Bells Black Note Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

FoBAB 2009 (listed as Black Note): My third must try beer of the fest. Basically opaque with a lovely small creamy head and very good lace. The aroma has an intense mix of coffee and cream, chocolate and vanilla, walnut and charred malts, liqcorice and oaky bourbon, and even a touch of meaty bacon. The taste is a powerful onslaught of rich malts, ripe fruits, chocolate and espresso, anise and light charred barrel smoke. I get a touch of grassy hops towards the finish. The mouth feel is oily and lush, coats the palate but is not as heavy as your basic Expedition stout, nicely warming without becoming boozy. Wow,this is everything it has been made out to be. A world class Impy and a must try for any stoutie, just missed placing in my top 10.

Can’t believe I got to try this. FoBAB 2009. Aroma of cream, coffee, chocolate and bourbon. The bourbon is just a player here in the symphony. hops are tnere too. Such a creamy delicious beer. Basically, beyond the hype, or hype proof. This is the real deal. Some liquid smoke and meat, some meaty chocolate. Chocolate covered bacon? sure. This beer is so comfortable, it had nothing to prove. About as awesome as it gets. This beer is like telling a chef you’re not much into dessert and they try to prove you wrong.

#300...Insanely blessed to try this absolutely incredible beer. On tap at Stub and Herb’s, this poured a pitch black with a nice tan head and left a nice lacing. Aroma is incredibly complex: coffee, chocolate, roasted malts, bourbon and floral hops. Flavor is a beautifully balanced sweet. The palate is insane; creamy, thick, rich, lush...just flat out amazing. This beer exceeds the hype.

Very ’stouty’ aroma sweet but try with some liquor like hints. Amazing mouthfeel, very soft but a nice medium-heavy weight. Chocolate, some bitter roasty flavours. It’s like a nice hoppy batch of expedition stout with a hint of mellow added....not like a big expedition mellowed out, but it’s like a separate component of the beer. It feels a little boozy without being really alcoholic, reminds me of a good scotch or bourbon in that respect. Pretty interesting beer overall, well done and has some nice flavours. However, it’s not top 50 beer....

My 100th ratting and what a beer to do it on. 7oz Tap at Stub and Herb’s. Pours black as black with a tan head. Aroma doesn’t get much better; if I wasn’t so excited to get this one I could have just sat and smelled this all night. Lots of bourbon, dark roasted malts, espresso, creamy chocolate, and vanilla. Flavor is fantastic as well and is everything you get out of the smell and more. The sweetness of everything works so well with the bourbon. This is extremely well balanced and everything seems to complement each other. This one lives up to all the hype and then some! I only hope I can get more of this sometime sooner rather than later.

[Tap at Stub and Herb’s] Pours pitch black with a moderate tan head. Aroma is divine. Lots of bourbon barrel, vanilla, espresso, and some ultra dark chocolate, maybe some chocolate pudding as well. The mouthfeel on this thing is ammmmaaaazzziiingggg. Makes expedition feel like grainy water in comparison. Flavor isn’t too shabby either. The double cream stout really shines through, lots of barrel character, dark chocolate, and roasted dark malts. Really amazing beer.

(on tap at Stub and Herbs) Pours black with a thin tan head that rings around the highball glass that I wish were a snifter instead. Aroma wasn’t too impressive, but it contained the standard BA impy fare, with some vanilla, chocolate, roasted malt, and raisin as well. The taste was quite good with some milk chocolate, handi-snacks chocolate pudding, vanilla, light roasted malt, coconut, raisin, and some charred barrel on the finish. What really sets this beer apart from other BA imp. stouts is the mouthfeel which is incredibly smooth, rich, and full. If I could give the palate a higher score I would. A good beer, but not as great as I was expecting. Hopefully I can re-rate a larger sample in a snifter sometime in the future.

Served at Stub and Herbs during their Black Friday event the day before Surly’s Darkness Day. Our waitress was right on this one and did a great job securing a table of ratebeerians with a 7 oz sample of this brew. Later on, I witnessed a beer being Factoed by an unnamed source, ha! One of the smoothest palates of any beer I’ve put to my lips. Tobacco, licorice, lactose, chocolate, bourbon...a lot going on here. Well balanced, as none of the flavors overpower. Fairly impressive, although I have to admit when it comes to impy stouts, this isn’t quite my bag of tea. But I can see how some might be blown away by this beer. I’m glad I got a chance to try.

I’ve been chasing this beer since it first was offered in April 2007. Finally it came to me. On draught at Stub & Herbs in Minneapolis, MN, during pre-Darkness Day 09. Pours an opaque dark brown, nearly black with no head. Aroma of light bourbon, vanilla, raisins and chocolate. Taste is full bodied, smooth as a baby’s bottom, with flavors of bourbon, dark chocolate, vanilla, raisins, a hint of coconut and coffee. Finish is dark chocolate, bourbon and raisin aftertaste with a lingering vanilla flavor. Well done.

Tap @ Stub and Herbs - Pours deep black with no head - looks really viscous. The smell is nice and sweet, but I feel like I needed a snifter for this one. There’s sweet bourbon and vanilla -- not cloying, but pleasant. Taste is smooth, with nice roast. Tons of vanilla, caramel, raisins, and muted bourbon. The finish is pleasant, and leaves a sweet milkiness in the mouth. Definitely felt like I was chewing this one. I think the blend works here, and brings the best elements of each of the two beers. The bourbon barrel seemed to iron out any of the rough edges, as there was none of the harsh, bitter flavors that can sometimes come through with Expy. Very, very nice.