Bells Batch 7000 Ale

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

Pours a midnight black with a thin brown/ruddy head that quickly fades to a thin ring, that leaves spotty lacing behind. This is one of the darkest beers I’ve seen. Smell; lots of dark roasted malts, coffee, rich dark chocolate. There’s also a bit of a leathery quality to the aroma. Taste; roasted malts and chocolate come out first, followed a nice espresso flavor. I get some touches of licorice floating around, and there’s a hints of slighlty sweet cherries, and a bitterness from the hops, with a slight warming from the alcohol in the finish. This isn’t nearly as bitter as I had expected from reading some previous reviews. Mouthfeel is nice and full, and very rich. This is an excellent double stout.

Oily and slick, yet highly fizzy, with a shit-ton of licorice and overwhelming dark fruit, dark chocolate and a strong shot of salt and soy sauce. Intensely flavorful and sticky-rich, but the soy sauce and licorice are really getting to me...ew.

Courtesy of OhioDad. <P> The aroma on this beer is powerful. Highly concentrated dark chocolate, alcohol, molasses, plastic and leather. The color is a light eating black upon which perches a tumb thick dark mocha head. Fore is burnt malts, soy sauce, burnt pumpernickel and then sweeter vanilla/cream notes that finish with an extremely bitter and burnt throat tickling flourish. I think this one needs to be cellared for a while to fully enjoy. It’s just too rough around the edges flavor wise right now.

Dark black color, thickened appearance, retentive tan to brown head and spotty lacing. Nose of musky dock wood, soy sauce, vinous molasses enriched with brown sugar, strong herbal ethanol notes. The chocolate and roast hide fairly deep in the smell considering they’re the forefront of Imperial Stouts’ smaller siblings. The flavor is ripe with sugars and astringency, thick and bitter. The tail is long and salty with other rich, bitter and dessert like qualities. Dissapointing flavor profile but nice smells and very big. Thanks to Indiana_Red for sharing his bottle.

Nose is dark malt sweet with a bold roast, chocolate malt character. Palate is murky thick and satin-touched. Flavor is waves of malt: smoke, oak, chocolate, and roast increasing in impact before a long hop-infused dry finish. Deep, strong, and enjoyable this is nearly an ideal imperial stout.

Poured extremely dark with a thin brown head. The aroma was chocolate and alcohol was present but not overpowering. Tastes the same with a very bitter aftertaste that lasts awhile. If you like bitter this is the beer for you. I’ll be looking forward to buying another bottle.

Thanks, baby (zug4abby), for sharing this beer with me and drinking so many other beers with me on my way to 1700. This brew pours with a dark brown to black body topped by a thin head with some lacing. It’s sweet and creamy with a roasty bitterness, a touch of coffee and a hint of chocolate. Full bodied and smooth.

Got this around Christmas and shared it with thedm and hotstuff. Inky black body with a dark brown head and clingly, oily lacing down the sides of my glass. Aroma had hints of rasins, and plums along with a good dose of choclate. The taste was that of milk chocolate, plums, sweet fruits like cherries and some alochol as it warmed. Near the end there was a bit of bitterness that also lingered until the next sip. Very tasty indeed.