AleSmith Brewing
AleSmith Nibs & Beans Speedway Stout debuts
Alesmith Nibs & Beans Speedway Stout, a chocolate, vanilla bean, coffee laden edition of the venerable imperial stout, is on sale now.
A few times throughout the year, Alesmith uses their nationally known imperial stout as a brewer’s playground. This round, Speedway Stout goes full-on dessert beer. The brewery has added vanilla beans, cacao nibs, and locally roasted coffee. What we’ve heard is that these variants are fantastic. Now is the chance to find out for yourself.
RELATED: AleSmith releases Speedway Stout in cans
Each quarter we stretch our creative muscles and brew a variation of our year-round imperial stout. This quarter’s variation, originally created for the popular 3 day Speedway Grand Prix event in our Tasting Room, features vanilla beans from Madagascar and Papua New Guinea, cacao nibs from Brazil and Madagascar, and locally roasted Colombian coffee from Swell Coffee Co. This beer balances the aromatic quality of the vanilla beans, the nuttiness of the cacao nibs, and the earthy fruity notes of the coffee with the roasty, chocolatey flavors of our imperial stout.
AleSmith Nibs & Beans Speedway Stout will be available in 750 milliliter bottles. The brewery is pre-selling this online now, $22 dollars per bottle.
Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Vanilla Beans, Cacao Nibs, Coffee)
Availability: 750ml Bottles
Debut: 2/18/17
12% ABV
First time in cans: AleSmith Speedway Stout
AleSmith Speedway Stout, easily one of the most popular imperial stouts in the United States, is now available in cans.
The black, silver foiled, bottle of viscous has made AleSmith Speedway Stout an American brewing icon. What is the next logical step for one of America’s most renown stouts?
Alesmith has already been canning their IPA for while now, and fans have been wondering what’s up next. A pint can of the coffee-laden stout might just be the perfect size for those nights your aren’t sharing your beer.
…Chocolate and roasted malts dominate the flavor, supported by notes of dark fruit, toffee, and caramel. A healthy dose of locally-roasted coffee from Ryan Bros. Coffee, Inc. added to each batch brings out the beer’s dark chocolate flavors and enhances its drinkability…
AleSmith Speedway Stout is currently available year-round in 750ml bottles and draft. 16 ounce cans are available at the brewery in San Diego starting January 27th.
Style: Imperial Stout
Availability: 750ml Bottles Draft. Year-round. 16 oz Cans (New)
Debut: January, 2017
12% ABV
Image: Beer Street Journal
AleSmith My Bloody Valentine: pours red, 6.66% ABV
AleSmith My Bloody Valentine, the bloody red distant cousin of the brewery’s Halloween beer Evil Dead Red, is back in action.
Valentine’s Day either brings joy to some, or misery to others. Perhaps that speaks to the versatility of this beer. The red ale is appropriate colored for the Hallmark holiday, with an appropriate/inappropriate 6.66% alcohol by volume.
It has intense notes of caramel, toast and bittersweet chocolate, balancing an intense bouquet of floral hop aromas. The finish leaves a pleasant, full-bodied sweetness on the palate that leaves you pining for more!
AleSmith My Bloody Valentine is available in 22 ounce bottles and draft in January, and February.
Style: Red Ale
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft
Distribution: AZ, CA, CO, CT, IL, MI, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, TX, VA, WA, Wi
Latest Return: January, 2017
6.66% ABV
AleSmith Decadence 2016 honors Anchor & a California style
AleSmith Decadence 2016, a rotating style and birthday beer for the brewery is hitting shelves.
2005 was the first release of Alesmith Decadence, brewed to celebrate the first 10 years in business. Each year since, the brewers create their own special recipe for the celebratory release.
AleSmith Decadence 2016 is inspired by Anchor Brewing’s Steam Beer, dating back to 1971. The style is known elsewhere as a California common.
AleSmith created an imperial Cali common for the occasion. Keeping stylistically sound, the brewery fermented a lager at warmer ale temperatures. The process causes the yeast to different flavors than if fermented colder. Per the brewery, the resulting beer is “a combination of fruity, mineral-like flavors, borne from the lager yeast esters.” Interestingly, this is the only time AleSmith has ever brewed this beer.
AleSmith Decadence 2016 is available in 750 milliliter bottles and draft.
