Bells Porter

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Porter
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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Tap @ Bells. Deep brown appearance with a tan head. Roasty, dark chocolate malty, light anise, light espresso aroma. Anise/licorice, dark chocolate, mild caramel, mild coffee, fairly malty flavor.

Mmmm, very good porter. Do these people make a bad beer? This is a great example of the style, but with slight variations, making it stand out on its own as a unique beer. It has the mild sweetness and coffee presence that many good porters have, but there is also a slight fruitiness to the beer which really makes it an enjoyable experience. Kalamazoo is fast becoming my favorite brewery.

Bottle thanks to EithCubes. Pours a deep brown with a thick beige head. The aroma is a rich smokey and roasted malt, also some caramel. The taste is full of so many flavors; caramel malts, rich smoke and roasted flavors, some coffee and chocolates. So well balanced. I’m a sucker for a good porter and this is a top notch one. Man I love Bells.

Brown pour with white head and lace. Aroma is roasted malt and coffee. Roasted malt with a hint of sour and coffee with a hint of chocolate. Medium bodied with good carbonation. Nice beer.

The aroma is very porter like with burnt malt, chocolate, and coffee. The appearance is dark brown with a nice head. The flavor is like the aroma and typical for the style. The palate is average for the style. Overall it’s nice but an average porter.

UPDATED: JAN 26, 2005 2002 bottle (3.6 rating). DARK, BLACK, ROASTED COFFEE, DARK CHOCOLATE. BRACE YOURSELF this is strong stuff(but good). had some burnt/spicey notes on the nose that were very strange and seemed to linger too long. . . CASK! 2002 had the pleasure to try this on cask. Incredible. The strange bitter/burnt taste is gone and in its place an inviting malty roast flavor that is moderately sweet and ends with a creamy medium full body. Much better. Overall would give the cask somewhere between a 3.9-4.3 probably tending towards the higher end. 2004 bottle from csbosox. Thanks man, this stuff was fantastic! Wonderful thick and chewy chocolate malt mixes with a true coffee flavor, not too heavy, but also no wateriness. Roast, some oiliness and moderate sweetness. Even better than I remembered. I love going back to a beer I havent tried in a while and finding it better than remembered. That dosent seem to happen enough. (8/5/9/5/18)

In the bottle from HyVee CB. Pours a dark brown (almost black, except for a reddish purple cast). Huge beige head. Reticulated lacing. Roasted leathery aroma. Thinner than I expected. Great roasted taste at the finish lasts a long time on the tongue. Not really as good a porter as I had hoped. The visuals are the best part. Fairly discernable sweetness to balance the roastedness.

12 oz bottle. Clear dark brown color with some red around the edges. Short creamy tan head with some lasting power. There was thick lacing on the glass at the end. Smelled of milk chocolate and husky grain. Medium bodied and slightly sweet up front with a roasty bitterness on the back of the tongue that lingered. Tastes mostly of roasted malt and coffee.

12 oz. bottle from The Party Source. Pours cloudy dark brown with a big rocky tan head that laces the glass. Notes of roasted malt, coffee, brown sugar, leather, caramel, and chocolate. Smooth and sweet, with a medium body and syrupy mouthfeel. Sweet, roasty finish. Very good but not a top-level porter.

Aromas of butter, nuts, licorice, and coffee. Black, head is tan and thin. Flavor of coffee, dark chocolate, some nuts. A porter can’t get much better.