Bells Kalamazoo Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Pours pitch black wth a big, frothy, light brown head. Aroma holds roasted malt, coffee, bitter chocolate, some cream, and a bit of sweetness, perhaps caramel, as well. Flavor is excellent: dry, roasty malt abound, along with coffee, caramel, and dark chocolate. A nice dry bitterness holds at the finish, but the majority of the palate prior to that is rich and delicious. Really an excellent specimen of a lower alcohol stout, deservedly in the top 5 for the style. Another excellent brew from Bells.

Pours black. Big smells of roasted malts. Flavor is very well balanced with the malts and bitterness. Gets better as it warms up in the glass with some hints of chocolate and roasted malts tasting somewhat sweet with wisps of coffee. Good stout for any occasion.

Bottle, awesome awesome stout. Big roasty nose that seems overwhelming and heavy, but a smooth silky body that stays nice and light as it warms. I’m so amazed at the coffee and rich creamy chocolate notes. The body is pretty standard black with no visibility and a light brown loose frothy head that receeded as quickly as it grew. Lots of lacing on the glass however. This beer is just so balanced. There is no waste. Hats off to Bells on this one.

pours dark brown, beihe head. Aroma of roasted malts, light bitetrness. Flavor, malty with hints of spices and roast. Some hints of chocolate giving a light bitter mouthfeel. Medium body, wonderful and easy to drink. Might seem to be more than 6%

12 oz bottle. Dark brown with a thick tan head that leaves some lacing. Aroma of chocolate, roasty grains, caramel and even some hop aroma buried in there. The flavor is rich and sweet with lots of chocolate and coffee, there is also a roasted bitterness. Full body with average carbonation and a soft creamy mouth feel. Long roasty finish. Very well done Stout, tastes a lot bigger than it really is.

Pours black with no head. Aroma is metallic, fish-like and not terribly pleasant. In fact, I can’t stand inhaling while I sip this. Taste is heavy on bitter, roasted malts - at least on the back end. Up front, it is missing something . . . like flavor. Abrupt finish too. The mouth feel is good though - creamy and full-bodied. Drinkable, but there are better stouts out there.

Nice aroma and flavor from this one. Sometimes I need to remind myself not every stout I drink is an imperial and need to adjust my expectations accordingly. Overall, a great offering from Bells, but you already knew that.