Bells Cherry Stout

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

Batch 8219, bottled 11/12/07. Poured a moderately thick and viscous jet black color. Certainly not the motor oil texture of Expedition. Pour created a 1/2" tan head which dissapated quite hastily. Some isolated small spots of foam remain as the snifter is consumed. No lacing. Aroma was a subdued presentation of dark chocolate covered bing cherries, coffee, roasted malts, dark dried fruits and a touch of vanilla. Palate was quite full, creamy and a touch oily with a minerally dry finish. Taste was quite the surprise with the initial flavor being that of a typical roasted malt / dark chocolate presentation which was immediately followed by an assertive tart, semi-sour cherry finish. Certainly cuts right through any expectations of a sweet ending. Certainly an interesting beer and worth the try, but I doubt I’d go back for more.

I had always looked forward to this. not nearly as good as i thought. I like sweet stouts, but this had this sugary sweetness, and over cherry flavor that doesn’t go with the stout flavor well. Larry Bells is really good with stouts but this is a weak effort

Superior cherry-liqueur like aroma smoothly blended with coffee accents. Hints of vanilla, babka cake and spicy ginger. Sour spicy clove at front, meaty fruity cherry in the middle. Late rose like feel.

how the hell is this a fruit beer, its a stout with some cherries dammit. It is still black with a blood red tint. i get a strange aroma that smells much like coffee of course but then like a cement floor in an empty warehouse, odd. the tart is definetely there in the body and it is about equall with the heavy coffee vibe.

Sampled this beer at the Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison WI. Even though my scores on this are accurate and well researched, ?Da Man? wants me to say more about the beer, so I will. Wasn't really all that impressed with this, probably because I've had the New Glarus Cherry before, and that puts everything else to shame.

Dark and opaque with a thin, fast-fading head. Sweet roasted oatmeal aroma with a touch of sour cherries. Complex flavor profile with candy-like, almost medicinal cherry qualities. This is an interesting style, but I don't think that fruit stouts work so well because there is too much competition between the malt and fruit flavors. Nonetheless, this is probably as good of a balance as you can find and another example of bells' extensive variety.

Well. Typical weakish brown stout head. Laces well, but disappears quickly. Dark, dark brown that is solid and no light comes through at all. A large amount of sediment. The cherry juice really does taste through the stout. The 8% does provide a kick! Cherry flavor is strong and reminds me of Cherry liquor and a bit of the Chocolate covered cherries. Leaves a tart cherry taste on the tongue and a touch of bitterness at the back of the throat. The price makes this a once in a lifetime type purchase.

A good outing for this cherry beer. Interesting combination as it is quite dark for anything I've ever had cherries in before. I enjoyed the tartness playing off the rich body. A good occasional beer.