Style: Imperial California Common
Availability: 750ml Bottles. Limited Release. July-Oct
Debut: July, 2016
Distribution: CA, CO, CT, IL, MA, ME, MN, NC, NY, OH, OR, RI, VA, VT and WA
9.5% ABV
Image: AleSmith Brewing
Alesmith creates barrel blending space for guests
Barrel-aged beers are some of the most sought after styles in the the beer industry. Unless you are a brewer, or an enthusiastic brewery loyalist that has been at a brewery on blending day, you’ve probably never gotten to blend your own barrel-aged beer. Alesmith Brewing is about to change that.
This June, the Miramar, California based brewery is debuting Anvil & Stave: A Barrel-Aged Beer Experience inside the the existing tap room. The Experience will allow patrons to blend their own barrel-aged beers.
The barrel-aged “threads” will come from the brewery’s stock of over 500 barrels, ranging from bourbon, cognac, tequila, and more. Guests can enter the intimate enclosure and instead of trying final blended projects, actually get in on the action.
The service method is still being finalized, but the idea breaks down a bit like this – check the menu of barreled beers, and request your blend, such as 50% Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy, 25% Barrel-Aged Olde Ale and 25% Barrel-Aged Nut Brown. In the future, Alesmith hopes to serve a few equal amounts of beer, with a beaker and an empty snifter, and allowing the drinker to go to town. (Don’t wear white that day.)
“Whether visitors to Anvil & Stave are blending multiple vintages of the same type of beer, the fresh and aged versions of a single ale, or two different kinds of beers altogether, they will be able to gain a deeper appreciation of all that goes into creating exceptional offerings, while gaining an appreciation for all that beer can be,” – AleSmith owner, CEO and brewmaster Peter Zien.
Anvil & Stave: A Barrel-Aged Beer Experience debuts on June 25, 2016.
Images via Alesmith
Alesmith expands Texas distribution
San Diego, California based Alesmith Brewing Company is expanding their distribution reach in Texas. The brewery added distribution to the state last year.
Andrews Distributing will be shipping the Alesmith lineup to south Texas effective immediately. Corpus Christi will be one locations.
“The craft-beer scene, and demand for the variety of West Coast and European-style beers presented by our portfolio, is quickly growing all throughout Texas,” says AleSmith Director of National Sales James Valles. “It has long been our dream to get our beers into the hands of fans of quality ales and lagers across the country, starting with areas where the excitement is highest. Since expanding our production capabilities in 2015 with construction of a large, state-of-the-art brewery that far surpasses the capabilities and capacity of our original facility, we are in a prime position to realize that aspiration, and Texas was at the top of our list when it came time to increase distribution beyond our home region.”
AleSmith IPA, AleSmith Nut Brown English-style Ale and AleSmith Lil’ Devil Belgian-style Pale Ale will be among the first beers hitting shelves. Shortly after, expect AleSmith Double IPA, the 2016 Vintage Series and variations of the AleSmith Speedway Stout.
Mikkeller will soon have a U.S. brewery thanks to Alesmith
Mikkeller, a gypsy brewery (meaning no brick & mortar home) and one of the world’s most popular brewers, will soon have a place to call home. You might recall a Beer Street Journal story back in February about this partnership; now we have more information.
Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, the founder of Danish brewery Mikkeller, has entered into an agreement with Peter Zien of San Diego, California based Alesmith Brewing Company. The duo have created a company you’ll know as Mikkeller Brewing San Diego. Both individuals have a stake in the partnership.
Mikkeller Brewing San Diego wil be housed at AleSmith’s original headquarters, on Cabot Drive in San Diego’s Miramar community. This location will produce new and current popular offerings for not only the United States, but the world.
“People have always asked me when I’m going to open my own brewery, and my answer has always been ‘never.’ It’s the easiest answer, but it’s been on my mind for several years,” says Bjergsø. “I like being a ‘gypsy brewer,’ but know that having a stake in a U.S. brewery will change our position here. Brewing in one of the best breweries in the world really makes sense. If they can brew beers like they do at AleSmith, it really can’t go wrong.”
Mikkeller Brewing San Diego will use AleSmith’s 30 Barrel system, which was producing around 15,000 barrels annually before AleSmith expanded. Some of AleSmith’s original employees will transition over to this facility.
What and when to expect…
Mikkeller Brewing San Diego will be a playground for brewer collaborations. If you are familiar with Mikkeller’s body of brewing work, collaborations top Bjergso’s priorities. A 750 square-foot tasting room resembling Miklkeller’s global beer bars will be open in early 2016.
