AleSmith Speedway Stout

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

Sampled at GABF 2009 - Pours pitch black with a thin mocha head. Notes of dark spicy chocolate, spice, molasses, leather, and salty meats. Heavy bodied, moderate carbonation. Very thick, complex, and delicious.

One of the best beers I’ve ever had. I love the stout, but this one gives lots of chocolate and roast coffee notes, with a very smooth finish and likable aftertaste!

750 ml bottle. Pours blacker than a thousand midnights. Like a black hole devouring all light that attempts to pass through. A thin, small but creamy head forms slowly. At the onset the aroma is so obviously coffee, but then it begins to divide itself into many different coffees. Dark roast, espresso, even mild. Hints of chocolate? Can the taste ever live up to its bouquet? As I slowly tip the glass I’m at first leery, and fearful of disappointment. But then I’m taken away and actually get chills across my shoulders and back. All the complexity and wonderful diversity of the aroma is maintained … no … surpassed as I get near giddy at the sheer joy of the experience. All the while, that wonderful coffee presence at its core. Soft carbonation, a bit sticky, it leaves me smacking and licking my lips wanting to make sure that I don’t miss a single opportunity for pleasure. I bought this about a month ago, and it states right on the bottle that it’s best if aged 6 to 24 months. Bottled on 8/4/2009 would have meant I’d have to wait until around March of 2010! Alas … I wasn’t strong enough. Then again, if waiting meant it could be even better, I’m not sure I could have survived the experience.

Aroma: Alot of roasted coffee. Appearance: Pitch black with a small tan head. Flavor: Roasted coffee. Palate: Medium to full bodied with a sweet lingering finish. Overall: A killer coffee stout.

(bottle - 750 ml) Got this in a trade from jb. Pitch black pour with a creamy tan head. Aroma is full of roasted coffee and roasted malt notes. Flavor is much the same. Tons of roasted flavors explode throughout the beer. A smooth and heavily roasted middle gives way to a roasty and coffee-like finish. Outstanding.

Pours black with a thin tan head. Heavy coffee smell. Has a huge coffee taste. It’s basically black coffee with carbonation and ABV.

Bottle courtesy of GorditoABD. Thanks Chris! Pours a deep oily black with a thin damn near nonexistent tan head. Nose is of roasted malt, chocolate, light vanilla and some light smoke and tobacco. The first taste didnt impress me as I thought it would but the second did, as did every sip from there foreward. Taste reflects the mentioned aromas, heavy on the chocolate. Damn good beer..wish I had a few more to drink....especially right now.

Sampled courtesy of a BA at the Flossmoor Oktoberfest (Flossmoor, IL). Poura a thick cloying opaque black with a decent brownish head that laces fairly well. Aromas are caramel and toffee sweetness, roasted malts at large, dark chocolate chip cookies, vanilla, and a touch of soy. This has a lot going for it. Initial is thick, sweet with chocolate, coffee, roasted and caramel malts, thick on the palate with cookies, roast, not much ashy char. Decent bitterness on the finish, but not enough to cover the thick and cloying nature. A big beer, a good beer, would like to try fresh. A bit overrated, overall. A solid Imperial Stout.