Bells Expedition Stout

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

Bottles thanks to wetherel and daknole. Batch 7817 and 8311. Both are black with thin creamy dark tan heads. Both are roasty, chocolate bombs for the aroma, nice warming alcohol. Taste is tons of bitter roasted barley, oak, chocolate with a finish of oily feel and bittter hops. One year or two seems to make no difference with this one.

Bottle. Poured velvety raven black with a thick snowy chocolate head with sensuous lacing. Aroma is nutty, caramel, chocolate, maple, vanilla, brown sugar, port and I want to say even subtly cinnamon. Flavor is ridiculously chocolate malty, some roasted barley, caramel, toffee, vanilla, vinous, coffee, and oak. The carbonation is slightly cloying but does accentuate the oak and phenolic finish which is nice. Otherwise the palate is velvet but not thick. Excellent beer.

Rating 700. Bottle, many thanks to la Li for bringing. Pitch black colour, tan head. Aroma has chocolate malts, coffee malts and vanilla. Flavour has chocolate and coffee malts. Some roastiness and vanilla. Very balanced and developing taste. This is amazing stuff!

The beer of kings. Majestic. HUGE HUGE HUGE flavor that is totally unique- a vinuous imp stout, but not in the way you normally think of vinuous beer- this is even deeper and more robust. Reminds me of the color purple. Velvety palate. They should really charge more for this stuff- definitely the best value for the money when/if you can get it (<$3/bottle). But don’t drink it all- gets even better 8-12 months later. I wish i could say how good it is after 2-3 years but it never survives that long in my "cellar". Doing my best to not break into the 07 case right now...

Beer pours with a very dark brown head that never quite goes away. The aroma is very bitter and you can tell just by the aroma that it is dry. The aroma has that oh so pungent smell of hops and roasted barley. Quite bitter but that is what I like. Has the usual bitter aftertaste of a stout but there is a subtle sweetness there. I enjoyed this beer very much. Stout lovers need to try.

Poured a dark brown bordering on black color with tan head that lasted a while and left nice lacing. Aroma was of chocolate, dark fruit, molasses, and coffee. Flavor is very similar with a bit of alcohol present in the taste. Good mouthfeel. Overall a good beer that I think might benefit from some aging.

Heavy notes of chocolate with some coffee smell and taste to a lesser extent. Pours a rich black color. Very tasty with just the right balance of flavor and alcohol. A very good, well balanced Stout.

Bottle (brought back from Michigan). Pours a deep black, with a thin, dark brown head that dissipates fairly quickly. Aroma of warming alcohol, dark fruits, and complex malts. Complex, yet subtle flavor: tastes of dark chocolate, chocolate, plums, and just a hint of coffee. Earthy finish. The alcohol is distinctly notable, but is pleasant and warming. Excellent mouthfeel. Another winner from Bells.