There are certain breweries you don't often see around these parts. San Diego based AleSmith is one of them, though I'm fairly certain JB's has carried their wares in the past. Maybe others have too, I don't know, but from my perspective, the Speedway Stout alone is worth the trip to San Diego.

The beer has, apparently, been named "the best beer in the world(!!!)" by RateBeer, and I can see why. I mean, it's hard to make those kind of claims, but Speedway Stout truly is a stellar imperial stout, right up there with Deschutes's Abyss. Which one is better? It's hard to say, and I think some proper aging of the Speedway would be the only way to judge it properly.

How does it do on its individual merits, then?

It pours a jet black, with a couple of fingers worth of a dark head. Retention is there in good form.

Give it a whiff and you don't want to stop smelling it. I mean, I suppose you do want to drink it too, but just sitting around like a glue addict is kind of tempting.

Shake the feeling off to take a drink, you'll find a dominating chocolate, flanked by the friendly inviting molasses. Following close behind is a smooth scent of coffee—not the roasted to 700 degrees stuff, we're talking quality coffee—and a very gentle backbone of anise. 

Sip, and the coffee comes through a little more than on the nose. It's not harsh tasting—as often is the case with these kind of beers—and the chocolate compliments it perfectly. There's a bit of vanilla sweetness toward the middle, all served up in a velvet like texture. Keep sipping, and you'll pick up other subtle flavors; fruits and the aforementioned anise make themselves known sooner rather than later.

Weighing in at 12% ABV, it's definitely a heavy hitter, but the flavors mask the alcohol well.

So, is the Speedway Stout the best beer in the world? Is it better than the Abyss? I really don't know, nor do I care. It's a stellar ale, and you probably should travel the 1,000+ miles to try it. (Although I'm fairly sure a trip to Belmont Station in Portland would suffice.) Do try it if you have the chance, and you'll feel very, very good about yourself.

I can only assume Adam was more than a little let down by his life in the Garden of Eden. Sure, it started well, but having to give up a rib to find a soul mate sounds a bit over the top to us. Add to that a hardline on apple consumptions, and a widespread reptile problem… It puts the whole "paradise" thing in perspective, particularly with the eviction Adam and Eve ultimately were faced with.

Our trip to Stone Brewing Company might not have been of such biblical proportions, but we, too, ended up having to face unexpected disappointment. Maybe we longed for too much, I don't know, but when you visit what ranks highly on your top five breweries list, you arrive with certain expectations.

Take the brewpub for example: Visit Deschutes's and you are lavished with exclusive beers and great food. At Stone, not so much. The tap list is made up of your regulars, the kind of stuff you can find in most any decent bar in Spokane. Sure, you can get a couple of special bottles, but really, at $25 a pop for a pint?

The food also leaves a bit to be desired, unless you're looking for something a step above Twigs.

Fair is fair, though: The outdoor seating, the "garden", is nice, and you quickly forget you're smack dab in the middle of an industrial park.

That glimmer of OK-ness aside, more disappointment would soon rear its ugly head. A trip to the company store left us with not just empty feelings, but dreams of what could have been. Tucked in a corner, hidden behind rows and rows of Stone branded clothing, was a cooler stocked only with the type of bottles you can find at Yoke's. Stone, why did you feel the need to slap us across the faces like that?

Oh, we could go on… The almost pointless brewery tour, the complete lack of signage making us having to search for an entrance… The letdowns kept coming, like ruined pearl on a string.

We love what Stone produces. Their beer is like apples of paradise distributed outside the Garden of Eden. Is the brewery worth visiting? Well, yes, because who wouldn't want at least have a glance of paradise? In the end, though, you will likely leave, feeling empty, feeling there should have been more.