Aroma is quite awesome--coffee, chalky bitter chocolate, nice roasted malt. Flavor is a little boozy, some sweet roasted malt, coffee but not too much (compared to other coffee impys), biting carbonation. Very thick, yet smooth. Quite enjoyable, although not the best of its style, in my opinion. 9/4/8/4/16 (4.1/5)

Update 4/17/09: Got to try another bottle of this and did not enjoy it. I have no reason to believe that it is a bad bottle, so I’m not sure why my opinion of this beer has changed so drastically, but I am going to recount it anyway! Aroma is decent--roasted malt and light coffee bean notes. Flavor is super sweet, medicinally sweet, with no real complexity. No coffee in the flavor. Hard to drink too. Not sure what went wrong here, but this was not good. 8/4/6/3/14 (3.5/5)

loads of dark chocolate on a dark black pour with a tan head. great body. Alcohol evident but not overpowering and minimalized if you sip instead of drink.

Pours deep black with the thickness of used motor oil topped with a very dense, medium brown head. You can smell this stuff across the room - sweet and bitter chocolate and coffee. Thick, viscous mouthfeel. Sweet roast flavor at first, with chocolate and rich fruit Finish is drier with a strong coffee note at the end and a touch of alcoholic burn. Awesome brew, though I’m not sure if I’m drinking a beer or a beer flavored milkshake.

Brought this one back from the States. Very dark black brew, pours like oil. Nice bitter aroma chocolate and coffee. Flavor is lovely, very smooth well balanced bitterness. Chocolate, coffee, dark malts. I live it.

Had a 750ml bottle of this in the fridge for a month or two and have been waiting patiently to try it. Pours an oily jet black having a dark brown frothy head that stays for a while. Awesome complex strong aroma of coffee, chocolate, caramel, hops, and roasted malts. Now for the taste. Texture is pretty smooth. Now this obviously is one of those beers you sip to truly appreciate the taste so if you take a big gulp you taste alcohol but when sipped.....Many of the aromas come into the flavor so what you have is this taste sensation of chocolate, coffee, burnt malts, hops, touch of vanilla, caramel, and roasted malts. Should be drank at the temp it was designed for like around 50 deg or the flavors don’t come out as well. Truly a complex and close to perfect well rounded Imperial stout. This might be my favorite Imperial stout. For the money I paid for this it was well worth it. I may just buy a couple more and age them for a year just to see how much smoother the taste will get. Nice appropriate bitter finish that leaves a burnt flavor on the taste buds. Truly a beer everyone should try, then again, almost all beers from alesmith one should try.

22oz bottle. Shared at Coffee District. Pours a inky black with a small tan head. Rich and luxurious head. Nose is incredible. Espresso and dark chocolate, a slight note of soy and roast. Flavor is tons of coffee and bitter chocolate up front. A bit of vanilla in the finish and a roasty hoppiness with a sweet sticky smooth finish. Well balanced, this tastes big but it doesn’t have any alcohol burn its just huge on the palate. A hell of a well crafted impy stout. Very very impressive.

Black as night, pours like ink. Huge coffee, chocolate and roasted malt flavor. Sticky and heavy on the palate. Complex and extremely drinkable. Great stout.