Bells Expedition Stout

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

Excellent stout. Alcohol is high but not too obvious. Really malty and has a nice balance of hops on the finish. A must try for every stout lover.

Pours a ptich black, thick, with a small tan head. Aroma of roasted malt, dark chocolate, and a suttle hops. Fresh is a bit hot, which tends to mellow over time and become dangerously smooth. Definitely a wonderful beer that is readily available (when in season) and well priced. Buy and age this beer every year. This truly gets better every year.

Bottle from shop in DC.... Black, thick, peaty, charcoaly, sweet, satisfying, hot, cold, perfect. A complex brew black as a moonless night, with a beautiful brown head that looks like the thick foam on a great espresso. Dark and sweet, yet deftly balanced with hoppy tones throughout. Truly a great beer.

Extraordinary beer of epic blackness. Thick, even for the style. Very strong flavors that smooth out quite a bit over time, a fantastic beer to age. Can be a bit astringent and hot if its under a year old. One of the best beers, and certainly one of the best values for RIS.

So maybe this rating is bit high, but this beer is truly extraordinary. Unlike other stouts that lack a good aroma or thick, almost syrupy body that these RIS were originally made like, the Expedition Stout masters these two areas. The taste is of chocholates and strokes of dark fruits, like taking a chocolate covered plum and throwing it ito some beer. One of, if not the most full bodied beer I’ve had to date. Just an exquisite example of this style. Maybe a 4.7 isn’t so bad after all!

Bottle: Pours a dark chocolate with a thin golden tan head. Minimal lacing. Smells like a malts and hops, but sweet hints of baked bread. Tastes of dark chocolate, malts, and hops. A great brew!

This is an excellent stout in terms of body and presentation, but ultimately lacks some complexity. It starts out sweet and chocolatey, but then desists in an unexpected way. It seems to be on the road to something like a Lost Abbey "Serpent Stout", but it falls short, with the flavor getting caught up in its sweetness, and not going anywhere much further from there.

12oz bottle. Pours dark black (with a very slight highlight of dark ruby at the extremities of the glass when held up to the light). The foam pours thick and dark tan in color. It leaves thin tendrils of lace on the glass and is short-lived (though it takes awhile before it fades completely). The aroma is strong and inviting: espresso, dark chocolate, soft woody mustiness, and a lot of fruit - cherry, hints of wine. The flavor starts strongly fruity and chocolatey with notes of prune, currants, cherry, and sweetened espresso. So far: wow! The beer gets roasty at mid-palate with a strong fruity hop bitterness, dark malts, and strong coffee. The finish is really big with bitter chocolate melted into sweetened espresso. There are a lot of fruity esters, too, all leading to a long and somewhat dry finish. The aftertaste is roasty and very dry with subtle qualities of aromatic spices. The mouthfeel is full and almost syrupy but held in check by vibrant but not harsh carbonation. Overall: I understand the hype about this one: abso-freakin-lutely amazing!