“For this special edition of our signature imperial stout we were inspired to feature ingredients from our neighbors to the south. We used the comforting trio of Mexican dark chocolate, sea salt, and Mexican coffee to give the beer delectable notes of cacao and dark fruit, a subtle touch of cinnamon, and a kiss of roasty earthiness.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Pitch black with a short-ish brown cap which holds together pretty well. It slowly disappears but still manages a respectful lacing on the glass.

Aroma: Hot damn these guys know how to brew a good Stout! Although subtle the saltiness finds its way into almost everything. Salted dark chocolate is the most dominant but it also gets into the coffee, licorice and caramel. At times it almost gives off a tequila-like quality which is really interesting. Definitely some peppery spice, nutmeg, chilli and vanilla to ram it home. Gorgeous!

Flavour: Hhhmmm it’s big and it’s tasty but it doesn’t have the finesse and balance that it offered on the nose. It has to be said that it seems a bit muddled here. We get flashes of salted dark chocolate amongst the messy roasted malt and coffee notes then some astringent booze, slightly sharp peppery spice and chilli developing late in the piece. Kinda roasty and smoky finish to wrap it up.

Mouthfeel: Slick, oily and warming but it’s not as dense as we’d anticipated. There is a bit of slippery-ness to it. The Co2 and the 12% ABV somewhat corrects it though.

Overall: Unfortunately these pastry variants of Alesmith’s much coveted ‘Speedway Stout’ just haven’t found the mark for us. They’re not bad by any stretch of the imagination they just don’t wow us like we thought they would. Can’t win em all.