Bells Expedition Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

12 oz. bottle to snifter. Aroma strong soy chocolate and hints vanilla. Appearance is oil dark brown (black) with nice tan head and minimal lacing. Taste big dark bitter chocolate with hints of vanilla and soy. Palate full slick and dry finish. Overall solid and enjoy very much the taste keeps getting better as it sits.

I’ve never been a big fan of the Russian Imperial Stout style because I often find the intense potency tends to overwhelm the palette and makes it difficult to appreciate. Then along comes Bell’s Expedition Stout - a midwestern example that impressed me more than all other previous examples of the style put together. It’s got everything I look for in a great stout: smooth, creamy texture; prominent chocolate and deeply roasted barley notes and it’s quite drinkable.

APPEARANCE AND AROMA

I poured a 12oz bottle into a tulip glass. This beer has a body that could only be described as opaque jet black. Even the head is very dark brown. It’s creamy and surprisingly thick for an imperial brew. It lasts for the first few swigs, dies down, but regenerates easily with a quick swirl.

The aroma is more along the lines of a chocolate stout with bitter dark chocolate notes as well as a significant alcohol presence. It’s surprisingly mild for such a strong beer.

TASTE

I noticed three separate, but very noticeable, flavor components to Bell’s Expedition Stout. Up front the beer is thick, creamy, smooth and chocolaty. As it finishes there’s quite a bit of heat from the alcohol which is rather dry, but completely tolerable. The aftertaste is almost as strong as the mouthfeel itself with a strong flavor of deeply roasted, or even burnt malts along with dark chocolate. Now that’s what I consider a complex palette.

What I like about this beer is the fact there is no sour red grape taste and the fact the chocolate is more on the bitter side so as not to be overly sweet the way some straight-up chocolate stouts tend to be. The alcohol is probably a little more prominent than I’d prefer, but it actually seems to fade away as the beer warms (usually, the opposite is true of beers like this).

I just wish the roasted malts had been more pronounced, since it this flavor was very pleasing on the tongue in the aftertaste.

DRINKABILITY

What impressed me most about Bell’s Expedition Stout (relatively speaking) was the how creamy and smooth the beer felt in the mouth. As it first enters the mouth, it’s velvety like a nitrogen-charged session stout but without the watery body. It’s thick, but not sticky or heavy. It’s sweet, but not overly sweet like candy or a dessert beer. Even though alcohol is quite prominent on the finish it’s actually rather subdued compared to other beers of the style.

Weighing in at 10.5% ABV it’s not surprising how much heat is generated from the beer, but what is surprising is how hefty the beer is not. Sure, just one bottle gave me a noticeable buzz, but I didn’t feel as though I had a watermelon in my stomach the way some imperials make me feel.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While I wouldn’t consider Bell’s Expedition Stout among the best of the best, it’s quite an amazing beer for what it’s able to accomplish. It’s rare I’m able to get such enjoyable taste and true drinkability in a Russian imperial stout.

(note: this beer was sent to me from a friend in Michigan since it’s not yet distributed here in upstate New York. I’m not sure of the price, but I would say upwards of $15 for a 4-pack is a good value.)

NOTE: Watch the video version of this review at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsxB9FHMA_c

Fruity alcohol aroma, thin head (cask). Very bitter and sweet at the same time. Syrupy mouthfeel is countered with lots of hop "zing".

Rich and meaty stout! Has a wonderful, warm, harmonious marriage of coffee and chocolatey richness. This beer starts out with a hint of roasted coffee then smoothes out to a bit of sweetness. One of my favorite Bells beers! Also try Third Coast Old Ale!

Aroma has hints of chocolate and raisin. Pours black with very little if any head. A full bodied beer that has a creamy texture. Has a long finish. Overall, I enjoyed this beer from start to finish. It is what I would expect from a Bell’s product. I would recommend everyone try it at least once.

Batch 7205 pours black with no head. Aroma is rich dark malt, some dark fruit, and hints of chocolate. Flavor is sweet malts, chocolate, vanilla, light raisin, and light meaty notes. Very creamy mouthfeel with alcohol completely hidden.

Draft. Pours completely opaque, nearly black, with a small dark tan head. Aroma is of licorice, smoke, heavily roasted malt, some dark fruit. Flavor is all that and some nice bitterness, particularly in the finish. Thick mouthfeel, mildly astringent. A delicious stout to savor.

Bottle tasting at work... wow! It hits you, then hits you again, and sticks around for the followup. Aromoa is nice, but has a meaty smoked bouquet that I wasn’t really expecting. Huge flavor that goes on and on. Finishes with a slight sweetness that rounds out the experience nicely. Plenty of bitterness to acompany this creamy, full bodied stout, but a hoppy presence hovers around the back of the palate. Chocolate and coffee play around the mouth but the smoke seems to stay with the nose. Overall, a really interesting beer that refuses to go away... buy a six pack, drink one, share three, and save back two... too much of this bad boy will bend you over and make you say you’re sorry!