Bells Batch 7000 Ale

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

12oz bottle. aroma is exploding with maple syrup, bittersweet chocolate, toffee, espresso, and alcohol. pours pitch black with thick tan milk shake head. looks amazing. tastes of espresso, extremely bitter dark chocolate, a piney hop presence, and still too hoppy for my tastes. slight presence of alcohol, still too hot but damn tasty.8/4/7/4/16=3.9.

12/04/07, 12oz bottle, cellared for just over 2 years. pours black with wonderful tan head once swirled that lasted. nose of coffee, roast, soy, nutty, alcohol, and toffee. flavor is intense chocolate and coffee, wow a wonderfully rich chocolate coming through met by some piney hops still present but toned down a bit more now. very full mouth feel, extremely thick going in but it goes down pretty easy. a very smooth roast note throughout. I’m not sure what is going on with the aroma as it is actually not that great compared to the flavor. wow this has improved a lot since last year. i’m not sure it is peaking, but it is coming into its own to be a truly great stout. 4.3.

Thanks to brewblackhole! Dark color. Poured out like syrup. Smell of malt, chocolate cake, honey, hops, molasses, vanila, caramel, coffee, prunes, rasins, apples, wood/oak, and roasted peanuts. Tastes the same. Very creamy heavy on the alcohol. What a great beer. Very flavorful.

12 oz bottle courtesy of Pailhead. Black with a dense brown head. Big licorice and coffee nose, some dark molasses. Smooth, rich, creamy body. Coffee, bold malt, dates, plus a fruity quality I can’t quite grasp. Big tarry bitter finish with a roasty dryness. The alcohol is pronounced, but does not detract from the experience. Very good!

This was a real find for me. I had missed the train on this wonderful beer and gave up all hope of ever really trying it, then randomly stumbled across a restaurant still serving it in Michigan. A thick, black pour, with a complex aroma of malts, chocolate, molasses and coffee. Tastes as good as it smells, and masks the 12% abv very well. Has more of a coffee finish than Expedition but is fairly similar. Very creamy finish with a faint hop finish. A+ work from Bells.

Bottle. Thick oily black pour with a smooth/creamy yellowed tan head...with some really damn good lacing...I normally don’t talk about lacing...but THIS is some damn fine lacing. Big bready malt aroma, along with dark fruits, chocolate, molasses, maybe a tinge of smoke. The flavor has some vinous elements, along with dark chocolate,molasses, booze, plum, and more thick bready somewhat roasty malt..perhaps a bit of bitter apple skin. The vinous qualities are so strong I wonder if this was a slight oxidation? The aroma gains a higher alcohol presence as it warms as well. Thick mouthfeel, this stuff has huge body with sweet/sour/roasty elements throughout with a vinous finish that really sticks around. A big rich brew all around with some bitter qualities that are nice coupled with some of the roasty elements. A nice take on the style that seems bigger and heavier than most of its style counterparts.

From bottle courtesy of Wheninhell. Pours a deep black/brown with thin tan head. Nose is dark chocolate, molasses and vinous. Flavor is dark, bitter chocolate to the extreme and more of the molasses. Thick, luscious palate. Good.

got my hands on this thanks to Brad. Big hoppy green apples pine tree resin aroma. Engine black with 2mm tight brown head, fine lacing. Rich coffee and molasses with perfect hop crisp apple pine grapefruit balance, perfect dark chocolate. Big, rich, heavy, lingering, humongous flavor. Nancy wanted some so bad she jumped up a chair to make sure she got both of the girls share...

Bottle from Ross - a big thanks for this one!!!Black as night with a medium brown well structured head of very fine bubbles, and some fair lace. Coffee, dark fruit, and alcohol on the nose. Superlative mouthfeel - Full, thick, rich, and oily. Espresso and bitter chocolate have immediate and lasting presence, a hint of licorice comes through, and a bit of peppery hops for a satisfying long and bitter finish. I wouldn’t mind trying this again in a year.