Speedway Stout - German Chocolate Cake
AleSmith Brewing Company

Copenhagen 18/12 2025. 47,3 cl can from Øltanken web-shop. Can in Alesmith's usual design in brown.

Pours opaque dark brown with a small beige head. A bit bubbly. Settles as a paper thin patch of foam unable of covering the surface of the beer. No lacing to speak of.

Aroma is fairly intense with a light sweet odor of roasted malts mingling with a sharp and boozy scent. Sweet caramel and roasted dark malts. Whiff of brown sugar. Grains and dark bitter chocolate. Not much cake here.

Light carbonation. Rather thick, oily, soft, viscous, fat and creamy, gently tingling texture.

Flavor is fairly intense with a strong sweetness followed by a medium strong bitterness. Aftertaste is sourishly bitter. Sugary undertone. Lingering. Finish is dry as dark chocolate.

Potent version of the classic Speedway Stout without much pastry and cake involved.

 

Speedway Stout German Chocolate Cake from AleSmith Brewing. Received from @2beerdogs in a LIF, thanks Derek! Reviewed 01/09/25 (Review 3574). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “CANNED ON 11/05/24.” Stored at home at 40 degrees F. Served at 50.3 degrees F (Suggested serving temperature on can is 50 -55 degrees F) in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 54.6 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.25
First pour – Brown (SRM 20), light barely penetrates.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, the bottom edge is ruby and the top edge is Windsor tan.
Head – Average (Maximum 2.5 cm, aggressive center pour). Tuscan tan, lightening to caramel as it oxygenates, high density, average retention, leaving a 0.4 – 0.5 cm crown and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – Poor. A couple of short bands, each consisting of tiny, irregular islands of near-microscopic bubbles.
Aroma – 4.25 – Weak chocolate. No malt, no hops, no coffee, no coconut, no alcohol.
Flavor – 4.5 – Moderately sweet with distinctive cocoa. Mild roasted coconut wafts through the background. There seems to be a miasmic suggestion of nuts. Not picking up any coffee. No alcohol (12 % ABV, according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Ends moderately bitter. Slight gastric warming which continues building afterburn.
Palate – 4 – Full: Creamy: Soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Uncredited label artist. Chocolate forward in nose and taste; other flavors are merely supporting/bit players. Good – I’d buy this.

Dark, beautiful pour, one finger head. Sweet cocoa and nutty aroma. Dark chocolate liqueur flavor, roasty. A slight nutty amaretto finish. Still not better than regular Speedway (a tad too sweet), but still a tasty beer.

A very rich and bold mix of coffee, chocolate, pecans, and coconut, thus creating a very rich taste and smell for an imperial stout.

 

Pint can poured into the tulip-snifter. This one is cola black, tinged brown. A good finger of mocha head that fades out pretty quickly. I smell the chocolate along with something else - coconut, I'm thinking. The taste is quite deep and roasty. It is obviously chocolate, but the charred, sort of chicory bitterness really dominates. Yes, I get the pecan flavor too. The body is full, slick, a little creamy. That part is quite good. Thinking that the individual flavors stand out a lot as well. The strong roastiness is a sure balance against the sweeter ingredients. Nothing is too overwhelming here, although the fudgy, burned characteristic is the one that persists. I wasn't sure if there was coffee until I read the notes - it seems quite noticeable, but I was wondering how necessary it is here. FWIW, it probably does round out the chocolate notes as it does in actual baked goods, although it probably deepens the bitterness as well.

I didn't expect the chocolate to be so strong and bitter. However, the flavor profile well represents the inspiration. The coconut and pecan are ultimately quite noticeable and come together well.

16oz can poured into a tulip

A- pours a jet black color with a one-finger foamy dark tan head that reduces to a ring

S- dark chocolate and caramel aromas initially, with some creamy coconut notes coming through as it warms. Herbal espresso and vanilla follow, along with charred malt

T- sweet chocolate and caramel notes up front give way to some creamy coconut and vanilla undertones. Mid-palate brings out some herbal coffee and charred malt notes. The finish gives more sweet chocolate and caramel, with a coconut and charred malt linger

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a slightly syrupy mouthfeel that turns creamy into a warming finish

Poured from a 16oz can into a SP BBT21 lightbulb snifter. Pours a shiny black with a finger of mocha brown foam head. Coffee and coconut up front on the nose with some chocolaty nuttiness. Taste is chocolate and coffee with a semisweet coconut finish. So good. Full mouthfeel. Amazing Speedway variant.

