AleSmith Speedway Stout

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

One heck of a beer, that’s for sure. Hype = warranted. Beer poured dark, but not quite black, with red highlights and nice fluffy brown head. The aroma of this was roasty, almost burnt. The flavor was rich, but not overly so, but really complex. The roastiness with a touch of coffee (not as much as I expected) hits first, a sweet amalgamation of fruit and chocolate highlights the middle, an a hoppy burn (yes, burn), which wasn’t unpleasant finishes the beer. The mouthfeel on this one was amazingly thick, perfect carbonation and balance. One of my favorite beers that I greedily consume whenever I can get my hands on one.

served cold from bottle. pours an oily, jet black with a small tan-colored head. the aroma is super-sweet with hints of malts and chocolates, maybe a tiny sense of alcohol in the nose. the flavor is like a mocha, roasted dark chocolate and malted hops. the back of the throat gets a wonderful aftertaste. swishing around definitely heightens flavors. such a wonderful stout. i’m happy to be able to find it both bottled and on tap in my area.

Poured from the bottle into a snifter. Exemplary 2.5 finger head of a cocoa brown laying comfortably atop an absolute black body. Perfect stout appearance. I pick up in the nose a medley of chocolate and coffee, cocoa, syrup, molasses. Perfect stout smell. The taste floors me. I can’t even conceive of a beer with more perfect balance. The coffee and chocolate meld seamlessly to create a beautiful harmony. Alcohol is hidden very well, a little bit of roasty bitterness on the finish but not off-putting like the overbitterness of other beers of the same style. Perfect stout taste. Carbonation is excellent, not too high or low, but exactly appropriate. Body is thick but not syrupy. Perfect stout mouthfeel. Throughout the drinking of this epic beer I can’t help but lament that I only have one. I don’t think I could stop drinking these until I passed out. Perfect stout drinkability. If you’re noticing a trend here, it’s that this beer is PERFECT.

Rating #150! (thx 2 thebeercellar!) 2006 bottle, typing while drinking - Basic IS color, black with reddish brown tints. Small head, looks oily around the ring. Sweet, mild milky choclolate /roasted aroma. Also a slight roasty yeast/alc smell. Sweet mocha latte coffee flavor. Roasted, bitter, choc malted hops come thru also. Yeasty, roasted coffee taste stays on the back of my thoat. Letting a sip just sink in around your tounge really brings out the roasty almost woody flavors. A full tulip glass after, it has warmed my body nicely, an excellent stout, i wish i was easier to find for me! (Finished the bottle about a 1 1/2 days later, aged qualities really stood out more. Roasty tastes, coffee, and a touch of soy, probably would not age more than year and a half. One year would be ideal. )

excellent stout. Shared one with lemunche who had it shipped in from California. Huge well balanced stout

Pours with a nice sized light brown head. d with the smell of malt, chocolate, cofee, and a little fruit. Has a thick oily mouthfeele and it goes down with a smooth bitter yet sweet taste that is very well balanced and hides the ABV rather well. I can’t get enough of this one, this is one of my 3 favorite Imperial Stouts and well worth trying. Another alesmith winner.

Bottle. HUGE Imperial stout like most in the top 50. At first sip, I didn’t believe it deserved its high placement. Aroma doesn’t knock you over like bourbon county. Expedition stout has a stronger coffee aftertaste. World wide stout has more of the malty barley taste and hits harder. However, midway through the bottle, I realized that this beer does deserve its spot as it shares the good qualities of many HUGE stouts without being overpowering in any. Very balanced. If someone asked me to recommend a BIG stout, I’d say this one as no flavor is strong enough to be offensive to a fan of STRONG stouts. As far as the HUGE motor-oil stouts go, I find this the most drinkable even if you are drinking it under the table eventually.

[1044-20080112] 750mL (c/o HogTownHarry, w/ him, garthicus, jerc, mds, Radek Kliber; Vintage 2005?). Bit of boozy coffee roast malt aroma. Black brown body with a medium-lasting foamy tan head. Raisin coffee roasted malt continues in the flavour. Full body is thick. Great style, solid brew.