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Speedway Stout - Hammerhead
AleSmith Brewing Company
- From:
- AleSmith Brewing Company
- California, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 12%
- Score:
- 97
- Avg:
- 4.38 | pDev: 5.71%
- Reviews:
- 67
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Nov 06, 2021
- Added:
- Nov 09, 2013
- Wants:
- 32
- Gots:
- 60
Some would argue that Speedway Stout, easily one of the finest coffee-infused imperial stouts in the world, needs no embellishment, that this burly yet beguilingly smooth and easy-drinking beer is perfect on its own. We’re not ones to disagree, but a thirst for experimentation leads us to tinker with our recipes—even those of the highest order. In the case of Hammerhead Speedway Stout, we endeavored to maximize java intensity as baristas do with the classic coffee-house offering, the “hammerhead,” in which a shot of espresso is added to a cup of coffee. For this beer, we take our already coffee-rich Speedway Stout and add a plentiful dose of crushed Ethiopian and espresso beans. The result is a sultry, velveteen beer with eye-opening bite.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by Gatch from Massachusetts
4.54/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
4.54/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Can’t discern the date on the bottle beyond 02/24/ but I’m guessing 2016. Not an ink that ages as well as the beer. As deep, rich, and roasty as I remember the base SS was and kicked up a few notches with the addition of some serious coffee (more like espresso here). Pretty sweet overall, the aromas and flavors are heavy dark fruit with some earthy wood in the finish. Truly mellowed out at this point, it must have been a coffee bomb when first bottled.
Nov 06, 2021Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)
4.62/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.62/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some good amount of lacing. Aroma of super nice floral coffee notes with some black chocolate and roasted malt notes is quite enticing. Taste is also dominated by one of the best floral coffee notes that I have tasted with some great notes of roasted malt and black cholate notes with no discernible bitterness. Body is full with great carbonation. This brewery keep exceeding my expectations.
Dec 23, 2019Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois
4/5 rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Unknown vintage; drank 5/5/16 on draft @ Fischman's.
Brown/black appearance.
Tan head; nice lace.
Milk chocolate, light roast coffee bean & cream notes in the nose.
Medium thick, creamy mouthfeel.
Light roast coffee bean & milk chocolate flavors up front; faint hop bite on the finish. No booze heat.
Very smooth & tasty; not transcendent but I'd never turn it down.
Oct 07, 2019Brown/black appearance.
Tan head; nice lace.
Milk chocolate, light roast coffee bean & cream notes in the nose.
Medium thick, creamy mouthfeel.
Light roast coffee bean & milk chocolate flavors up front; faint hop bite on the finish. No booze heat.
Very smooth & tasty; not transcendent but I'd never turn it down.
Reviewed by zeff80 from Missouri
4.35/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.35/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
On tap at Republic. Poured an opaque, jet-black hue with a small, light brown head of foam. It smelled of rich mocha, chocolate, roasty coffee and toffee. Strong coffee flavor with chocolate, molasses and toffee.
Jan 04, 2019Reviewed by TheSixthRing from California
4.24/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
4.24/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
From tasting notes 10/16/18
Had on-tap at Final Gravity in Roseville, CA
Appearance - Served up in a 11.5oz snifter, black with a broken layer of suds, thickening up at the edge and reaching up onto the glass to create a wall of lacing with small spots where it breaks up.
Smell - The aroma is simple but strong; coffee, dark chocolate and a hint of booze.
Taste - Follows the nose. Deep coffee character that's complimented by sultry dark chocolate bittersweetness. Aftertaste rings with light coffee ground earthiness and the dark chocolate.
Mouthfeel - Full-bodied with low-to-fair carbonation. Silky, creamy texture that goes down smooth as hell before a slightly dry finish.
Overall - Kind of a two-note beer, but those two notes run deep, and damn is it smooth and creamy. I don't know if I like it more than OG Speedway, but its certainly different.
Nov 23, 2018Had on-tap at Final Gravity in Roseville, CA
Appearance - Served up in a 11.5oz snifter, black with a broken layer of suds, thickening up at the edge and reaching up onto the glass to create a wall of lacing with small spots where it breaks up.
Smell - The aroma is simple but strong; coffee, dark chocolate and a hint of booze.
Taste - Follows the nose. Deep coffee character that's complimented by sultry dark chocolate bittersweetness. Aftertaste rings with light coffee ground earthiness and the dark chocolate.
Mouthfeel - Full-bodied with low-to-fair carbonation. Silky, creamy texture that goes down smooth as hell before a slightly dry finish.
Overall - Kind of a two-note beer, but those two notes run deep, and damn is it smooth and creamy. I don't know if I like it more than OG Speedway, but its certainly different.
