Bells Batch 7000 Ale

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

Bottle thanks to artusory, thanks Ryan. This seems much different than most people say. It was relatively thin, clear, and more fruity and smoky or roasted. Poured a deep brown/black color with a thin tan head that diminished to a ring. Aroma of chocolate, light berries and dark fruit, and roastiness. Flavor enters with some light fruit and a hint of tartness, moving into a chocolate flavor with a roasty undertone and hints of coffee. Smooth, a bit lighter on the palate than I anticipated. Interesting. I need to get a hold of another to hang on too. Re-rate: Poured a darker brown/black color with a thick, dense tan head that stuck around quite nicely and left some nice sheets of lacing. Aroma of chocolate, some roasted malt, light coffee, a bit of dark vinuous fruit, and some light brown sugar/molasses. Nice, smooth entry with some moderate chocolate and a decent ashy character leading into a nice roasty character with some undertones of caramel draped vinuous fruit (a deep red grape flavor) hiding underneath some strong roastiness. Finishes with a light bitterness and undertones of that same deep grape flavor with some dark chocolate to round out the flavor profile. Thick and smooth with low carbonation, very good. Big thanks goes out to SoLan for sending me another bottle to try, I didn’t do this beer justice the first time due to an off bottle, but this is an awesome beer.

Thanks to Seproith for this! Black and viscous with thin tan head, toss in some spotty lacing and you one wonderful looking beer. Cocoa and bourbon on the nose. Velvety mouth-feel with a complex flavor profile consisting of chocolate, roast. coffee, smoke, and a malty bitter finish. Alcohol well masked. I only wish I had one fresh just for comparison purposes. Very malty so if thats your thing, you gotta get one of these

100th rating!! Pour is dark, somewhat viscous, dark tan head. Aroma is choclatey roast, some dark fruit. Flavor is sweet coffee chocolate up front, ends on a bittersweet chocolate note....quite sweet but nice chocolate coffee flavor (sweetness borders on sourness on occasion). Not the best stout Ive had (that honor goes to expedition) but good overall.

Pure black, and topped of a heavy tan foam, it doesn’t get more Stygian than this. The thick, subtly smoky vapor resonates with dark chocolate, hints of soy sauce, peanut and smooth coffee. The nose is languishing and tighter than I had hoped, tiredly breathing alcohol. Eventually, quiet hints of Frosted Flakes, heavy cream and roasted garlic become noticeable. On the tongue, the rich oily liquid is enveloping and suggests dry dark chocolate, touched with coffee bean and allspice. Somewhat plain when compared to the expectations of a modern Imperial Stout, but I must praise its exquisite balance. It remains corpulent and syrupy however, perhaps more suited to lose some of its weight and become a simple stout. The finish, it should be noted, is a phenomenal explosion of smoky steak sauce, a beautifully chewy coating aftertaste that adds a memorable layer of depth. All in all, I was surprised to see this brew chime so strongly among my colleagues, because it isn’t an over-the-top hedonistic (read Dark Lord) experience. It’s a simple, well-made, Imperial Stout. (10/03/07)

Bottle at ZBF 08, thanks to Miketd for this one. Thick toffee aroma. Along with everything else you would expect from an impy stout. It’s a lot of hops. A bit too sweet and thick. I am not really a fan of Bells and this doesn’t really change my mind. Still, pretty competent.

A Mes rate: Bottle at Zythos, big thanks to Miketd.
Black as night with a thick tan head. Awesome hops and sweet sweet cola on the nose with some hints of soy and it’s very slightly oxidised. Rich dark chocolate flavour that is just heavy as fuck and probably a little o.t.t. but still very good. Much too thick in the mouth unfortunately but there is no doubt it was a treat to try it.

ZBF 2008 on the Saturday, this was shared out to us ratebeerians by the very generous Miketd, cheers Mike! Bacon was on the aroma as so accurately spotted by Phil L, but also some smokiness and roasted nuts. Intensely bitter but backed with much sweetness. The bitterness coats ones tongue and stays there for some time, some coffee flavours as well. I liked this but I’m glad that I had a smallish sample as any more and I may have found it just a bit too much for me.

Much thanks to hoppymeal for this beer. Incredibly dark pour that was very still. Virtually no head, and the one that shyly appear left in an instant. Big coffee and chocolate nose along with roasted malts, some licorice and a bit of stale air. Wow...the flavor is truly wonderful. Black licorice, deep roasted coffee, dark chocolate and some black cherry cola as well. Mouthfeel is creamy with good coverage and carbonation. Thanks hoppymeal, this is a great beer!