Bells Expedition Stout

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

This is the one I opened to celebrate the Angels world series victory.Poured like motor oil that has 6,000 miles on it. Looks like it to. Aroma is a sublime roasted malt with a hint of hop. Silky smooth palate. Creamy,creamy,creamy. No alcohol is evident and I mean none. This is so deserving of its ranking in the top 50.Underrated I think.A little sweetness at the front creamy malty cut by the perfect hop bitterness at the end. God these guys just make top notch beer!Almost forgot to thank Indra for this beauty.

Batch #8295 sampled on 4/1/08: Typical appearance. Aroma seems a little drier and toastier than I remember, but still has very nice dark fruity complexity and roasty malts. Body is thick and full as always and has good dark caramel and chocolate sweetness before a more bittersweet, roasty warming finish. This may be one of the freshest Expeditions I’ve tried, but it’s still great and should age well.

Batch #6672 sampled on 8/24/07: Same viscous oily opaque appearance as always with a thinner, wispy-lacing light brown head. Aroma of sweet oatmeal and dark caramel with some plums and mild smoke. Body starts very dense, but with a nice, not cloying sweet maltiness and good dark chocolate notes throughout. Complex dark fruits and plenty of malt hide the alcohol very well and make this incredibly drinkable. An amazingly affordable, available, and enjoyable imperial stout!

2002 batch sampled on 4/4/06: Pours very dark and viscous with a nice, large, dark tan head. Aroma of sweet dark fruits, toasted caramel malts, and lots of dark chocolate. Body is still very full and has plenty of carbonation, but seems to have dried out some, leaving more of a lingering roasted, almost smoky finish. Very enjoyable as always.

2004 batch sampled on 10/11/05: Just a dense, sweet viscous well of dark fruit, brown sugar, mild soy and malty complexity. This is just simply a great imperial stout.

2003 sampled on 1/23/04: Pours the same rich oily black I remember. Very nice complex fruity and sugar cookie aroma. Body is full of molasses and thick sweet caramel malt. Very nice hop balance is also present. The roasted malts don’t show up until late in the finish, but they linger quite long. This is an excellent imperial stout. This gets the same rating as the 2002 version.

2002 sampled on 9/25/02: Black, covered with a smooth tan head. Lots of soy and floral hop aroma. Very syrupy, but elegant and smooth at the same time. Hops taste very fresh and the body is full of surprises; chocolate, soy sauce, and molasses. The best thing I have tried from Bells thus far. If I were going on some sort of expedition, I would not leave home without a six-pack.

I first discovered this beaut in 1997. Love it or leave it. More specifically, you should either love it or leave the rest of the sixer with me. Quite wonderfully intense in a sadomasochistic sort of a way. Leaves me saying ’spank me baby!’ Or, more accurately, ’Thank you sir, may I have another!’ Attack of the severe roastiness stops me from having a third.... ’Course so does falling asleep midsentence and misplacing the opener.... A beautiful monster. Thanks Larry Bell!

I beleive this may be my new favorite. Pours pitch black with a cocoa colored head, cannot see carbonation. Smells like coffee, sweet malts, and sharp hops. Flavor is at first very smooth and coffee like, becoming very bitter, then dry and tangy at the end, grassy hops, and slow bitter finish. Very nice and complex changes in flavor! Enormously enjoyable!

just classic for the style, perfect on looks. Moccha aroma with coffee, smoke, fruits, in the nose. Complex taste of raisins, chocolate, coffee, malt, cognac and some whiskey .... elegant stuff. Perfect balance, with just the perfect carbonation for the style ... a world class imperial stout

Being from Kalamazoo I love Bells. This imperial stout has a thick rich taste. Easy to drink, good choice for someone unaccustomed to imperial stout.

Bottle at the Pub. What can I say. Each day, Imperial Stouts grow more and more on me. After being tricked the first time, I asked for this beer and it was found. Like the holy grail, I was in awe. Well, maybe not. But I was very happy to see that compassed bottle brought my way. Kalamzoo’s bigger, more badass brother. The first thing I noticed when I poured the first 10oz into my glass was the wonderful and amazing aroma. It smelled like the kind of perfume that I would love on a girl. More on that in a minute as I indulge the appearance. Pours like used motor oil with no head, just oil slicks. Now, how does it smell you ask? Like a dream. Smells fruity from afar, like plums dipped in milk chocolate. Also smells like tropical fruits and flowers. Wow. This was the most amazing smelling beer I’ve ever had. On initial taste, this beer was active as fuck. Amazingly complex, so much so that I was unable to pick out everything, but I tried. Burnt malts, malted milkshakes, some pepper. A little hairspray when it was still a bit too cold, but that went away. Tasted like it smelled in the first pass of the scent, like apples and plums. Anise presence is notable, as well as caramel and berries, and a bitterness that I associated with orange peel. Similarly, had a huge mouthfeel, like oil. Far thicker than Raspy, perhaps the heaviest beer I’ve ever had...The mouthfeel was chewy like a chocolate chip cookie dipped in alcoholic coffee. Simply fantastic.

Pours like motor oil. The head was two inches thick & never collapsed. Creamy, heavy mouthfeel, sweet body, nice balanced top hopping, middle flavors are wonderful, gentle aroma hops. Ass kicking stout. There are scant few beers available that can top this one for me. Essential beer.