Bells Black Note Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter

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Got to try this on tap at the Bells tasting at Studio 35 on Indianola Ave., 1-18-09. A little too cold to get much of aroma. Initial heat up front; bourbon barrel, but not exactly outspoken. Quite thick and viscous, maybe more so than the regular Expedition. Sweet. Creamy. Leafy hop in the middle. I like this but it does seem somewhat overhyped for whatever reason. Some batches of regular Expedition are better for instance. So I feel a little bad giving a 3.7 to such a highly rated hard to find retired beer, even though it was really cool to get to try this (apparently only 4 quarter casks total made it into Ohio, and I think just 1(?) at this tasting). Lot of props to the Bells beer reps for this.

Part of our hotel room tasting, GABF 2007. Thanks to whoever brought it (might have been cquiroga, maybe Captain Cougar; there were so many generous benefactors, and all the beers were just chillin’ in the tub, it was impossible to keep track). Smell: wow. Bourbon + imitation vanilla your mom uses for baking + liquid creamy chocolate; the bourbon is so nice and fruity, not dominated by oily alcohol aromas. Pours pitch black like normal Expedition, with crumbling oily lacing. Super full bodied. Taste features a creamy lactic sweetness over full rich malts of toffee, chocolate; a bitter, dry, and musty finish is full of hops, but it’s layered and variable, it keeps changing: starts earthy and dusty, then becomes coffee-ish in the rich bitterness, then settles into a weird sour hops after effect, which was weird and soured me on the beer. To bad it was the last impression. This is a monster, but I think I might still just prefer regular Expedition. I’m growing tired of barrel aging.

Dark black body with a small creamy brown head. Sweet caramel, molassas and light oak aroma. Sweet molassas, chocolate, caramel flavor with light oak and vanilla. I very much enjoyed this brew.

UPDATED: MAR 24, 2009 On tap at Capital Ale House - Downtown on 01/26/2009. Dark black body wtih ruby highlights and a small creamy light brown head. Sweet oak, chocolate and caramel aroma with some rum-soaked fruit. Sweet oak and vanilla flavor wtih some chocolate and caramel. Full body with moderately low carbonation. 8/5/9/4/17 - 4.3 On tap at the Capital Ale House Kerstfest in December 2007. Dark black body with a small creamy brown head. Sweet caramel, molassas and light oak aroma. Sweet molassas, chocolate, caramel flavor with light oak and vanilla. Smooth creamy mouthfeel with a full body and medium low carbonation. 9/5/9/4/18 - 4.5

Sample at the Bell’s tasting at Brews Cafe on 3/6/08: This beer pours a matte black color with a medium thin light brown head with decent retention. Small patches of lacing on the glass. Aroma of coffee liqueur, bourbon and toasted malt. Rich, chewy body with loads of roasted malt and bittersweet chocolate flavor, as well as bourbon and plum. The finish is roasty and sweet at first with mild alcohol and coffee in the aftertaste. Very enjoyable, and a close second to the Bourbon Barrel Java Stout at this event.

On tap at the Bell’s dinner at Brews. Dark beer with a thin brown head that shank to a whispy film pretty quickly. The bourbon barrel flavors are much more subtle in this mix then in the Third Coast Old Ale or the Java. The bourbon is still a strong flavor, with oak, vanilla, coffee, some bitter chocolate and some dark juicey fruits as it warms. This beer comes with a lot of hype and while it didn’t rock my world, for a beer with so many stong flavors everything balances and blends with finesse. This is a great example of how a barrel and two beers can be combined to make an excellent drink.

#500. Draft. Pours pitch black with a surprisingly sturdy dark brown head. As soon as I smelled this I knew my hopes were not going to be let down. Super rich, thick chocolate aroma complimented (not overpowered) by a strong vanilla, oaky bourbon note that melds nicely. Coffee, dark fruits, marshmallow are also noted, all being weaved together nicely. This smells remarkably similar to Goose Island’s BCS, one of my favorite beers. Thankfully this tastes as good as it smells. Rich, full bodied and sticky with that super roasty flavor of Expedition being in the forefront, though calmed from its time in the barrel and the addition of the bourbon and vanilla flavors. I want to say this has a chocolate flavor and aftertaste but really it is more like fudge. Again, the bourbon is a strong component in the flavor but it doesn’t overpower. The body is full and chewy though obviously a little less than the regular Expedition. I taste a lot more Expedition than Double Cream. I wondered why they even bothered to blend the two because an oak-aged Expedition sounded better to me but I think the DC cuts out some of the intense roastiness and bitterness of the Expedition and lends a nice drinkability to this. This is certainly one of the best barrel aged beers I’ve tried, I might like the BCS just a tad more though this is certainly less hot and more drinkable. Either way this is just spectacular.

On Tap @ Oak Cafe Bells Stout Fest Pored Black little to no head Roasty bourbon aroma some vanilla . Sticky mouth feel Nice choclate sweet bourbon flavor littl licorice twords finish.

Black pour, medium brown head. Aroma is woody with some bourbon. Flavor is really like a 3:1 ratio of Expo to DC. Roasty and intense Expo flavor like roasted malts, and licorice but with the chocolate DC creaminess mellowing it out. Very woody with just a subtle touch of bourbon. Just balanced perfectly, very smooth and very delicious. This was awesome!

On tap at the beer engine. This beer is fantastic!!! Enjoyed several snifters of this brew over the course of the night. Poured a very dark viscous black with a very roasty and toasted brown head that receded after a short little while. The nose of this beer is top notch...filled with aromas of wood tannins, vanilla, roastiness, marshmallow, and some bourbon. The flavor profile is unbelievably good. Some borubon, some woodsy flavors, lots of roasted dark malts, some chocolate, coffee, and some darker fruits even make their presence known. The alcohol was not all that overbearing for such a big brew, and it was really quite welcoming in this fantastic sipper of an imeprial stout. The blending of both the expedition and double cream stout left the palate and mouthfeel of this beer ever so creaming and rich. A really really fantastic beer!!