Bells Expedition Stout

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

Bottle. Pours black with a small dark brown head, very nice lacing. Aroma is of roasted malt, fruit, and smoke. Full bodied, great carbonation. Flavor is complex, at first a big malt hit then the sweet chocolate, smoke, plum, cherry and coffee notes come thru all balanced with a mild bitterness. Somewhat bitter sticky finish. Superior quality! (Re-rate 03/18/2009) Had to re-rate this one. I had it on draft last night and it deserves the higher rating. It’s awesome!

Pours dense black wth very thin ruby highlights when held to light and a 2 finger creamy brown head that has great retention and leaves decent lacing. Aroma is roast, chocolate, autumn maple leaves, a hint of leather, burnt sugar, toffeed nuts, dark roast coffee, fig, fruit cake, char, raisin, some musty wood/earth notes and an odd hint of grass. Flavor is huge roast ups front with some espresso, dark chocolate, leather, tobacco, grilled fruit, char, chocolate covered toffee, lots of toasted wood character, hazelnut syrup, herbal hops, licorice and walnut. Finish is lots of earthy, herbal and bitter hops riding out the huge wave of roast, coffe beans, licorice, toffee and charred fruit. Palate is thick and sticky with a little slickness on the tongue and a slightly acidic feel on the teeth. Overall this is a great beer, incredibly drinkable for its huge flavor profile.

Nice aroma of coffee, dark chocolate, dark fruit, licorice, and tobacco. It pours very black with a towering pillowy dark brown head that lasts forever. This really smells great, sweet and rich. Big complex flavor of prunes, plums, raisins, smoky tobacco with a coffee like acidic bitterness in the end. Very strong and very good. Big flavors all around.

Bottle from batch number 8944 at Mellow Mushroom. Black pour with a medium light brown head. Malty coffee nose with touches of alcohol, chocolate and dark fruit. Boozy malt flavor up front, giving way to chocolate and dark fruit with a dry and creamy coffee finish. Sublime.

Pitch black pour, clear amounts of lacing. Small head with a dark tan color. Aroma is slightly musty; it definitely has an aged feeling to it. This is quite thick and coats the tongue. Decent flavor with a nice roasted taste. Finish is alittle rough, it’s bitter and roasted. I had higher hopes for this beer.

Incredibly thick, dark pour. Butterscotch, licorice, and hazelnut aroma. Dark chocolate, brown sugar, molasses, dark roasted coffee, bourbon, and, of course, black licorice. An impeccably balanced, flawless beer. I find myself returning to it again and again.

Pours black with a nice half inch of brown head. Very appealing and ominous in appearance. Strong complex aroma that smells like creamy caramel, coffee, dark chocolate, hops, dark fruit, alcohol, and roasted malts. Unbelievable. I could sniff this all day. The taste is so strong and complex. It’s sweet, but also bitter. More specifically I taste plenty of bitter hops, wood, dark chocolate, coffee. The bitter, woody finish lingers on the tongue for nearly a minute. Mouth feel is rich and sticky. This is so creamy with light to medium carbonation. There is a slight alcohol burn on the way down. This is an outstanding beer. This is craziest imperial stout I’ve had to date. This will take me at least and hour to finish. Not for the weak.