Bells Porter

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Porter
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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On tap at Bell’s. Aroma: Lots of burnt toast, some cocoa, nice roastiness. Appearance: Pitch black with white head Taste: Roast grain, nice toasted flavor and chocolate. Palate: Smooth carbonation, med-full body. Overall:Excellent porter.

It was a dark and stormy brown with a fine ring of foam. Aroma was roasty with a hint of chocolate. Yummy and smooth, leaving a seductive bitterness that lingered. Sad now......It’s all gone.

Black with a thick dense tan head, soft medium-full body with medium carbonation.

Aroma: roasted malt, bitter cocoa, leafy hops.

Taste: lots of roast, some charr, and some leafy hops.

Poured opaque dark brown, almost black with an off white head. Very good porter with chocolate and coffee notes with a slightly bitter finish, yum.

Tulip pour. Immediately, I noticed the rich, fluffy, light brown head (reminded me of the chocolate cream that special oreos have) and thick, brown body. Very nice. The nose is a friggin’ chocolate fest. Dark chocolatey malts are in your face from the get-go. Some dry cocoa and carob scents, too. Slight coffee presence but not so much. Some definite coffee in the taste. Roasty goodness in a glass. Not so much chocolate though. The taste is almost reverse of the nose to me - more coffee and roast than chocolate, but the chocolate is definitely still there. Interesting. In fact, I was hoping for the same, strong chocolate quality. But this is good and definitely didn’t disappoint. Also, quite hop heavy on the finish. The bitters come through. I also detected a lingering flavor on the finish that reminded me of unsweet tea. Very interesting porter. Nice job, again, Bells!

UPDATED: DEC 11, 2011 A pleasant but lesser sibling of the Kalamazoo Stout, this beer has a nice, clean aroma of pure coffee unspoiled by alcohol, fruits or hops. I would call it the perfect porter aroma, were it not for the fact that it is surprisingly weak. It doesn’t develop much of a head, which is pitiful because it pours a beautiful black. The palate is surprisingly consistent--the pour led me to believe it was going to be a lot weaker. The taste follows the aroma notes of coffee and chocolate but with a much shorter, more sudden finish. All the good elements are here--but the beer stops short of awesomeness. It lacks character and strength. For all intents and purposes, the Kalamazoo stout is an equally creamy and drinkable dark beer, but with a more assertive flavor that makes for a more complete experience. This is very good, though.

Date: June 27, 2011 Mode: Draft Source: Bell’s, Kalamazoo, MI Appearance: Dark brown with medium amount of head Aroma: Coffee/Chocolate Flavor: Starts with a touch of coffee and bitterness, but finishes smooth with sweet chocolate and Other: Really enjoyed this beer and would put this at the top of my list for porters.

12oz bottle. Dark brown with a tan head. Smoke, malt, roasted coffee, slight sour aroma. Sweet with a tang, dry finish, some malt. Thin bodied, one dimensional and high carbonation. Ok but nothing too special.

The start is promising with a rocky tan head, black body, and some ruby edges. Coffee and toffee in the nose. Lots of familiar porter flavors here with coffee, chocolate, dry wood. A lot more toffee than most porters. The dry bite really lingers. Body is maybe a little watery and there seems to be a ton of carbonation. It’s very good, but by no means the best porter I’ve had. I think I’m just getting too much roasted malt and I’d like some deeper flavors.

Strong smokey hints in the flavor. Surprisingly low carbonation, but not too low. Not much head, hint of banana and toasted almonds. All in all pretty much what I expected it to be. Just about the right consistency, not too thin, not too thick. Average amount of hops for a porter.