Poured cellar temp from a can dated 11/2024 into a 16oz pint glass. Appearance is pitch black with a deep 2-finger brown head that lingers. Minimal lacing on the glass.
Aroma is roasted malt, coffee, deep earthy tones. Some chocolate and some vanilla in there.
Taste follows the nose but adding some subtle coconut that ties in with the chocolate for the "German Chocolate Cake" thing going on. There is a decent pickup of pecans in here as well. Really nice.
Mouthfeel is medium full, velvety, sudsy with a big punch of cakey sweetness up front with not quite enough bittering hops to call this a 'well-balanced' craft brew....but still tasty.
Overall, this is a decent dessert Imperial Stout. Pretty sweet if I'm being honest. But it isnt bad if you accept it for what it is....a sweet American Imperial Stout named after a sweet decadent cake. Definitely fits the style with the rich malty notes. Just wish it was a little more balanced as we are approaching a cloying quality with this one.

On Tapp at Alesmith.
Deep, beautifully dark, almost black. Mocha colored milky foam asserts nearly an inch and a half before slowly, slowly settling in at a half inch of a velvety cap.
Nose is mildly sweet in its delivery of cocoa. A really cool blended coffee and coconut keeps the sweetness from being too assertive. The coconut really plays well here. It's omnipresent but not overtaking.
Everything from the nose is here. What is added is a gentle handed addition of toasted pecans. There is just a nice depth to how these flavors all come together and yet shine individually.
Mouthfeel is chewy enough for me.

 

 

 

Undated can into pint glass. Pours an oily black with a persistent light tan head. No lacing. Initial impression is chocolate fudge, coffee, and roasted malts. Mouthfeel is to die for: smooth, creamy, and slightly sticky. Finish fades to sweet chocolate and coffee. This is excellent - better'n the base Speedway Stout, IMHO.

2/17/25 - (Can - Home) (Chicago, IL) Can Notes: Purchased at store temperature December 13, 2024 at Beer on the Wall Park Ridge for $5.69 including tax. Refrigerated upon returning home before opening this morning. 16 oz canned 11/5/24, 12.0% ABV. Special Release: Imperial Stout with cacao nibs, toasted coconut, roasted pecans, and coffee. Glassware Goblet, Serving Temp 50-55F, Pairs Well with vanilla ice cream, origin - established 1995 in San Diego, California. Proudly brewed and canned in San Diego, California.

This Speedway is our modern twist on a beloved treat. A favorite from our 2023 Speedway Grand Prix Event, this brew boasts rich flavors of coffee and semi-sweet chocolate, complemented by the delicate sweetness of toasted coconut and roasted pecans. Oh, and did you know? German Chocolate Cake is not actually from Germany, but it gets its name from the brilliant Chocolatier who invented it.

Appearance: Poured about 60% into a 12 oz handheld snifter, yielding a dark near black chestnut brown base and a light tan bubbly head that leaves no trace but a creamy darker tan ring around the rim, and a partial razor thin cover over the base which looks like Japan on a map. 4.5

Aroma: Let this warm for 20 minutes for proper room temperature, yielding a nice level of coconut to lead, backed by pecans and bakers chocolate. a dark roast coffee and roasted malt. Very nice medley blends well. above medium strength, enticingly high enjoyment. 4.75

Taste: Rich and decadent first taste. strong chocolate fudge far and away leader like Secretariat in the Belmont Stakes. Funny how sometimes I can pick out many flavors taste-wise but not aroma, and vice versa. Getting some toffee and caramel plus pecan. Getting faint coconut which was so pleasant in the nose and hard to gather in this area. Overall, this too blends well together, just with different results. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Decedent and rich, body feels medium but sweetness and creaminess moves the dial up to a perceived full creamy body. Drinks strong from go, maybe even above the high 12.0% ABV. Drinks sweet, slightly dry, dry chocolate and fudge batter the primary takeaway and finish. Hops and or roasted malt tries to fight but cannot contain the sweetness, which is expected for the ingredients used in this imperial stout. If you like the description, you'll like the result. 4.25

Overall: I don't purchase pastry stouts often these day, but reserve select purchases for breweries I trust with solid previous efforts. This selection is no exception. Think I may have liked the aroma blend even more than the ultimate taste flavors, but both work for me, and I'm really digging this offering, which I recommend and would gladly buy in the future. Think this benefits from not having a barrel component. Dessert is served. 4.5

 

 

Poured from a pint can, the body is dark black with a good mocha head. Light lacing.

Aroma is very chocolate and coffee with light coconut. Taste follows nose but the chocolate is less pronounced than in the aroma. As with the Speedway base stout, a good coffee flavor, but much less than the base. The coconut is present but restrained. Upon finish a light bitterness appears and nicely key contrasts with the chocolate flavor.

Mouthfeel and carbonation are good.

Poured stout black with a light brown head that left little lacing.
The taste is first and foremost Speedway, with its roasted coffee and malty goodness. It has chocolate and coconut and the pecans are more of a nutty flavor than specialty pecans.
The feel is very slightly viscous, way too easy to quaff quickly.
OA, it’s not quite as good as the OG but it is a worthy variant for Speedway.