Bells Expedition Stout

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

HUGE thanks to BrinK for this one. I had been saving it, and I just picked up another from JCapriotti as a bonus, so I figured it was time to try one! Thanks to both you guys! Pours opaque midnight. No light can be seen through this gorgeous Impy! The aroma is rich and malty, with leather, bourbon (?), coffee and chocolate with a hint of alcohol. The head is full and lasting, foaming slowly down to nice lacing. The flavor is remarkable, with the aroma supported perfectly, but in addition there is an earthy character that compliments nicely. RERATE- every time I have this beer it’s different. First time was awesome, every time since just good. Dropped .3 points for lack of consistency, and for shelling out for shipping and for trading to get a case that now is a very good beer, but not great like when I first had it.

(rerate- score updated, but comments still need more flavor description) Pours very dark and thick. Can’t see through this at all. Head is big, tan, and a little rocky. Aroma is of burnt chocolate chip coookies and fruity hints, very enticing. Texture and taste is very rich and heavy... Almost like bitter sweet syrup. Very big, powerful, good, thick, etc. But it almost seems like when you add that up, you get something that needs more balance. Update 11/22/2005; 2002 vintage thanks to Dave. Very syrupy aroma; fruit, chocolate, licorice, fig. Seems like the roastiness and bitterness may have left? Very good... great beer. MMm...

Used motor oil pour, large tan head. Quite vinous and fruity smelling, reminding me of Stone RIS. Alcohol, plums, pear, coffee, chocolate add to a nice complexity that I found great! I plan on cellaring a few bottles of this to see how it works out over the next few years. One of my all-time faves.

bottle...one of the best tasting imperials that i’ve tasted and def lived up to the expectations that i had for it....poured deep, dark, and thick with a decent beige head....aroma was very roasty with a strong dark chocolate component. so good.....taste was very intense, thick and coated my entire mouth. lots of coffee and chocolate goodness. one of the best stouts i’ve tasted and will be a favorite of mine.

perfectly opaque, head is initially about 3/4" thick diminishing over the course of a few minutes to a lasting thin head. definitely one of the 2 or 3 darkest heads i’ve seen on a beer. aroma is malty, grainy, syrupy, with some great hints of chocolate. flavor is initially strong in alcohol (certainly due to it’s youth). flavor in the middle is quite bitter and fades into a long coffee finish. huge body to this imperial, very rich and thick.

Bottle at the Düsseldorf Gathering. Muddy, black body. Brown head, pours like sirupe. Aroma of strong malts with hints of fruits. Moderately bitter, moderately sweet flavour. Very high viscosity, like drinking liquor or some kind of medicine. Lovely complexity.

Pours thick and looks like motor oil/ molasses. Color is almost totally black but you can see the reddish brown lacing. Head is a dark reddish brown, one of the most impressive heads I have ever seen. Smells of chocolate malt, roast, smoke, cocoa, and wood. Tastes of chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, Mouthfeel is amazingly thick and the finish is lasting warming and chewy. A great beer but just a bit hard to drink. Did a mention there is quite a bit of hops in this beer too?

Dark, heavy, and full of alcohol. Great beer. Definitely something to sit back and sip on.