Bells Kalamazoo Stout

From September until March there is always a 6 pack of this beer in my fridge. From the beginning, this beer doesn’t try to hide itself ... it sports a dark brown foamy head. The aroma is fantastic and rich and smells like baker’s chocolate. The flavor is complex but there are plenty of hints of coffee, chocolate and the tiniest almost imperceptible hint of anise. To truly enjoy this beer, start cold and then drink over about an 1 hour period. Notice the changing flavors as you work your way through the glass. If I were to die a pharaoh, I would want a clay pot of this brew left for me as a daily offering.

Pours thick dark black color, nice lasting tan head, leaves a perfect lace, aroma of chocolate, coffee and nutmeg? Thick and creamy full mouthfeel, coffee and sweet chocolate taste, this may be my favorite stout, its hard to stop at just one, the best stout IMHO.

Great tasting Stout. Love the texture and value in the taste. Very poundable stout. Buzz was not reviewed due to contamination by Expedition and Purkuno’s Hammer.

Many beer geeks believe substyle of stout called "American" stout, should be added to the stout and porter category. So examples like Kalamazoo Stout will fit in, and can be judged against other stouts that would also fit into this new style. So what is American Stout? It is basically a big, robust, flavorful stout, with big malt character, but also really big hop character. And what makes it American, is most brewers are using lavish doses of PNW hop varieties such as Cascades, Chinooks, Centennials, and Columbus. Kalamazoo stout pours to an opaque, ink black color with a big, creamy tan head, and a moderate carbonation. The nose on this beer is packed with aromas of malt and hops. Big whiffs of chocolate malt, and coffee pair with piney, citric aromatics. The palate is a firm malt back bone of dark malts. Flavors of dark chocolate, coffee, and a hint of vanilla coat the tongue. This beer has a very hefty body, it is quite viscous and oily, it really does resemble "motor oil in a glass". This beer finishes with big chocolate malt flavors up front, then dries out with a slightly roasty/coffee character, and a lingering hop bite. This beer is a bit stronger than dry or cream stouts, weighing in at about 6.5% abv, but isn’t quite as potent as Imperial stout. What ever you want to call this beer, call it delicious, because it is. This is one of my all time favorite beers, from one of America’s best breweries. This beer is a perfect desert beer. Match this with German chocolate cake, or chocolate pudding with fresh whipped cream.

My favorite stout hands down. It has a unique bitterness for a stout that smacks your tongue instead of shaking its hand.