AleSmith Speedway Salted Caramel Stout 4PK (16oz Cans) is a 12% ABV imperial pastry stout brewed with Fleur de Sel sea salt, Madagascar vanilla beans, and locally roasted coffee. Scoring 92 on BeerAdvocate, this flagship variant of the iconic Speedway Stout delivers a genuinely layered dessert-stout experience that avoids one-dimensional sweetness.

Quick Facts: ABV: 12%  |  Origin: San Diego, California  |  Style: Imperial Pastry Stout  |  Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company  |  IBU: 70

Production & Heritage

AleSmith Brewing Company operates out of the Miramar neighborhood of San Diego and has earned recognition as one of the top craft breweries in the United States, named among RateBeer's Top 10 Best Breweries nationwide in both 2019 and 2020. The Salted Caramel variant builds on the original Speedway Stout's imperial stout base — registering a hefty 1.114 original gravity — and layers in cacao nibs, cocoa powder, Madagascar vanilla beans, and locally sourced coffee. The standout production choice is the use of Fleur de Sel, a premium hand-harvested French sea salt whose fine, mineral-forward salinity integrates more delicately with the beer's roast and caramel character than standard salts could achieve.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Coffee dominates the nose immediately, followed by waves of dark chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. A cola-like sweetness lingers underneath, tying the aromatics together into something resembling a liquid dessert.

Taste: The entry is surprisingly salt-forward, with Fleur de Sel announcing itself before giving way to roasted coffee bitterness and brownie-like chocolate richness at mid-palate. Caramel sweetness builds through the center but never overwhelms — the salt and roast keep pulling the profile back toward balance, while vanilla adds a smooth, rounded backdrop.

Finish: Long and ultra-sticky, with medium carbonation lifting what would otherwise be a dense, syrupy body. Lingering notes of coffee bean, dark cocoa, and a final flicker of sea salt carry the finish well past the last sip.

How to Drink Speedway Salted Caramel

Pour into a snifter or tulip glass at 50–55°F to let the aromatics open fully; this beer rewards slow, contemplative drinking rather than cold, quick pours. An Imperial Stout Float — a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream dropped into a half-pour — amplifies the dessert quality without masking the coffee and salt. A Black Velvet variation using this stout in place of a standard stout adds dramatic caramel depth to the champagne split. For a winter warmer riff, use a small measure in a Beer Hot Chocolate, where the cocoa and vanilla in the stout reinforce the chocolate base.

Best For

• After-dinner dessert course replacement alongside dark chocolate truffles
• Gifting to a craft beer enthusiast who collects imperial stout variants
• Winter tasting sessions with friends exploring pastry stout styles
• Pairing with a weekend brunch built around rich, savory-sweet dishes

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Speedway Salted Caramel taste like? It leads with a pronounced sea salt impression, then transitions into roasted coffee, brownie-like chocolate, and caramel, all rounded by Madagascar vanilla. The overall effect is a savory-sweet dessert stout where salt and bitterness keep the rich flavors in check.

How does Speedway Salted Caramel compare to the original AleSmith Speedway Stout? The original Speedway Stout centers its profile on coffee and roasted malt, while the Salted Caramel variant introduces a pronounced caramel sweetness and savory Fleur de Sel salinity that shifts the experience toward dessert territory. Both share the same high-gravity imperial stout base, but the Salted Caramel version is noticeably sweeter and more complex in its layering.

Is Speedway Salted Caramel good for sipping neat? Absolutely — at 12% ABV and 70 IBU, it was built for slow sipping from a snifter or tulip glass, where warming slightly in the hand reveals additional vanilla and caramel nuance.

Where is Speedway Salted Caramel made? It is brewed at AleSmith Brewing Company in the Miramar neighborhood of San Diego, California, one of the most concentrated craft brewing corridors in the United States.

What foods pair well with Speedway Salted Caramel? Dark chocolate brownies or flourless chocolate cake mirror the cocoa and caramel in the beer. Salted caramel cheesecake creates a direct echo of the flavor profile. Smoked brisket or barbecue ribs benefit from the stout's roast and salt cutting through fatty richness. Blue cheese provides a sharp, tangy counterpoint to the sweetness. Crème brûlée pairs naturally with the vanilla and caramelized sugar notes.

What sizes does Speedway Salted Caramel come in? This expression is packaged as a 4-pack of 16oz cans, the standard format for AleSmith's Speedway Stout variant releases.

Is Speedway Salted Caramel worth the price? It positions as a premium craft imperial stout, and its 12% ABV, specialty ingredients like Fleur de Sel and Madagascar vanilla, and 92-point BeerAdvocate score place it firmly in the upper tier of the pastry stout category where drinkers expect — and receive — a more elevated experience per pour.

Why Speedway Salted Caramel?

The choice of Fleur de Sel over ordinary salt is not marketing theater — it produces a finer, more mineral-driven salinity that integrates with coffee bitterness and caramel sweetness in a way coarser salts simply cannot replicate. Combined with Madagascar vanilla beans, cacao nibs, cocoa powder, and locally sourced coffee layered onto a 1.114 OG imperial stout base, the result is one of the most deliberately constructed pastry stouts on the market. AleSmith's track record as a Top 10 U.S. brewery (RateBeer, 2019–2020) and a 92-point BeerAdvocate score for this variant confirm that the complexity holds up under scrutiny. For drinkers who find most dessert stouts cloyingly sweet, the salt-and-roast backbone here provides a welcome corrective.