Bells Cherry Stout

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

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Dark black, but light does seep through the edges. Nice creamy dark tan head that looks like it could hang around awhile, but doesn’t as it retreats to the edges of the glass. Aroma is rich dark roasted malts, very small burnt hints, but no cherry. Aroma is rich dark roast malts, with some chocolate, and more of the faint hint of burnt malt. Flavor is surprisingly tart, more because I wasn’t expecting it to be so than it’s actual acidity. It’s hard to pick up a distinct cherry flavor (other than the tartness) as it gets buried under the malt, but it blends into a subtle characer to the flavor.

I can’t stand stouts. I was actually looking forward to this as I am a big fan of Sam Adam’s Cherry Wheat. This stuff is very thick and definitely a full-bodied porter. I’ve had better.

Very dark brown color, nice tan head. Some roast and surprisingly little cherry in the nose. Some roast and a semitart body make this drink an interesting experience. I thought that the beer worked well, but was a little timid, could have stood for some more cherries and a little more sourness.

Hmmmmmmmmm.......what can I say? Sour cherries and heavy stouts just don’t see to go together very well. I thought the sweetness of the stout would compliment the sourness from the cherries, but like so many other times I was wrong. This is either a love it or hate it brew.

Black with short lived tan head.Steady,lively,carbonation.Seems fitting for this?At first has a really sour,tarty,cherry aroma with the roastines clouded.Sweet, roastiness in the front and a SOUR dry finish. Seems like the malts are a bit watery,like my last homebrew.Not bad,but not impressive.Flavors are kind of sloppy.

Very very dark. Aroma has some of the malt and fruit of a nice stout, crossed with a red/port wine, I think. It is very hard to decipher this one. Malt in the body. Tart, not too unlike a lambic, but still not quite. Very confusing indeed.

Black in color with a perceptible red tint; Head was medium and khaki in color; Aroma of cherry cola and burnt malt. A nice oiliness to start. Head disappeared completely. Cherry tartness. Slight cherry oil at the back. Tartness mellows out very nicely as the glass warms.

UPDATED: OCT 27, 2004 1996 bottle. Very dry, light chalkiness, huge earthiness, and a very sour cherry-skin flavor. Tastes very big, oily and almost syrupy. Hints of chocolate and lots of bitter roast. Wow, this was a huge beer. 2001 bottle. Hmm there’s someting i cant quite put my finger on with this beer. Too much cherry maybe. this one is getting too sweet for my liking. Not bad overall, has some character to it, too much malt for my liking though, at least its better than Sam’s Cherry Wheat. The cherry flavor tastes fresh. . .definitely a good concept. 2003 bottle. Not sure what I was rambling about in the previous rating, but that was along time ago. This beer is one of the best, if not the best, examples of a fruit beer centered around the beer, not the fruit. Wonderful dark malt flavor with a tart cherry balance. Exceptional. Bottle conditioned, tons of sediment, nice small head.

Bottle. Dark as night with a brown head that quickly laced. Tastes of sour/tart cherries, ginger, brown sugar and roasted barley. Almost a sugary cherry/apple pie aroma. I found this to be well balanced with the fruit and stout elements complimenting each other well.

UPDATED: JUN 1, 2004 Very malty, heavy, roasted aroma (slight cherry). Extremely dark beer with a dark tan head as well. Interesting flavor profile, has some coffeeish malt flavors, some medium-strength hops towards the end, and then the cherry kicks in right at the finish. Aftertaste has some tartness, acidity and more roasty maltiness. Palate is quite carbonated, it would be better, I think, if this were not the case. I agree w/hennes about the rather confused nature of this beer, and it's sure not a marriage I would have hit upon myself. Points for uniqueness here, but not execution.