Rated by WOLFGANG from South Carolina
4.59/5 rDev +4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.59/5 rDev +4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Duckworths Southpark 062516 Draught
So much coffee. Delicious and velvety smooth.
Sep 09, 2018So much coffee. Delicious and velvety smooth.
Reviewed by rudzud from Massachusetts
4.61/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.61/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Received in a trade and shared with JLindros.
A - Poured into a Kate the Great tulip a nice dark black hue with a fat mocha head that fades to leave nice lacing and super thick blanket and legs.
S - Big aromas of fudgy chocolate and super intense coffee notes. Nutty, earthy coffee, very nice roast. Not really acrid or bitter. Super aromatic.
T - Taste is similar to the nose with big bright fudgy notes. Huge dark chocolate and bakers chocolate. Almost coconut like. The coffee is excellent, nutty, earthy, rich. Light caramel, little bit of vanilla on the finish.
M - Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, creamy, silky, alcohol hidden shockingly well.
O - Overall this was a very solid coffee stout. Just excellent beer with stupendous coffee notes.
Serving Type: bottle
Jul 20, 2018A - Poured into a Kate the Great tulip a nice dark black hue with a fat mocha head that fades to leave nice lacing and super thick blanket and legs.
S - Big aromas of fudgy chocolate and super intense coffee notes. Nutty, earthy coffee, very nice roast. Not really acrid or bitter. Super aromatic.
T - Taste is similar to the nose with big bright fudgy notes. Huge dark chocolate and bakers chocolate. Almost coconut like. The coffee is excellent, nutty, earthy, rich. Light caramel, little bit of vanilla on the finish.
M - Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, creamy, silky, alcohol hidden shockingly well.
O - Overall this was a very solid coffee stout. Just excellent beer with stupendous coffee notes.
Serving Type: bottle
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts
4.61/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.61/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Thanks to rudzud, 2018
Pours a giant pillowy off-white thick frothy head that never seems to fade, great retention and lacing too, pitch black beer, no light getting through that, super dense legs too
Nose is great from a couple feet back, nose is loads and loads of fudge and coffee, freshly roasted coffee and espresso, earthy nutty coffee, some caramel and nougat sweetness mixed with loads of dark chocolate and fudge, flash of vanilla, earthy baker's chocolate, roasted coffee and roasted malts but not burnt acrid roast, a nice balance, sweet smelling
Taste starts a bit sweet, with loads more fudge, some coffee although not as much as the nose had, freshly roasted coffee beans and some brewed coffee out front, good roast flavor without burnt or acrid again, thick dark chocolate, earthy baker's chocolate and heavy heavy fudge, raw cocoa bean fruity and earthy notes, smooth rich creamy malt base, very little alcohol with a touch of tingle later, some espresso later with earthy nutty coffee notes, a flash of raw vanilla again as well, mild bitterness mostly from roasted coffee and some roast, raw chestnuts on the back of the tongue
Mouth is med to fuller bod, thick rich velvety creamy with decent carb and only a touch of tingly booze, maybe not quite as heavy as something like original Chocolate Rain, maybe the only thing preventing a 5
Overall this was incredible, only a few points away from being phenomenal
Jul 20, 2018Pours a giant pillowy off-white thick frothy head that never seems to fade, great retention and lacing too, pitch black beer, no light getting through that, super dense legs too
Nose is great from a couple feet back, nose is loads and loads of fudge and coffee, freshly roasted coffee and espresso, earthy nutty coffee, some caramel and nougat sweetness mixed with loads of dark chocolate and fudge, flash of vanilla, earthy baker's chocolate, roasted coffee and roasted malts but not burnt acrid roast, a nice balance, sweet smelling
Taste starts a bit sweet, with loads more fudge, some coffee although not as much as the nose had, freshly roasted coffee beans and some brewed coffee out front, good roast flavor without burnt or acrid again, thick dark chocolate, earthy baker's chocolate and heavy heavy fudge, raw cocoa bean fruity and earthy notes, smooth rich creamy malt base, very little alcohol with a touch of tingle later, some espresso later with earthy nutty coffee notes, a flash of raw vanilla again as well, mild bitterness mostly from roasted coffee and some roast, raw chestnuts on the back of the tongue
Mouth is med to fuller bod, thick rich velvety creamy with decent carb and only a touch of tingly booze, maybe not quite as heavy as something like original Chocolate Rain, maybe the only thing preventing a 5
Overall this was incredible, only a few points away from being phenomenal
Speedway Stout - Hammerhead from AleSmith Brewing Company
Beer rating:
97 out of
100 with
418 ratings
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