Bells Kalamazoo Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

This is like Expedition’s little brother. Not as much kick on the alcohol and not as thick. However it is a very smooth beer and is highly drinkable. I could put a few of these back in one sitting, but probably could only have one expedition.

Draft at Brixx. Dark, near-black color with a medium tan head. Smells nice and roasty and tastes much the same. A lot of roasted nuts and other burnt flavors. Not incredibly complex, but it’s not supposed to be and it’s perfectly balanced. Finishes completely cleanly and is even somewhat thirst-quenching...odd for a beer this heavy. I loved it.

Bottled. Inviting black pour with a light, fizzy beige head into a pint glass. Sweet caramel notes, faint licorice and roasted woods are in the aroma. Great flavor for a smaller stout, Some fruits mixed in with a hefty dark chocolate base and some coffee with vanilla cream. Long and roasty black malt finish with a good dose of bitterness. Sure as hell beats Guinness, I could drink this stuff all night.

Pours a very dark brown/black, with light tan head, Aroma of chocolate and caramel. Tastes of sweet chocolate and caramel with a hint of coffee. This is probably the perfect "session" stout.

Poured black with brown head. Full of flavor of coffee and malts. Lacks the sweetness the Expedition Stout has.

12 oz bottle thanks to gunhaver. Pours a nice brownish black with a tan head. Aroma is Malt and Coffee. Taste is toasted barley, licorice and coffee. Finishes very dry, and could use a little more sweeness to balance the flavor out but still a pretty good stout.

Bottle - batch #8237. Color is black. Creamy thick tan head. Good lacing. Aroma is coffee. Tastes of malt, coffee and chocolate. I really enjoyed this beer. There is nothing crazy about this, no wild flavors like the Expedition stout. Full bodied, smooth, and creamy. I enjoy all the variety that Bells brings to the midwest, but sometimes you just want something straightforward. This is simply a solid beer.

Another great beer from Bell’s. Pours dark black with a finger thick tan head. Roasted malt and chocolate aroma. Smooth palate but could be smoother. Kind of oily. The flavor is much the same as the aroma. There is a touch of smoked malt as well.