Alesmith Speedway Stout

Beer: Alesmith Speedway Stout
Brewery Location: San Diego, CA
Beer Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 12%



I've had this beer aging quietly for several months and my buddy from work stopped by last night and we enjoyed this offering. I've only ever had a sample of this beer, and this was my first time really getting into it and enjoying it. Alesmith is one of my very favorite brewers and they produce a line up of beer that quite impressive, and I have to say that Winter Yulesmith is probably my favorite beer from them, and probably one of my overall favorite beers. It is hard to rank your favorite beers isn't it? You can get Alesmith in Illinois and in Ohio, but haven't seen them in Indiana as of yet. I would probably drink enough beer from them to justify coming into Indiana. So, if anyone from Alesmith is reading this....hint hint....

Speedway stout pours a deep and dark black with just a touch of murky brown accents around the edges. It is capped off by a small mocha colored head that didn't have much staying power. I could smell all of that delicious stout coming out of the bottle into my glass. I get strong scents of dark roasted malt, espresso, coffee, molasses, and dark cherries. I'm amazed that I don't get much alcohol in the nose at 12% ABV. The flavor profile is a nice melding of coffee, caramel, cocoa, espresso, and roasted grain. I am surprised at how non-dominant the coffee flavor is in this beer. I thought it was going to the main focus point in this beer. The mouthfeel is fairly thick and chewy with moderate carbonation. I still don't really detect any alcohol on this behemoth of a beer. I think the drinkability would hold up nicely for another glass, but I wouldn't push it to much with the ABV.

This is another delicious beer from Alesmith, and one of the best imperial stouts I've had the pleasure of drinking. They make this in a barrel aged version as well, and I would love to get my hands on a bottle of that, but I would be just as happy with another bottle of this well above average stout.

Cheers!
Matt