ALESMITH BREWING CO

It all started with one fateful road trip; In 1989, Skip Virgilio embarked on a valiant journey to the Pacific Northwest where he fell in love with craft beer. Inspired by his newfound love, Virgilio started a hobby in homebrewing and founded AleSmith soon after. Back then, the company was terribly small, both in manpower and in production levels. However, in 2002, AleSmith was handed over to Peter Zien, who holds the honourable title of Grandmaster Beer Judge from the Beer Judge Certification Program and was rated the #1 Top Brewer in the World in 2006 and 2013! Under Zien’s capable hands, AleSmith grew into one of the top breweries in the world with multiple awards to show for it.

Award WinningHighly RatedCrowd Favourite

Alesmith Speedway Coffee Imperial Stout

12.0% ABV / 0.0

$25.00

Learn more

Single
473ml

$25.00

4 Pack
4 x 473ml

$99.00

Case
24 x 473ml

$565.00

let's tap into their story!

It all began when AleSmith’s founder, Skip Virgilio, fell in love with craft beer on a road trip to the Pacific Northwest in 1989. Virgilio then started homebrewing, which he was a natural at, and eventually founded AleSmith Brewing Company in 1995.

Back then, the company was run by a 3-man team cramped in an equally small single-unit space in the commercial district of Miramar, San Diego. Sure, AleSmith truly had humble beginnings, but don’t look down on it just yet!

In 1998, AleSmith’s Belgian Golden Strong Ale brewed with coriander - the Horny Devil - won over the crowd at the Great American Beer Festival and brought home its first shiny silver medal - which was merely the start of its award-winning legacy.

When AleSmith was handed over to Peter Zien - Grand Master Beer Judge and dedicated homebrewer - in 2002, the brewery’s reputation only continued to soar. Zien was not only a highly-respected homebrewer in the beer community, but he was also the president of the San Diego-born homebrew club, QUAFF. By 2001, Zien had won over 400 homebrew awards and led QUAFF to win the prestigious “Homebrew Club of the Year” honour from the American Homebrewers Association.

Under Zien’s guidance, AleSmith continued winning numerous awards and accolades, including the Small Brewing Company and Brewer of the Year awards at the Great American Beer Festival in 2008. To keep up with its achievements, AleSmith expanded its operations over time in order to increase beer production while also experimenting with a wider variety of beer styles.

In 2012, AleSmith installed a new premium Prospero bottler to increase its output levels to 15,000 barrels a year. Compared to its measly 400 barrels a year back in 2002, AleSmith’s current production levels have justified its place as one of the fastest growing breweries in America.

In that same year, its logo and bottle art were reimagined to better encapsulate the AleSmith brand without compromising on the integrity of the iconic anvil and pint glass symbol. The result was a visually sleek logo that had subtle variations to fit all of AleSmith’s delicious craft beers.

AleSmith’s specialty brews

AleSmith is known for its Speedway Stout, a highly acclaimed beer that has won multiple beer awards since its release. The beer in question was so popular that it had people camping for it at 4am because there were only 1,000 bottles available. With a 97/100 rating on Beer Advocate, the Speedway Stout is considered to be one of the best beers in the world!

The stout boasts intense flavours of chocolate and roasted malts supported by hints of dark fruit, toffee, and caramel. The key to the Speedway Stout’s unique taste is the addition of locally-roasted coffee which brings out the beer’s dark chocolate flavours while enhancing its drinkability.

AleSmith’s best-selling beer continues to make waves within the craft beer community; every release of its limited-run varietals elicits the same rabid response. Thanks to AleSmith’s new ticketing system, people no longer have to literally camp out all night for the beer. However, the demand for the beer is so high that the online ticketing system constantly struggles to keep up!

Another popular release of AleSmith is the San Diego Pale Ale .394, which was born out of a collaboration with baseball legend Tony Gwynn in 2014. Gwynn had a vision to create a distinctive San Diego beer, whose recipe was only finalised after rounds of experimentation. The San Diego Pale Ale .394 was released in AleSmith’s first-ever six-pack offering, and a portion of its proceeds goes directly to the Tony and Alicia Gwynn Foundation (TAG).

AleSmith’s charitable vision - the Anvil of Hope

AleSmith’s success story doesn’t just stop at its numerous awards and accolades; the brewing company also works hard to give back to society. The company’s current owners created a non-profit - the Anvil of Hope - that is deeply committed to strengthening their community.

To be exact, the organisation aims to break the cycle of poverty to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive and prosper. The Anvil of Hope provides various mentoring and enrichment programs to at-risk school children with the goal of helping them pursue education and training beyond highschool.

AleSmith may have had a small start, but that did not stop it from becoming the industry giant it is today. Even in the face of overwhelming success, the brewery stayed true to its community and continued to find ways to give back. It is no wonder that AleSmith has such an amazing reputation, both for producing high-quality, award winning beers, and for its altruistic vision!