Speedway Stout - Affogato Edition
AleSmith Brewing Company

 

A - Pours black, with brown highlights, a tan head, fading to a fairly thick cap. Lacing is extensive, thin-lined across the glass.

S - Strong roasted malt notes, coffee and vanilla, marshmallow and caramelized sugars.

T - The promise on the nose is delivered, coffee and vanilla, strong roasted malts with hits of molasses and toasted bread.

M - Moderate weight, a clean drinker, with surprisingly little alcohol heat.

O - A superb stout. I’d like a touch more espresso, but that’s personal preference. This is pretty delicious.

De tercertiempocervezas. En copa Teku. Jugando a Sea of Stars. Marcado perfil a vainilla que si bien al principio pueda parecer algo metálico, pronto te haces a el y termina entusiasmandote, resultando de lo más refrescante y adictivo. Nadie de diría que tiene 12 grados hasta que uno se levanta

Look - Pours a dark black with a thick brown head and great lacing.

Smell - Smells of espresso and malt. I'm not really getting much of the Tahitian vanilla it advertises.

Taste - Taste follows the nose. Espresso, malt, but barely any vanilla.

Feel - Has a nice overall mouthfeel for a stout, though the espresso leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Overall - Not a bad stout overall, though I'm not a huge expresso fan, and I definitely would have preferred more vanilla (though other reviewers say they got a lot of vanilla?)

16oz can. Bottom date stamp is off center but appears to be '06/15/2023'.
Black colored body, with a mahogany colored back lit edge. Tan head which sticks around as a full cap and high ring. Leaves behind extended horizontal strings of lacing.
Aroma of dark roasted malts, vanilla, and coffee.
Taste is dark roasted malts soaked in vanilla, with espresso strength coffee. Has a hint of dry chocolate and chocolate covered cherry. Aftertaste gets a little sweet and espresso soaked.
More than medium mouthfeel. Dry and chalky. Good carbonation.
Solid imperial stout punctuated by vanilla, coffee, and dark chocolate.

 

Found in Colorado while looking for the OG. Better a variant than nothing, eh?
Poured stout black with a tall light brown head that left dissipated slowly and left rings of lacing.
The taste isn’t nearly as sweet as I thought it would be, has vanilla and for a brief moment I could imagine it tasted like ice cream, but that moment was smashed by the coffee and cacao flavors in the roasted malts. Still, made me happy as it wasn’t sweet.
The feel is lightly viscous. Perfectly appropriate for the style.
OA, I prefer the original, but this is better than the other variant I tried.

Can poured into a Bell's Brewery snifter

A: Pours basically black with a frothy rich chocolate brown head that settles to a firm layer and laces nicely.

S: Fresh roasted coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, roasty malt with some char and faint smoke, a little dark fruit, subtle herbal notes, molasses, and a touch of toffee sweetness.

T: Soft vanilla quickly followed by bold coffee, rich dark chocolate, brown sugar and toffee, almost bourbon like hints from the vanilla beans, earthy roasted malt, a little char, faint smoke, subtle dark fruit, plum and cherry, molasses, and a touch of spice.

M: Full body, moderate carbonation, silky smooth, holds its % very well with just a touch of warmth after its come up to temp.

O: I was really happy to find this variant on a trip out of town and it didn't disappoint. The espresso and vanilla definitely add some extra layers of intrigue to an already fantastic base beer. Comes off just a little sweeter than the original, but still very well balanced by the extra punchy espresso.

 

16oz can. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, light brown head of foam. It left sticky rings of lace on the glass. It smelled of roasted coffee, vanilla beans, chocolate and toffee. Strong bitter coffee taste with chocolate, toffee and vanilla.

Aroma gives off some roasted coffee, dark malt, twinge of sweet vanilla. The body is a complex hit of coffee and vanilla ice cream rolling out on a creamy carpet to some fudge and molasses. Affogato might be a strong way to describe it, as the espresso generally dominates, but as usual you can't go wrong with Speedway Stout. Great beer all around.

 

 

 

Can from Market of Choice.

As with all Speedway variants, this looks great. The nose has lovely, rich, bitter dark chocolate, a strong dark roast coffee character, burnt sugar and vanilla bean. The vanilla is a little overpowering, leading to it smelling paradoxically fake. This is clearer on the palate where the sweetness from the vanilla clashes, rather than complements, with the bitter coffee and dark chocolate flavors.

Can pour - dark as a moonless night with big foamy khaki head leaving frosty lacing. Nose is roasty malt and espresso with a hint of vanilla. Taste follows with a lingering mild bitterness and a tiny bit of alcohol creep noticeable on the creamy finish. Damn tasty.

 

Back in the day, it seemed that when a brewery made a variant of an already good beer, it was a huge step up (like Candice Swanepoel getting bigger juggies). But those days are gone. A lot of silly variants are like, silly, or maybe even suck nowadays. And right here in Affogato, it’s ok, but I rather have regular Speedway, ya feel me? Affo is pencil thin Taylor Swift (which is fine), but we all know current va va voom Taylor is better). Ooo baby I’m feelin’ delicate.

Poured from a pint can dated 7-27-23, the body is jet black with a small initial head. Moderate lacing.

Nose is espresso and toasty malt. Inviting!

Taste follows nose and is a coffee stout lover’s dream. Good malty char, well expressed espresso flavor, and nuanced vanilla flavor that complements but does not overshadow the other flavors. No sign of the ABV.

Note: after a quick sip for initial flavor check I let this beer stand for more than thirty minutes then sipped for hours. The initial astringency from espresso when cold faded as the stout warmed.

Mouthfeel is luxurious with solid carbonation.

Super flavorful, easy drinking big old coffee stout. Heaven on a cool autumn night. A near perfect coffee stout for my tastes.