Bells Batch 7000 Ale

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

Finally got my hands on this one again. I didn’t know how good I had it until this was gone all of the sudden. Poured black with a dark tan head. Smelled roasty, slight bourbon quality, dark (Pitch black) fruit. Taste is too many things to try to describe. Rich Dark chocolate, dark fruit, roasty, grapes, wood, hints of fine liquor. The taste just keeps going after you swallow. I really enjoy this stuff. I must try the barrel aged version.

Enjoyed several cases and many pints, including a few that were were from a barrel aged batch. Another beer that I fully intended to keep a case of, but couldn’t stop myself from drinking them! Oily black with the tiniest hint of red at the edges. THICK and trademark nose of the other big Kalamazoo Stouts with the main difference being more dark fruits and toffee evident. Better from the bottle, i thought, for some reason the nose was bigger and the flavors seemed more balanced. Tapped pints were quite alcoholic, especially the barrel aged, obvioulsy. Dryness left on the roof of my mouth was a bit too harsh fresh from the tap (both at Bells, Kalamazoo and Bone Dry, Highland, Indiana). The dark fruits in the taste reminded me a lot of the strange flavors in the big Trappist Ales, raison, plum, blackberry. Chalky in the middle with nice hints of toffee, slight espresso, mustiness. I know I weighed a lot less before I finished about 14 six packs of this stuff.

Bottle from a trade. First Impression is wow...awesome smell. Sweet, dark and thickly alcohol aftertaste. Chewy, 50 degrees and below kind of beer. I like this, it’s tasty. It’s a beer I’ve been wanting to taste, but kept passing over it in my cellar. Now, I’m glad I have another one in there in the back, it’s damn tasty now....but another year...Wow.... What a great end to a fantastic beer evening.

Tasted from bottle from cquiroga at Alesmith’s Sept 2007 BA release. Big thanks Chris!!! Near the end of the tastings, so not the optimal time to rate. From notes: Crazy rich aroma of molasses and thick sweet malts. Freakin’s awesome. Sweeet! Tempted to give a 5. 10,5,10,5,19:4.9 Tried again at PP bottle shop. Bottle from Styles. Not nearly as good this time. Still good though. Hmm? 8,3,8,3,17: 3.9

Thanks SoLan!!! I have been wanting to try this beer for quite some time. Pours midnight black with the smallest brown head. Aroma is what I expected, a full frontal assualt of roasted coffee, chocolate. a hint of licorice. Flavor is robust and bold, subtlety has been tossed out of the window. Undulating waves of flavors assault the senses, dark malts, coffee, bitter chocolate and a hint of warming alcohol. Absoltely wonderful.

Wow. Just wow. Enough can’t be said about this one. Loved every bit. Smelled the aroma from a mile away. Everything an Imp Stout should be. I need to get a few hundred cases of these and let them sit. :) good luck.

Pours black with lots of thick brown head. Great aroma of chocolate, coffee, and some vanilla sweetness. Very complex tastes. Some chocolate, vanilla, fruits, malts, and hint of alcohol. Wow, this is a great beer.

Name: Bell’s Batch
Date: 12/03/2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Strong Ale fest, 2005
Vintage: 7000

black with ruby edges, rich sweet fruity malt aroma, rich toffee flavor, light bitterness, hint of alcohol, will be wonderful with age
-------- /> Name: Bell’s Batch
Date: 04/28/2006
Mode: bottle
Source: brewpub
Vintage: 7000
Score: ii+ to iii

fruit is getting riper, alcohol is still present but not overpowering
-------- /> Name: Bell’s Batch
Date: 05/20/2006
Source: tasting
Vintage: 7000

alcohol continues to fade as some bitterness grows,
-------- /> Name: Bell’s Batch
Date: 10/21/2006
Source: tasting
Vintage: 7000

picking up roasted and chocolate in the aroma, lots of roasted flavor coming through, minimal alcohol, only a hint of fruit that hides until warm, much more about the rich roasted malt flavor than the fruit, getting better
-------- /> Name: Bell’s Batch
Date: 06/23/2007
Source: tasting
Vintage: 7000

still roasted over fruit, needs more time

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4