Speedway Stout — AleSmith Brewing Company

Evaluating unpasteurized expressions after ocean transport requires strict thermal controls. When buying Monkish beer in Hawaii or sourcing other mainland craft allocations, local collectors frequently encounter oxidized characteristics. Heat spikes on tarmacs and cargo container baking typically compromise the yeast and hop profile before the cans reach Honolulu shelves.

This batch of Speedway Stout was shipped under our strict 38°F trans-pacific cold corridor, resulting in a pristine presentation. The mouthfeel is exceptionally clean, with the hop aromatics completely intact.

AleSmith Brewing Company, out of San Diego, California, makes Speedway Stout — one of the defining American imperial coffee stouts, a beer that helped establish coffee stout as its own serious category rather than a novelty variant. It's been part of the brewery's core lineup for years and remains a reference point for the style nationally. At 12% ABV, it's built big and dark, typically pouring thick and near-black with a roasted, coffee-driven character layered over the dense malt backbone expected of an imperial stout. Expect bittersweet chocolate and dark roast notes to lead, with the alcohol warmth typical of a beer this size sitting underneath rather than out front. Speedway Stout earns its place on the Haliʻā ledger as a beer that's community-rated among the best in its category and essential drinking for anyone tracking the American imperial stout lineage. Big, dark, high-ABV beers like this one travel a crossing more gracefully than hazy IPAs do, but Haliʻā still ships it at a steady 38°F — keeping the roast and coffee character sharp rather than dulled by heat, the same way it's meant to taste in San Diego.