Bells Expedition Stout

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

Just great, plan and simple just what an amazing stout should be. dark bitter, thick, dry. nose is complex and exciting. a pleasure to drink start to finish.

Tons of apricot, raisins on the nose, this beer is almost better to smell than drink. Definitely need a snifter for this beer. Pours with a light chocalatey head, colored like molasses in the glass. Soft on the palate and big in flavor, flavor is more of the same as aroma, with a light burnt... something. Probably the barrel. Amazing.

Pours a beautiful black with a thick and creamy two fingered head. Excellent retention and lacing throughout the drink. Smell is strong chocolate and to a lesser extent roasted malt. Taste is heavy licorice and roasted coffee way out front. Boozy. Mouth is thick and low carbonation but has a chalky feeling. This gets better as the drink warms, and oh yeah, the drink will warm you. I probably would pass on buying this again as it is somewhat difficult to put down due to the chalky and boozy feeling.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle. Appearance: Pitch black with a thick, dense, brown head. Good head retention. Spotty lacing left behind. Aroma: You can smell this one as soon as you pop the top on it! Raisins, chocolate, vinous notes, molasses, dark roasted malt, and a bit of coffee. Very complex. Taste: A big bold bitterness with coffee highlights smacked me in the face on my first sip. Dark chocolate, raisins, burnt malt, and toffee notes as well. You can’t even tell this stuff is 10.5%. Palate: Medium-low carbonation with a thick, oily mouthfeel. This stuff really coats the tongue. Long, bitter finish. Overall: One of the most impressive stouts I’ve ever had and a great beer for #400. Rebuy: Absolutely. I think this one will get even better as it ages and the bitterness mellows out a bit.

Trade with Hopscotch, much appreciated! Pours black, like a thick black hole with a small milk chocolate head. Aroma is molassas, alcohol, caramel and cocoa. Thick and coating mouth. Licorice and chocolate. Toast and burnt malt linger, and linger. This is one thick, powerful, seductive, layered delicious brew

I tried this after my brother’s wedding and must not have had time to take down specific tasting notes, unfortunately! Luckily I did jot down the numbers, and do remember it being simply fantastic!

Great Imperial stout. Opaque, thick. Way too sweet to enjoy more than one at a sitting. Damn good beer, just dont know what all the fuss is about.

Thanks to rustychiles for giving me a spare bottle of this to enjoy with my fiancee. Finally got a chance to try it. Pours jet black and is deceptively carbonated. Looks like it is flat as a pancake and then explodes with residual carbonation at the last second...had a very tasty mess. Pours with a humongous chocolate brown head and an aroma that is cocoa powder, dark fruits, complex alcohols, and a decided roast overtone that the rest melds together behind. A truly sublime and complex aroma. Taste is very roasty, some cocoa and coffee with a lot of yeast fruitiness. This tastes quite a bit like a foreign extra stout fermented on the hot side. Lots of interesting yeast phenols. Luckily, there was enough alcohol, malt, and other flavors to mask that somewhat, as it is a mild gag-inducer for me. Aftertaste is all roast and higher fruity phenols. Aroma is top notch, taste leaves something to be desired.