Bells Cherry Stout

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

Chocolate and subtle coffee flavors quickly give way to a sweet and sour cherry tang that tickles the lips and tounge. The sweetness may be slightly too much for my liking. The body is silky smooth with pleasant alcohol notes throughout.

pours jet black with very little tan head. smells like cherry wine. taste is stouty with a bit of sour cherry flavor.

33 cl bottle, Fargo, ND, USA via Kalamazoo.Ink black colour with a very slight reddish tint. Foam dissapates and rings the glass. Roasted malt mingled with sour cherry aroma. Sour first sip, overpowers the malt. then mellows. Aftertaste of braised cherries, sweet and long with a lingering sourness.

Bottle. Pours a thick oily black with no head. Nice lacing. Aroma is roasted malts and cherries with notes of coffee and chocolate. On the plate it is silky and smooth. The flavor almost hides the cherries, bringing out the bitterness of coffee, but it finishes sweet and dry, leaving a cherry aftertaste. Overall, pretty good. It is very different and not as good as the bourbon barrel aged version, but still worth drinking.

Bottle (Batch 8730) thanks to FlssmrBrewAlum. Thanks Adam...Pours black with a thin brown head..Aroma is slight cherries and not much else..Flavor is a slight dark chocolate bitterness with cherry tartness. Didn’t really work for me, kind reminded me of chocolate covered cherries. Not really feelin’ this one.

Pretty awful beer. Aroma is of cherry. Flavor is of nasty cherry. Not really drinkable to enjoy.

Had this from a 12oz bottle with my sister-in-law after my other brother’s wedding, but I didn’t take good tasting notes!

Ah Bells, how I love thee, especially how you make sweet, sweet, roasty love to the Stout.

A thick, voluminous pour roils and boils as dark, tan effervescence streams for the surface, settling into a chocolate mousse of sinful proportions. Her head stays for the whole of our journey together, etching our memories onto the sides of my glass with equally soft, chocolate-hued tufts of lace. Willy Wonka would be put to shame should he have the opportunity to partake of my Cherry Stout’s sinfully delicious nose. Bakers chocolate, dry bitter foreign chocolates, delicate black cherries with their skins and pits included, and an earthy quality which sits atop tobacco, leather, and wood. A refreshing tart and/or sour bite grabs my attention right away, telling me that my Cherry Stout will be anything but sweet, and that is ok with me. A sprinkling of powdered hot cocoa and confectioners’ sugar blows by as I succumb to her temptations and savor the first of many spine-tingling quaffs. Smooth, creamy, and tart. I am biting into a slightly unripe black cherry; the skin is a bit dry and acidic while suckling on the cherry pit to make sure I got all the meat off is earthy and nutty. A zap of sour tart hits the back of my throat and settles in quite comfortably while a steady current of melted chocolates and vanilla cream helps her glide effortless across my palate. Tobacco and leather offers more chewy dryness while a continual assault of tart black cherries keep me coming back for more. Delicious and exactly what I was looking for even though I didn’t even know it. She doesn’t linger too long into the finish. Just a hint of tart sour cherry acidity while chocolate, tobacco, leather, and earth color my breath. Wonderful, and easily a stout I could enjoy in pairs.

Once more Larry Bell and Bells Brewing prove their mastery of the stout style. I wouldn’t have enjoyed their Cherry Stout nearly as much as I did if it had been heavy, thick, and far too sweet with cream and cherries. But!!! The fine folks at Bells obviously knew this and shot straight for my heart, hitting the bulls-eye dead center. Brew on Bells, as I drink on and savor another Cherry Stout because I can.