Speedway Stout - Toasted Coconut Vietnamese Coffee
AleSmith Brewing Company

Pours a frothy creamy 1 finger brown head with good retention, sticky layered lacing, inky black beer decent legs

Nose dark roasted malts with plenty of cocoa, dark chocolate, roasted coffee, a bit espresso like, fudgey, toasted coconut, plenty of it, some caramel toffee sweetness, lots of dark chocolate

Taste starts with more fudge and dark chocolate, cocoa, a little crème Brule sweetness, a bit of toffee, nutty notes, plenty of toasted coconut again, fair nutty coffee, fairly boozy as well, plenty of spicy bitter hops as well, bitter roast, baking spices, fair overall coffee but not as much as I expected, vanilla icing on toasted coconut chocolate cake, semi sticky sweet bitter roast lingering

Mouth is full bod, fair creamy, med carb, plenty of warming tingly booze

Overall decent, not quite as good as I thought it might be, nose was good on the toasted coconut but taste was more muted, coffee was also a bit on the lighter side, and it was a bit more boozy than expected

Toasted Coconut Vietnamese Coffee (2025) from Alesmith Brewing. Four-pack of 16 fl oz cans from Alesmith on-line, ordered 20/12/25, received 30/12/25. $ 8.17/can (including shipping) ($ 0.511/fl oz). Reviewed 03/01/26, review 3665. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on can bottom “CANNED ON 08/11/25”. Stored at home at 40 degrees F. Served at 55.9 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 59.3 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Deep Brown (SRM 30), Light barely passes through.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, a deep chocolate brown, nearly black, opaque. When rear-lite, black and opaque, except at the edges; ruby at the bottom edge and deep amber at the top edge.
Head – Average (Maximum 2.0 cm, aggressive center pour) Tan, high density with average retention, ending with a 0.35 cm crown and a thin complete cap.
Lacing – Good. A band of near-microscopic to tiny bubbles remains attached to the crown. This band has multiple windows with tiny stalactites, stalagmites, and columns
Aroma – 3.75 – Chocolate and maybe a hint of coconut, no coffee, no alcohol (12 % ABV according to the label).
Flavor – 3.75 – Initially slightly sweet with mild chocolate and weak coffee. Not tasting any coconut. No hops. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Mild, pleasant gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Full: Creamy: Soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Sort of follows the BA style description – are coffee and coconut sufficient to condemn it to the “Pastry Stout” category?
Final impression and summation: 4 Uncredited label art. Decent stout but doesn’t live up to my expectations – both coffee and coconut seem weak and ghostly, hardly worth writing on the label. My few experiences with Speedway stouts have previously all been good, making it a desirable purchase. I will keep buying them whenever I can find them.

 

 

 

Appearance: Pours pitch black with a 1/2 inch tan head that starts to blister like a pancake as it slowly fades; speckles and squiggles of lacing

Smell: Charred malt, Baker's chocolate and toasted coconut; Vietnamese coffee is sweet and strong - not sure whether I am picking that up here

Taste: The sweet and potent Vietnamese coffee comes through more on the palate, as there is a lot of sweetness and a lot of robust coffee, mixed with charred malt and Baker's chocolate flavors; a lot of bitterness, after the swallow, and the toasted coconut emerges, in the finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low to moderate carbonation; warmth in the gullet

Overall: I am partial to Speedway for sentimental reasons but I don't think this is among the top variants as the flavors don't really coalesce for me

 

 

16 ounce can - Woodstock Beer Market in Woodstock, Georgia.

Canned On 08/11/2025.

Appearance: Pours a turbid, dark brown-to-near black body with a short-lived, deep tan head.

Smell: A bolstered dark, roasty maltiness with a fair amount of toasted coconut clippings and curled chocolate shavings alongside vanilla extract, dark fruit and nutty, lightly bitterish coffee with a touch of spice.

Taste: A sweetish, altogether sultry blend of robust coffee, dark chocolate, toasty coconut, moderate alcohol warmth and a little tangy dark fruity accent and hint of cinnamon bringing up the rear. Smooth, roasty, lightly sweet and lightly warming finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium-light carbonation. Relatively creamy mouthfeel.

Overall: A rich, complex stout, and yet another fine release from AleSmith.

I guess this is a new one. Canned on August 11, 2025. Looks dark and rich, healthy and prevalent head and lacing, tannish hues. Delivers on the coconut and coffee on both nose and tongue. Bittersweet, rich, roasty malt. Had some in a glass I use for stouts and some in a coffee mug, and they definitely deliver different notes to different parts of the tongue, so I’m actually drinking two different beers. Glass beer is sweeter, mug beer is more bitter and brassy, for lack of a better word. Enjoying them equally. Thick and bold, mouth watering, as boozy as a non-barrel aged stout can be. A very enjoyable new addition to an extremely large family.