Bells Porter

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Porter
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Toasty, bitter, cucumber and peanut butter aroma. Roasty flavor on a deep brown pour. Very drinkable, not quite smooth enough for me though to warrant a higher rating among the best porters.

The beer pours an opaque brown with mahogany high lights, the head prodigious, frothy and a winsome light tan in color as it slowly fades the lace forms a thick curtain to seal off the glass. Nose is sweet malt, toasted grain, musky, the yeast quite evident, and a treat for the senses; start is ambrosial and rich in malt with the top middling in its feel. Finish as a pesky acidity with the hop pleasurable in their spiciness, quite dry, and a fine representative to the style, how I envy all the people who have Bell’s at their beckon call.

A dark brown beer with a foamy light brown head. Hard roasted and buttery aroma with hints of coffee. Sweet roasted flavor with buttery tones. Not very full and medium bodied. Quite different and a little too sweet. Still pleasant.

Appearance: Pours a clear, dark brown body with a small, creamy off-white head. Smell: Roasty aroma with notes of oven-cooked fruits, coffee, chocolate, and yes, even cola. Taste: Roasted malt flavor with plenty of coffee and bittersweet chocolate. Dash of cola. Light fruitiness, though not as much as the aroma led me to believe. Roasty, earthy bitterness holds on till the finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: So yeah, good stuff.

Bottle shared with Jerc and Hogtown Harry, Harry’s bottle. Dee dark brown/black, coffee like white bubbly head. Subtle aroma, creamy milk chocolate, some coffee roast. Nice creamy, yet carbonated mouthfeel. Decent cold coffee taste - thinnish. Bitterness from coffee beans, not much linger. Decent porter, I was a little let down given how much I enjoy their stouts. Still solid though.

Bottle: Aroma is all coffee and hops. Pours a very darke reddish-brown with a small tan head that leaves nice lacing. You can see light thru it barely when held to the light. Taste is coffee and slight chocolate. Kind of a roasted bitter finish. Definite coffee aftertaste. Really great flavor. As it warms, chocolate flavor intensifies. For someone that’s never been a fan of stouts and porters, it seems my taste is changing quite a bit. I now find beers like this rather enjoyable where as a few years ago I couldn’t stand them.

Sampled from a bottle, this beer pours to a thick brown frothy head that disapates fully to a whisp of a ring around the glass. The body is a really dark brown with small particles sitting on the bottom. The aroma is coffee, grass hops, chocolate, caramel. Unfortunately the strong aroma disapated with the head as well. The flavor is quite nice, chocolate, smokey tanginess. This beer matches extremely well with the Kopp’s Tiramasu custard I’m eating at the moment. (It’s over 115 degrees outside even with the 30 mph wind gusts. It’s so friggen hot!) Anyways, the palate is rich and creamy, tangy. Light bitterness.

Nose is warm and inviting. Licorice and toffee, thick black coffee and cream. A bit of smoky chocolate bitterness keeps it from being too sweet. Light carbonic acidity. Mild hops. Dark black, with thin tan head. Medium heavy watery body, with medium carbonation and no burn. Starts with a big hit of malty chocolate and bitter coffee, mesium hops and light acidity. Smooth transition into sweeter, more subtle flavors like molasses and licorice and some smoke. Finish has a bit of carbonic acidity and smoky bitterness. After is mildly chocolatey and smoky. Just a bit of bitter residue on the tongue. This is a really nice porter.