Bells Batch 7000 Ale

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

(bonus brew by way of brewso AND MY 600TH RATING!)well here i am @ rating 600...its a special time so i need a special beer right?well this beer is damn near perfect for the occasion.so i dumped a bit of the batch 7000 into my stone impy stout glass.as it poured it looked just like expedition stout.thick and super black.although i did manage to get a little head out of this baby.a thin 1/4 dark brown head swam to the top,although it soon sunk beneath the black sea.as i raised the glass to my nose and took a swift sniff,this is what i could catch.first off was a bit of sweet chocolate,followed by black liquorice,fudge,alcohol,and cherries.the first sip changed in falvor so fast it was even hard to catch anything,let alone the complexity of the palate.on the second sip i could gather beef jerkey,cherries,smoke,chocolate,leather,and roasted malts.even 10 to 15 seconds after a sip ,bits of the beer still slid down my throat.the mouthfeel was super thick and the palate went on for days....what more can i say?

(12oz bottle) Small tan head atop a solid black body. Aroma is medium sweet, molasses, coffee, pistachio, black cherry, light chocolate. Taste is sweet, coffee, chocolate, roasty, date, some pine, earthy/herbal. Some alcohol warming in the finish, but not overpowering despite the ABV. Creamy full body, remarkably drinkable.

2x12 oz bottles shared with MartinT, tiggmtl, Rastacouere, beerbuzzmontreal and Yowie. Had this just after two vintages of Expedition, so comparisons are inevitable...and appropriate. Pours viscous, opaque motor oil, with just a small ring of lasting brown foam...big, big roasty nose offering bitter almonds, vanilla and espresso, perhaps not as complex as Expedition or balanced but still inviting...more is going on in the body, nuts again and roasty, bitter coffee and chocolate, but also odd notes of mint and sour apples...very charred and burnt to finish, again less balanced than it’s lil’ brother but just as well-made and memorable. Awesome.

(Bottle) Pours a black body with a small tan head. Aroma of roasted malt, dark chocolate, and mild hops. Flavor of charred and roasted malt.

Bottle poured black as oil with a huge, thick, creamy, chocolate head and heavy lacing that lasted throughout the entire beer. Rich roasty chocolate malt and molasses aroma. Flavor is rich and thick, chocolate, coffee, burnt malts with a nice heavy body. Alcohol is very well hidden with just a taste in the finish. Good shit maynard!

Thanks to JohnC for bringing this to Pizza Port’s strong ale fest. Poured very dark with a big thick brown head. When held up to the light the color had deep red notes, quite pretty. One smell and taste and it was clear that this was a BIG imperial stout, very chewy body with flavors of cigar tobacco, coffee grounds and molasses. The texture was marvelous, the head almost like it was on nitrogen (was from the bottle). When swished around in the mouth was like a silky milkshake. Damn I wish we could buy these in California!

Thanks to JohnC for bringing this to share at the Pizza Port 9th Strong Ale Festival. Very nice aromas of roasted malt, cocoa, coffee, dark fruit and hops. Flavor follows aroma but this is strong and assertive, complex and thick. Alcohol is up front, the finish is bitter. I liked this but it could certainly use some mellowing.

Hmmmm... someone poured some tar into my snifter and managed to whip up a nice medium sized tan head to boot. Aroma of rum, whisky, dates, plums, and wood. Whomping alcohol up front with a huge pile of malts and bitterness. Coffee and chocolate in the back. It’s nice now, but I’ll drool over it in a year or two.