“Philosophy and Velocity combines two iconic imperial beers from East and West: Brewery Ommegang’s Three Philosophers, and Alesmith Brewing’s Speedway Stout. For this project, each brewery crafted a singular blend to release through their own channels. From the East Coast, Ommegang brewed a Belgian-inspired version of Speedway Stout to blend with their Three Philosophers Quadruple Ale. From the West, Alesmith brewed an American ale variant on Three Philosophers to blend with their robust, coffee-infused Speedway Stout. The result? Two incredible imperial ales, released simultaneously for side-by-side comparison.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Pitch black with a finger of finely beaded brown head. Good retention and wavy lace work as we imbibe.

Aroma: There’s so much happening we don’t know where to start. The bittersweet coffee and charred malts are so well integrated with the sweet and fruity Belgian yeast profile that it’s hard to tell where the impy stout starts and Belgian Quad finishes. Everything from fruitcake, rum & raisin, cherry, blood plum, toffee, banana bread, allspice, tobacco, carob, raw cacao, subtle booze and tar. Amazing!

Flavour: At first it’s a little harsh, a tad phenolic and boozy but it morphs in to this big, roasty and bittersweet mid palate full of coffee, charred malts, dark chocolate, tobacco and raw cacao. Just hanging back a tad are the yeasty components…playing an excellent albeit subtle support role as it finishes quite brash and dry with mild smoke and mildly burnt wood on the back.

Mouthfeel: Dense and slick yet it still feels somewhat light on. Finely carbonated, full bodied. 11.5% ABV does reveal itself a fair bit.

Overall: Put simply…it’s a bloody ripper of a beer. We weren’t aware that there’s an East Coast (Ommegang) version where they flip the blend around and focus more on the Quad as opposed to the Stout. Now we want it! Bad! Impressive stuff.