AleSmith Speedway Stout

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

750 Bottle. Pours jet black. Zero light get is getting through this one. Nice brown head after a vigorous pour. Smell is sublime. Dark chocolate, coffee, sugar and slight bitter hops. Taste is all of the above. Slight alcohol burn but at 12% it still is well hidden. Mouthfeel is fantastic. Velvety smooth and creamy. The bottle conditioning really made this one come alive. This is one of my top 5 beers. Just watch out, this one really sneaks up on you.

Courtesy of Ughsmash. Tulip glass. Pours a pitch dark brown with a slight tan head. Didn’t pour to fast, as directions indicated. Aroma is mostly coffee. Huge tastes of semi-sweet cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, roasted chocolate malt, little fruit appeal. Carbonation is about perfect. Finished with a clean roasted flavor on the tongue. Great brew.

Pours a deep black with a fluffy tan head. Aroma has notes of toffee and light oak. Flavor comes through with bitter coffee and some vanilla, slight oak as well. Med to full body but not overbearing. Very nice balance of sweet and dry on the finish. Excellent brew.

750ml Bottle Recieved this from Taynor a couple months back, thanks Dana! Speedway Stout is black as night when poured into my snifter letting no light pass through whatsoever. A short but dense one finger beige head formed on the pour, quickly falling to a skimming with a thick ring around the glass. Leaves respectable lacing after each tip of the glass. The aroma hits hard with big doses of roasty malt and anise. I didn’t expect so much anise in a coffee stout. There’s more creaminess than coffee in this particular bottle and a some dark berriness wafts through the more pronounced aromas. All this makes for an inviting stout but I was hoping to get a little more coffee. A mild boozy spiciness brings up the backend creating a bit more depth in the aroma. Now this is a tasty stout! Roasty malts are quickly followed by mild bittersweet coffee, anise, and a pleasant spicy alcohol that brings some of that peppery berriness. There’s still not a great deal of coffee involved but this is a top shelf stout without it. The finish is a perfect comcination of bitter coffee, dark berries, and roasty malts creating a bit more bitterness. I love my stouts with a bitter finish and this one brings it. The mouthfeel is on the heavier side of the spectrum. This is just my picky side but it could use a touch more creaminess. Leaves some residue, without being sticky, that helps the flavor linger. As big as this stout is the drinkability is up toward the top of the ladder. The lack of creaminess actually helps the the drinkability. This is, without a doubt, an excellent stout! I just don’t think it’s a World beater! I would like to get my paws on another bottle for more extensive testing but as it stands I feel there’s better examples out there. 3/8/08

Shared by eaglefan538. 750ml bottle, poured jet black. Smelled like chocolate and coffee. Taste was chocolate, roasted caramel/malt, after taste was coffee and some hidden hops. This stout was "velvety" smooth as the description says. Really easy to drink and the alcohol was hidden very well. Texture was a good thickness. Over all this beer is worth the hype! Thanks again brian for being so generous with a great beer.*********UPDATE********* Cracked open a bottle for a tasting last night...pretty much think the same as my original rating. In my opinion this is the best stout on the market. So smooth....

750ml Bottle Vintage 2005 Pours out a coffee black topped with a tan head. A great aroma of day old coffee. Tast of coffee, sweet chocolate and roast malt. Light bitterness very good. WOW I can’t wait to have the others in my fridge. I can’t believe it is 12%. You can’t tell.

Bottle at Belgian Room, Hop Devil, NYC. Pitch black, huge brown/beige head. Huge malty aroma, cream, licorice, chocolate, cocoa, creamy, raisins, some figs, some coffee. Malty cocoa flavor, roasted, huge chocolate feeling, nutty, raisins, vanilla, cream. The flavors keep coming. Huge body, great lacing and a very nice balanced finish.

Thanks to Immy for this one, 750ml bottle. Pours pitch black in color with brown head. Aroma of strong coffee, hops and chocolate. Taste of dark chocolate and strong coffee with bitter finish.