Bells Cherry Stout

Dark brown with dissipating brown head. Aroma of coffee, cherry, chocolate and roasted malt. Flavor of cherry, chocolate and coffee. A touch sour but finishes nicely. Another decent drinkable stout from Bells.

Pours very dark almost black with burgundy edges and small off white foam head. Malty aroma with a strong cherry scent. Odd combination of maltiness and sweet cherry flavor.

Bottle. Didnt really care for this one. Pours a deep black with slight reddish hue & aromas of roasted malts, light chocolate & sout tart cherry. Lighter bodied with tastes of sour & tart cherries, light chocolate & coffee. Just not my cup of tea

12 oz. bottle courtesy of a trade with SoLan. Pours black with some rich red highlights along the edges when held against light. Luscious brown head that faded to a film after the first quarter of the glass and left very little lace. Pleasant aroma of roasted malt and some notes of cherries lurking in the background. The flavor was initially roasted malt and some coffee, followed by some tart cherries. The tartness of the cherries did not really mesh with the roast flavors for me. I’ve wanted to try this beer for some time now, and I really wanted to love it. I liked it, but I can’t say I loved it.

Bottle. Tart cherry aroma over toasted malt. Opaque black color with a tan head that left promptly. Full bodied with creamy carbonation. Flavor is dark, dark, dark. It’s slightly sweet, but the almost unnoticeable cherries do impart a balancing tartness. This is deadly stuff. How can you sip just once? The finish is amazingly complicated. This brew just doesn’t quit. Eventually a woody astringency (cherry pits?) is noticeable. After that some chocolate comes forward. A brew to ponder.

I love love love this beer. It took me forever to come around to it. At first I hated it, but for some reason it called to me, and I kept buying sixer after sixer of it. After much drinking, it finally dawned on me how delicious this is. The cherries are so tart and tangy and potent and delicious, but the stout is so sweet and rich. They balance out perfectly, creating an intense, clever, drinkable, and strangely thirst quenching beer.

12 oz. bottle, batch 7734. This has been in my cellar for awhile, probably around six months, maybe more. Aroma of creamy milk chocolate and cherries, like a pice of cherry cordial candy. Also plum, port, and vanilla scents. Very pleasant and appetizing smell. Pours a hazy, opaque, dark brown with a maroon hue. Some suspended particulate in the liquid. Tiny amount of short lasting, soft, light brown head. Tastes like a mix of mocha and cherry juice. The sharp cherry taste is quite strong. This beer takes some getting used to, but it ends up pretty good. I’d argue that it’s a bit too sweet. Light, roasted coffee bitter aftertaste. Surprisingly light body (light to medium body overall, but I expected something heavier). Soft, smooth, and creamy in the palate, but also lively. I don’t think the liveliness works well with the softness. Bell’s cherry stout is a solid brew, and I’m glad I tried it, but it’s far from perfect, and it certainly didn’t blow me away.

On tap @ Barley’s. This is a dark mahogany pour, hint of red in the edges, and off-white head. Aroma is -- you guessed it -- cherries. I get a baked sour cherry smell from it. This tastes to me as if you mixed a real dry stout with a cherry lambic, minus the sweetness. Rounded out with hints of chocolate. It is definitely worth trying, but I thoroughly enjoyed this from the bottle moreso than draft.