2.8 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 11/20
Bottle from Total Wine. Red-black pour with a brown head leaving moderate lace. Nose is that of a roasty, sweet stout with some cherries. Medium-light body with moderate carbonation. Tart cherries are up front and all the way through. Scratch that: not cherries, cherry Hi-C. There is also some chocolate and toffee, but the sourness of the cherries drowns everything else out. Finish is short and...tart cherry. Balance is awry and that affects other aspects of this beer. Disappointing.
3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 11/20
Pours a black coffee with a thin brown head and no lace. Definitely a strong sour cherry taste in a traditional dark roasted malt flavor. The first drink suggests possibilities, each succeeding swallow seems heavier, thicker, and more unappealing. Bell’s says it improves with cellaring....maybe I should’ve waited.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
12oz bottle from weihenweizen, fairly fresh. Black with a brown head. Cherry, roasted malts, burnt sugar. Sweet but not overwhelming as there is a tartness that balances it out a bit, quite dry, red wine finish.
4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
Really love this beer. Just enough tart/sour to balance the sweet. Roasted barley comes through nicely as well. Very enjoyable on a cold evening.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Bottle from Vintage wine. Pours black with a thin khaki head. Slight hint of cherry on the nose. Big roasted malt flavors on the tongue but as the beer warms the tartness of the cherry kicks in. I don’t find the cherry flavor all that appealing here. The balance feels off somehow. Still better than most but my least favorite Bells stout so far.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
12 oz bottle. Pours like tar, very thick, with some dark red undertones. Very slight tan head, but nice thick lacing. Aroma is roasty, with coffee notes, malt, and slight tartness. It has a sort of greek olive note as well, very complex. Flavor has cherry tartness up front, with a backside of hearty malts, and a briny, but not unpleasant finish. Palate is slightly fizzy on the tongue, but overall very thick. Got this from a good friend in Michigan. Reminds me of living in the Midwest. I still miss Bells, so this is a real treat.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Pours black with essentially no head and rapidly fading carbonation. The smell is very tart - definitely get some cherry aroma. The taste starts out tart and has a hint of a stout flavor for the finish. Not exactly my cup of tea but pretty unique. Not seesionable whatsoever. It took me nearly 2 hours to drink a 12 oz bottle.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Pours deep dark brown with minimal head. Nose of faint cherry concentrate and roasted malts. Taste is acidic cherry with the chocolate coming in a second later. Good, but the acidicy is almost artifical to me.
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