Bells Expedition Stout

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

12 oz bottle. Pours opaque black with a medium brown head. Aromas of dark chocolate, roasted malts, dark fruit, some sweetness, black licorice, a bit of soy sauce. Taste is roasty coffee, dark chocolate, sweet. After a couple more sips, some more dark fruit flavors come out. Smooth, creamy palate. Roasty bitter finish with a little hop presence. Nice strong lacing. I had this a few times before I started rating, but don’t remember it being this amazing.

Black with small beige head. Nose has coffee, vanilla, and a significant alcohol. The roast comes through huge in the flavor, with more coffee, slight chocolate, and alcohol. Though salty and oppressive, this one is a little vinous. While it’s really good, there are more complex and balanced IS out there.

12oz bottle in snifter. Most viscosity of any beer I’ve experienced, tar colored with slight formation of head dissipating in moments. Aroma of some old bananas, some smoky woody hints. Immediate hit of robustness enveloping entire palate, some dark chocolate, woody pine flavors. The flavor fads into a strong tar taste, charcoal, deep bruising bitterness. The attack on the palate prevents further complexity to surface. Aging this may render something more beautiful.

Phenomenal beer! It had a thick texture, with almost a semi-sweet chocolate taste, and slightly burnt. I really loved it.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a nice black color with a creamy brown head. Aroma is mainly chocolate, a little coffee, and some spicy hop notes. Flavor is chocolate and ends somewhat bitter. Hides the alcohol and warms very, very well. Great beer!

This is a very good stout! It pours a dark black with a creamy brownish tan head that is almost nonexistent. The aroma smells of dark chocolate with notes of chicory and the chocolate malty sweetness. The flavor is the same chocolate, malt, some slight alcoholic sweet notes and a slightly dry finish. For the price it is on par with World Wide Stout, but WW has a smoother finish. Great example of the style, and a solid beer. Great beer for #200.

I pulled this beer out to try against a Dark Lord just to see what was going on. After comparing the two and double-fisting each, I came to the conclusion that Expedition is probably a better example of the style (Imperial Stout), but Dark Lord really should be in a category of its own! Anyway, I digress. This is batch 8145 which is probably 2007. Pours a completely night black fluid with a small coffee colored head made up of tiny bubbles. The oiliness of the beer allows it to stick to the glass. The aroma is not so strong but has a burnt and roasty quality with some sweetness. The flavor is bittersweet on the nose which gives way to a huge bitter, roasty flavor which reminds me of slightly burnt coffee grounds. There are also notes of black licorice. The Expedition stood up well to the Dark Lord, but in the end evil triumphed because good is dumb!

bottle, pithc black color with minimal head that fades, strong fruit and coffee nose, flavor is very layered of chocolate, coffee, red wine, licorice, etc, hoppy dry finish of fruit and oak, excellent