Bells Batch 7000 Ale

Huge thanks to northernbrews for this extra! A: Thick, thick black with a 1/2 finger tan color head that just warns you that this is going to be a big beer. S: Tons and tons of dark fruits. Sweet dark fruit infused chocolate. Light molasses and carob notes. So far, very nice. T: The dark fruits are still very much at play - more so than many imperial stouts I have had. I would guess the age has brought them out to the forefront as often happens with imperial stouts. The taste is actually reminiscent of blackberry infused dark chocolate - I know there is no blackberry in this, but the similarity is there. Carob and lightly roasted malts give a wonderful interplay with the dark fruits. Some rich espresso plays in the background as well. Incredible. Complex, balanced and utterly tasty. The mouthfeel is decadently rich with moderately low carbonation yet never borders on the syrupy side. Drinkability is phenomenal for a beer of this strength. Highly recommended. This is up there among my favorite imperial stouts.

Poured out black, with a dark brown head and decent lacing. Aroma was roasty, but also fairly hoppy yet, even with being over a year old. Taste starts out very nice with chocolate and dark fruit, but then a bitter roastyness comes up followed by even more bitter hops that just seemed a little out of place yet. It was good, but it seemed like those hops we casting a shadow over the wonderfully malty flavors. With age I think the taste would be even better. Full bodied and lighter on the carbonation, but still pretty nice. This was decent, but I think it needs much more time to mellow the alcohol and hoppiness that is, IMO, in the way. Need to re-rate this.

Bottle via trade with bgburdman9. Thanks for the help finding this treat. Oily black pour with a thin tan head. Very still appearance. Aroma of soy sauce, gentle hops and molassas. Maybe some plum and raison lurking about too. Stiff flavour that starts with molassas, strong hops and some rummed fruits. Finishes with espresso or maybe those coffee beans covered with dark chocolate. The hops hang around as well. Very bold beer and extra points for the uniqueness.

Bottle, thanks to wetherel, shared with NachlamSie. Pours silent and viscous, dark black with thick legs and tan head. Aroma is strong raisin and dark fruits, mild espresso, some soy sauce, a little bit of pistacchio. Flavor is sweet and fruity at first, with a pretty strong coffee element. A touch of soy sauce comes through again, and then a pleasant strong bitterness follows. There is a pretty impressive hop bitterness, especially considering the age of the bottle. Ultimately it ends up quite dry with bitter chocolate and sour cherry notes. A nice charred roastiness floats around, too. This is a great beer.

Bottle most graciously shared by Tronraner. The pour is heavy, thick, oily, black as all get out. It almost looks still in the pour. A very dark head forms in the tulip glass. Legs are thick and sticky after a swirl. I’m surprised to see how aromatic this stuff is. Heavy, heavy roasted espresso, soy sauce, wood smoke, molasses. . .the aroma leads me to believe this will be very roasty and heavy. Yes, what a correct assumption. This is quite dry with an unforgiving roastiness, heavy soy sauce, really the only sweetness that comes out is on my lips and buried in the finish. Kind of reminds me of brown sugar. Dark chocolate, earth, espresso. I wondered what the point of Bells making a standard imperial stout is, considering their mighty Expedition. This is very similar to Expedition just heavier and drier. Big time Kudos.

Bottle. Pours pitch black with a thin dense mocha head that slowly recedes to a thin ring of foam around the top. Lacing is extremely good. Huge roasted malt aroma up front with very sweet licorice, molasses and dark fruit undertones. Bakers chocolate and espresso are also present in the nose along with a hint of alcohol burn in the nostrils. The taste is massive on this beer with a huge bakers chocolate sweetness up front on top of molasses and dark fruits. This gives way to a heavy roasted malt backbone which gives way to the bitter roasted espresso that lingers into the dry finish. Mouthfeel is absolutely luxuriant - silky smooth and just coats your mouth with all the complexity of the taste. The finish is slightly dry and bitter, but in a balanced way on top of the chewiness of the tastes. This is a wonderful beer and can be treated as a dessert due to its decadent taste and mouthfeel.

Thanks to ironchefscott for sharing this one at Lost Abbey release of Isabelle Proximas. This was the tastiest beer of the morning line tasting. Excellent aromas and flavors. Very good.

Big thanks to BDR for sharing this one! Intense dark brown pour with a thin, toffee head. Rich aroma of roasted malt, coffee and chocolate. Taste similar plus licorice. Thick, smooth, creamy mouthfeel. Awesome beer!