Bells Batch 7000 Ale

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

Very decent brew, tried at the Dusseldorf gathering. Lots of chocolate, Some bitterness, Roasted malts, Maybe abit too much alcohol, but It should mellow out. Good brew!

I have had this beer a couple times recently and have came to the conclusion that with a little over a year and some months aging this beer is fantastic. Lots of roastiness, some sweets, and maybe even a bit of smoke. The flavors are outstanding with LOTS of bakers chocolate with a dry roast that has some sweetness in it. Some dark fruits are a little present in the flavor but no where near too much. The mouthfeel is really full bodied , nice and thick. The alcohol is really no where near noticeable in this big imperial stout. Towards the end of the bottle I did notice a little bit of "chalkiness" but I think that might have been a mixture of the sediments and the roasted flavors melding together. This small quip did nothing to take away from this fantastic beer. I love this beer, and Bells once again does not disappoint.

Pours perfectly into a nice tan foam head. Smell is WOW. A hint of alcohol, soy sauce and more malts. The smell, lingers into the taste, but the alcohol is up front at this point. The finish is surprisingly smooth for the upfront taste this brew has. Drinkable, yes. Just not more than one at a time IMO.

Bottle from Sprinkle. Pours thick and black, like oil. Thick rich aroma of roasted malts and sweet chocolate. A little alcohol as well. Ultra smooth mouthfeel, like liquid silk. Flavor up front is a little spicy and bitter with some alcohol notes. Finish if roasted and bitter. Very rich and complex. Very enjoyable sipper.

I decided to drink something special for my 250th rating since it was my one year anniversary.....umm with rating beer that is. I drank the hell out of this when it was released and somehow never got around to rating it. it has been about a year now since i have drank one of these. now of course i wish that i would have squirreled more of this away. so uh.....anyway here it goes. This beer looks AMAZING. pitch black motor oil thick syrupy black hole of a beer. light doent even try getting through this thing. the light actually ran off and hid in the corner as i was pouring this beer. i checked on him and he said he was cool so i whipped out the trusty mag light and continued.... the head is amazing creamy dark caramel brown. it lasts for quite a long time and leaves some good lacing. the aroma....i could smell this beer forever....it took me a good twenty minutes to get to tasting it. leather tobacco dark molasses vanilla and oak with a hint of currants mocha and piney citrus hops........and the best i can explain it is something that smelled slightly like dog food. but still an absolutely amazing aroma. beautiful. the flavor is intense. bittersweet coffee molasses chocolate with hints of smoke earthy tobacco spicy black pepper tart black currants with a nice touch of salt. dry acidic finish that has a billion different flavors. smokey campfire everything listed above and more. FULL THICK RICH AMAZING BODY with minimal carbonation....just the way it should be. alcohol? 12%? other than the fact that this beer is huge i didnt even notice it. i cant name another beer that has all five tastes. pungent, salty, sour, bitter, and sweet i guess i could even say umami since my mouth is watering right now just thinking about this beer. a wonderful experience. a true masterpiece.

12 oz bottle, purchased a year ago (1/2/06) and kept refrigerated. Pours and inky black with a thin but fine brown head that quickly recedes to a collar that laces the glass.

The aroma is chocolate covered cherries, and dark fruits. There’s also some grains and a little alcohol.

The flavor is bitter and burnt roast, licorice, chocolate, and a touch of sweet lactose. It has a pretty harsh bitter lingering aftertaste with a touch of sweetness. There is some alcohol in the finish but it is well hidden and not harsh. The mouthfeel is full and creamy with light carbonation.

Overall, it’s a good but unbalanced impy stout. I don’t remember it being this harshly burnt and bitter when I had it fresh - I would’ve thought it would’ve mellowed. It does become a bit more mellow as it warms.

Bottle (@ D’dorf Gathering): Very dark amber coloured, small reddish-brownish foamy layer; roasted malt, liquorice in the nose with a strong coffeeish bitterness; very robust bitter-sweet flavour, medium to full bodied; distinctive coffeeish finish with a heavy touch of molasses and a lingering heavy (burnt-)malty-bitter finish. Worth a detour........

Rating #400... It finally snowed again today. This is only like the second time the whole season, so it’s about time! If it is going to be this frigid it might as well be snowing. Unfortunately it was just a very light dusting that’s gone already, but hopefully more will be on the way. In the meantime, I’ve been really wanting to try the Bell’s 7000 for quite some time, so I finally decided that today is the day to try one! I’m sure it has been worth the wait...

Bell’s Batch 7000 pours out similar to used motor oil in a completely silent stream (no spashing or other noise of any kind when it first hits the glass or the other beer already in the glass). It is a very, very dark maroon brown color. In the glass it appears black with an intruiguing purple hue to it. There is a initially a creamy brown head (with a reddish tint) that slowly recedes to leave a cirrus-like veil with a dense ring around the edges. The aroma is a complex mixture of mocha, port, smoke, and fine alcohol. The rich and creamy flavor is also complex. Red wine, cream sherry, chocolate, coffee, and fine alcohol are all evident. There is also a delicate smoked meatiness that complements all the other flavors. Toward the end a slight warming alcohol sensation emerges that completes the overall experience of this beer. The finish is dry and roasty like espresso and fine dark chocolate. The savory flavor lingers on the tongue long after swallowing and remains rich with a semi-sweet chocolate and well-roasted malt bitterness at the very end. This beer has a full body and is very creamy and smooth on the palate. Overall I think I like this brew just a touch more than the Bell’s Expedition Stout. It must be because of the slightly greater amount of smoke threaded amongst the many other flavors of this beer. It would be quite interesting to try the Bell’s 7000 and Expedition Stout side by side to see how they really compare...

12 oz bottle. Thanks to everybody who has been kind enough to send me bottles of this fabulous beer: Styles, EddieG, Sephiroth, and Silphium. I really appreciate your generosity and look forward to enjoying every bottle. This beer has quickly become one of my favorites!