Bells Rye Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in English pint

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Cute Jewish woman adorns the bottle that screams New York and rye bread. Opaque liquid topped by fluffy tan head. Thin lacing that’s almost nonexistent. Rich chocolate smell with roasted ground coffee aroma floating around in the glass. As the brew warms up, a slight alcohol smell comes through. Delicious rich stout taste. Lots of roasted flavor and malty sweetness but it seems the cute old Jewish lady has let me down. Where’s the rye taste that the name and label bring me to expect? This is a great beer with good carbonation and an enjoyable feel. Please come south, Bell’s. We need you down here.

Tap at MacNiven’s. As stouts go, this one is good. Opaque black body and nice brown head. Smells like, well, rye. Some toasted notes along with brown sugar. Tastes like, well rye. Again good toasted quality malts shine throuh and linger in the relatively short aftertaste. Rye is present, but doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the beer. A bit watery, but this is something I usually find in stouts.

Courtesy of Cavie. Nice dark color, odd smell for a stout. I sense more rye than stout, and rye isn’t my favorite.

Bottle - Pours deep dark brown with thin tan head that fades fairly quick. Aroma is roasted malty chocolate and coffee. Mouthfeel is a little thinner than I expected, but still silky smooth. Upfront taste is bitter coffee followed by some roasty malt. Finish has a sour rye note that lingers for a bit. Overall this is an interesting stout, but probably not something I’m going to reach for on a regular basis.

A bold experiment by Bells, but falls a little short of what I have come to expect from them, especially their stouts. This one is way to thin, and far to spicy for my palate. If it was not called a Stout, I may not have held it up to such high standards and been so disappointed. Smoked Rye Ale might be a more appropriate name.

Pours very very dark brown, almost black with a quickly dissappearing tan head. Aroma of coffee, roasted malt, earth, wood. Tastes like same, near the end it seems to taste woodier but also creamier. I’ve given it a few extra points simply for its uniqueness as I’ve not tried a "rye stout" before -- may rerate after trying others. Overall, another good and interesting beer from Bell’s.

Crisp and spicy, the rye is very strong. Lingering aftertaste is tempered by it being a thin beer that doesn't coat your tongue like other stouts. Great for a cold night in January (that's why the woman on the bottle is so sad... she knows she's waiting another six months for winter to end in Michigan...).

bottle - Looks and smells like a thin molasses. I’d like to try baking with this one! Pours very dark with a head that disappears before you can pick the glass up to taste it. Flavor is mollasses, coffee, and a dry rye roasted grain taste. I think that this has become one of Papabeer’s favorites!

A nice simple stout. Not to different than some porters. I love the color and the light brown head. Smells and taste like loaf of old fashion rye brad. Nice toasted notes on the noise and the taste buds No bitterness of any kind. Just a hint of sweetness at the end.

i tried to rate this beer as the most average stout. nothing was an outstanding flavour. there is a sweet taste followed by a salty or bitter flavour. there is very little if any headno lacing and a flat non-alcoholic flavour. also it is somewhat watery for a stout.