Speedway Stout - Double Fudge Edition
AleSmith Brewing Company

(review from March 2023) See previous reviews of various versions of Speedway Stout, this can from January 2021 & all flavors mellowed down significantly. Nice cocoa/choco/roasty/javaish/malty notes with a hint of vanilla in the finish.

Todays review (2/5/26) See initial review. Another stowaway in the back of the bottom shelf of the kitchen fridge, this one canned on December 2021. It's held up pretty well but all flavors mellowed down to nothingness.

Pours a pitch black color with a small brown head. Retention is mild as is lacing. Aroma consists of coffee and Cocoa beans. There is a hint of vanilla that resembles root beer. I get a lot of fudge in the taste with mild coffee and mild vanilla. There is a slight creme soda taste. Heavy bodied with mild to moderate carbonation.

 

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: American Double / Imperial Stout
Glass: Rip Current 9th anniversary 13-oz. tulip glass
Price: $6.59
From: Bine & Vine Bottle Shop in Normal Heights (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: Feb. 10, 2022
Consumed: March 5, 2022
Misc.: Canned on Dec. 21, 2021

I forget why I went to Bine & Vine at this time but I think it may have been for a barrel-aged stout for Nick. Probably could’ve saved a little money by getting it at Windmill Farms but oh well. AleSmith’s website called it “Our iconic signature imperial stout is taken to the next level with this indulgent version. With a decadent combination of Dominican cacao nibs, cocoa powder, Madagascar vanilla beans, and artfully roasted coffee from our friends at Ryan Bros., this beer is the ultimate double fudge treat. Cheers!”

Poured a pitch-black color with five fingers of khaki-tan rocky head. Could see bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass, mostly at the very top. Outstanding lacing. Very good retention. (Sight - 4.25)

Smelled brownie batter, fudge, baker’s chocolate, cocoa, cacao nibs, milk chocolate, roasted coffee malts and vanilla. About as good from the nose. (Smell - 4.00)

Tasted a little better than the nose. In order got brownie batter, fudge, baker’s chocolate, cocoa, cacao nibs, vanilla, dark milk chocolate, roasted coffee malts and semi-char wood. (Taste - 4.00)

Full body. Creamy texture. Average carbonation. Long, smooth finish. (Feel - 4.50)

Just a really good double stout. (Overall - 4.25)

4.12 | 92 | A-

16oz can from my brother. Thick black pour, ring of beige head. Chocolaty aroma,sweet, light roast. Taste is fudge, sweet and sticky, thick, syrupy, sugary.

 

Poured from a pint can into a large snifter.

Appearance: Very dark brown — approaching black — with a 1 1/2" dark tan head that lingered and left nice lacing.

Nose: Dark roast, coffee, and both sweet and dark chocolate.

Mouthfeel: Heavy, adequate carbonation.

Attack: Dark roast with sweetness of chocolate.

Finish: Roast bitterness to balance the attack. The dark chocolate flavor lingers with the roast bitterness.

Overall: This is a fine Imperial Stout, and I'm enjoying it, but I somewhat prefer the original. Judging by others' ratings and reviews, I'm not alone.

 

Canned on 12/22/21. Aroma is muted coffee and even more muted chocolate. Taste is reversed. Roasted malt is the strongest flavor, and it's also a bit mellow. I was expecting more clarity in these flavors, so one year has had a negative effect on the beer. But it's still a tasty beer.

 

 

Two years old. Can to snifter.

L: Pours pitch black with a golden brownish foam that lasts quite long for a 12% stout and leaves a bit of lacing. Loads of light brown floaters filling the bottom third of the glass.

S: Dark chocolate, coffee, peanuts and dark berries. Slightly boozy.

T: Mainly dark chocolate, cacao and coffee. Rather dry and bitter than sweet. Very roasty.

F: Full and quite creamy with a minimal but clearly present carbonation.

O: Even though it's supposed to be some kind of special edition, it doesn't taste so much different than the OG. Quite heavy on the coffee and cacao notes. Would have benefitted from some more vanilla sweetness. Classic profile, nice feel. Good stuff.

Can: Poured pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of roasted malt with some heavy cocoa and black chocolate notes, some vanilla and floral coffee notes. Taste is dominated by dry roasted malt notes with some cocoa and black chocolate notes with some vanilla notes with some more subtle than expected floral coffee notes. Body is quite full with good carbonation with no discernible alcohol notes. Enjoyable but dryer than expected.

 

Bought a can of this beer sometime back and has been in the fridge for a bit. Can says it is from 2021.

Poured into a tulip glass. Very dark oily brown color with good initial brown fluffy head and decent lacing. Smell and taste of dark chocolate and sweet milk chocolate. Some vanilla and mocha. The taste and feel is rich and full but, given the saga of the Speedway Stout, expected a bit more. Will certainly try other Speedway variants as I find them.

Racing into another variation of their famous Speedway Stout, AleSmith looks to one layer of fudge and then another layer of fudge for an elevated robust taste that's then soothed by creamy softness for an imperial stout with a smooth roasty edge.

Jet black, deviously dark and with a robust espresso-black appearance, Speedway Double Fudge Edition releases a frothy mocha meringue while enticing the nose with strong coffee, char, campfire, cocoa and a twinge of boozy spicy. Carbonized sweetness make first palate impressions with bold and savory molasses, chocolate and sorghum malt impression.

As the dark beer engulfs the mouth, its roast turns from sweetness to dryness as the aspects of espresso, smoldering embers and smoky chocolate carry an arid sense of drinkability. Anything fudge-like seems to be more of a dark chocolate, cocoa and baker's chocolate impressions and steering away from the jammy sweetness of true fudge. Growing bitterness adds a balance to the sweetness that remains behind while the spice of alcohol dries the taste and brings a coffee liquor character to the late palate.

Full bodied, plush and creamy, the dry roast adds an arid nougat character to the finish. Closing with that campfire and coffee flavor, the beer lingers with a bitter roast with stronger suggestions of woodiness, walnut and whisky spice once more.

Canned on 12/22/2021(!).
I don't have a goblet, (I know, I know) so I poured this into my Founders KBS 2018 Barrel-Aged Series glass. It poured about a one-finger head that took its time dissipating while I answered the door and talked to a neighbor about the screen on his back window. There's a foam top and lacing on the whole glass so far.
The nose was predoninantly cocoa powder and vanilla. The flavor brings in the other ingredients, especially dry roast coffee delivered in a dry/creamy mouthfeel.
Its finish is smooth, a little sugary, but it's when all the double fudge flavors come together.

 

Pours deep oily black with a half finger of mocha head quickly reducing to a thin tan ring. Nose fudge brownie, hot chocolate, bitter coffee, vanilla, and some roasted malt. Taste follows suit with the fudge up front and finishing with base stout flavors. Feel is medium full, not chewy or thick. Overall well above average.

Pours like a Speedway would, into sampler snifter... deep, dark & opaque with a nice, foamy chocolate milk-like capper receding to a ring around the fill line and some cloudy patches on surface. Nose is pronounced with sweet roasted malts, some cocoa and coffee hints. Taste is bittersweet like dark chocolate, vanilla is prominent, the malts still asserting themselves, an interesting overarching tanginess makes its presence known. Swallow is largely smooth, bittersweet again, a very slight burn but not overbearingly so.

I'm really liking Speedway for their adventurousness with these editions, and may be seeking them out just as i do with the Dragon's Milk reserves when they happen to drop.