Bells Cherry Stout

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

I don’t know if the cherry flavor had dropped out on this beer or not, but I got more traditional "stout" character out of this beer than any fruit flavored "cherry" character. I had received my bottle via a trade (as I do all my Bells, since Bells doesn’t distribute to California....a shame) and had been sitting on it for about a year, so I’m thinking this bottle is 18-24 months old. Anyways, I was quite disappointed in the overall quality of this beer. I love K-zoo and Expedition but this beer seemed to be like an experiment gone wrong...and they bottled it anyways. The beer pours out black with a one-finger dark tan head, big bubbles with little to no lacing. Aroma had little to offer, with subtle notes of coffee, a touch of bakers chocolate and a strange sourness that reminded me a bit of sour cream. Mouthfeel was on the thin side and a bit overly carbonated. Flavor carried that same sourness, like a lactic sourness almost. Some coffee and chocolate notes are present too, but unfortunately I was expecting some cherries to make an appearance somewhere in this beer and it just didn’t happen. Perhaps the sourness was supposed to be taken as sour cherries, but I didn’t think so. It just made it difficult to enjoy, which I really didn’t.

Bottle thanks to NachlamSie. This pours like used motor oil. The first thing I noticed was how the brew glistens. It even looks oily. The tan head was quickly diminishing and had wimpy lacing. The aroma seemed not to be too strong. Even after swirling this furiously, I had some difficulty trying to pick out the aroma. I can smell some hints of cherries, of course. There are some dry, smoked qualities as well. Some cocoa lingers around. Eh, I’ve spent long enough trying to pick out the weak aroma. Now for the taste test. Very... very... very citrusy. As it hits the tongue, the citrusy cherry flavour instantly bursts. As the beer leaves your taste buds, the citrus lingers on for some time. An oily residue coats your tongue and seems to let the citrus bite persist. As the saliva washes that away, the citrus qualities diminish. Smoked qualities creep in with subtle molasses and cocoa flavours. At the finish, the smoked qualities become the dominant flavour with cherries falling far behind. This is... interesting. A good "interesting." Generally, it’s like you’ve eaten steak with cherries on top. (Okay, that sounds gross.) As weird as it is, I like it. But then again, I tend to like some very weird things.

Let me begin by saying I generally dislike fruity beers. This beer is so good, I’m now making a serious reconsideration on that prejudice. Enjoy this beer with chocolate cake or ice cream!

12 oz bottle poured into a pint glass. I pulled this from the celler, it is a 2006 bottle, batch 7674. Pours black with a small light brown fizzy head that fades away leaving poor lacing. The aroma is of cherrys and also of roasted malts. Taking a drink first I taste a hint of roast malts, but mainly I am tasting cherry. No hop flavor or bitterness. The cherry flavor sticks with you for a while. The body is medium to full with a creamy texture and soft carbonation.

11-7-07 bottle.
Black with tan head. Subtle roasted chocolate aroma. Very tart cherry taste. It actually makes the cheeks tighten when it hits the mouth. Flavor is actually not bad it is just overly tart for me.

12 oz bottle. Batch 8152. This is the first beer from Bell’s which I didn’t really like. It pours very dark with a light tan head. You can smell a hint of cherries with some roastiness. The flavor is more confused than anything to me. There was an off flavor which I can’t identify. Bell’s says this improves with cellaring, so the rest of the 6-pack is staying in my beer fridge for a while.

12 oz bottle. Dark brown, a bit of tan froth. Aroma alternates between coffee beans and slightly sour cherry. Taste is very close to a fruit beer. Kind of like cherry pie with a burnt crust. Cup of joe to wash it down. Dries with molasses. Lemony carb, medium light.

12oz Bottle $12.00 6-Pack Bell’s General Store Bottled 10/9/07 7% abv As Bell’s Cherry Stout is being poured the stream from bottle to glass has a weathered mahogany look but in the glass is pure black. A creamy one finger brown head formed on the pour and fell rather quickly to a skimming with thick edges. Leaves some sticky chunk lacing on it’s way down. Very appealing aroma. Begins with hints of malted milkballs and leads directly into perfectly roasted malts and a milk chocolate/cocoa mixture. There’s very mild alcohol wafting in and out. The addition of cherries adds a quick flash of sweet but finishes mostly tart. Unique mouthwatering aroma with the combination of roasty and tart. The flavor has all the qualities of the aroma with a few little welcomed extras. Malted milkballs start things off before the roasty comes into play with the cocoa. Dark cherries come through mid palate and compliment the roastiness. As this beer moves through the cherry becomes tart and somewhat puckering. There’s even a touch of smokiness hinting around in there. The tartness on the finish makes this beer very unique. The tartness is enough to get you salivating after the swallow. Really nice mouthfeel. Body is on the heavier side of medium. Tongue coating creaminess as this beer works it’s way through. Great velvety texture with low carbonation. This beer glides through at its own pace and lets you pick out each flavor rather easily. This stout goes down very easy and produces a nice warming sensation on the swallow to warm you up on these cold fall nights. Another damn fine stout from Bell’s. I have yet to drink one of their stouts that hasn’t impressed me. This one is very unique and the tartness works perfectly with the standard stout flavors. Wish I would have picked up more than a sixer. 11/11/07