Bells Batch 7000 Ale

Formerly brewed at Bells Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Wow. Solid drinking. One at a time. At 18 bucks a six, you can only drink it slowly. Maybe the strongest special batch yet.

Beautiful dark brown pour with smallish head that is a nice tan with a slight orange tint. Aroma of molasses, espresso and plum/raising fruit. Maybe a whiff of alcohol, too... Very creamy texture and taste of espresso, fruit. Revisited 12-12-06. Bottle stored in cellar for 10 mo. and fridge for another 2. Pour is similar... maybe a bit taller head than I remember. About two fingers high and slowly rising above the body after the whole bottle is dumped in. Aromas of Kahlua, chocolate, prunes, molasses and bourbon. The taste seems to have mellowed and the espresso notes from earlier give way to a more balanced attack of molasses, chocolate and dark fruit. The texture is still creamy and smooth and the finish is much more of a prune/raisin flavoring. I can’t honestly say that it is much better than a year ago, just that it seems to have smoothed out a bit and mellowed nicely. I’m adding one point to the overall score...

Thanks to goldtwins for this trade! Pours a deep black with a smaller size creamy tan head. Aroma of molasses, light smoke, dark fruits, vanilla, oak, sweet chocolate maltiness, earthy, caramel, toffee, nuts and some floral and light hops still sticking around. Flavor of molasses, earthy, light smoke, toffee, dark chocolate, cherries, almonds, this is very sweet and malty, but the level of hop bitterness is very high and holds this beer together wonderfully. Even getting some pine and grapefruit from the hops. Also dries out a bit in the finish. Reminds me a good bit of Expedition.

pours black, thick but with little head what there is is light brown. aroma is chocolate hops and molasses. taste is the same though the chocolate stands out more. tastes a little sweet with a touch of alcohol. i could almost swear there was a bit of cherry mixed in. damn good.

In short: Top class Imperial Stout with mixing chocolate and fruity flavours
How: 2 year old vintage bottle shared by an exceptionally generous MartinT. A few years of friendship finally pays-off.
The look: Black body with a medium tan head
In long: Very creamy yet very roasted filthy rich body. Chocolate cake, blueberries, dates, tobacco, molasses and just about everything you can expect from a high-class imperial stout except maybe coffee beans. Resinous hops are still doing their jobs after two years. Too bad that nowadays this beer is harder to find than a bingo hall in Tibet.

Beer for dinner! I don’t mean WITH dinner...this beer is in the category of meal-replacement. I work with diesel trucks, and this stuff pours as thick as engine oil, but it’s totally black. Very little head. Let it warm up and you start to get a pleasantly burnt, very sweet aroma. A sip reveals much bitterness, much sweetness, thick as you’d expect, and a looooooooooooooooong finsih. Can pick out coffee and pine flavors. I love the roastiness against the massive sweetness.

pours blackish-brown with minimal head. nose is quite astringent and sharp. coffee, chocolate and cranberry notes in the aroma. flavor is full-force, hops quite present. a lot better this (2nd) time around, than i remember from the first time i drank this. alcohol is present, but not overly unpleasant.

Rating three hundy. Opaque black color that sits below a thin, even expanse of dark tan head. Swirling the liquid around in the glass, the beer’s heft is apparent. The aroma is primarily chocolate chip and alcohol, with some roasted smells stuggling to get through the fumes. The palate isn’t as thick as I anticipated, but I was anticipating something milkshake-like. The taste is the real feature here. At first, the alcohol takes over, but as the brew warms, some real deep dark roast flavors take over and provide a glowing roast finish.