Bells Rye Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in English pint

Pours dark brown with almost no head. Aroma is somewhat sweet with notes of rye and dark malts. Initially some rye grains up front with light roasted and sweet dark malts following. Smooth with medium carbonation and a nice body. Well made but did not do much for me in terms of breaking any groud.

Draft @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe: Black with a tan head. Light roasty aroma with chocolate notes and a mild tartness. Roasty sweet malt flavor. More chocolate. Medium bodied. I will have to compare this to my bottle and original release bottle.

12-oz. Thanks, SecretSanta! This one’s a little gem. But then, I do love some rye. Nice sour nose over the top of a dark, cloudy ebony body showing a decent amount of graininess. Not too much on the body side, but the attack show some life, and the flavors swirl well from sour rye through a tangy bitter finish--the storyline is very complete from one thing to the next there. Nothing too bold anywhere, nothing too overbearing, but a nice rich beer showing a strong flavoring of a grain I’m always happy to get my hands on in a well-made beer.

Bottle. Pours a murky impenetrable black with an average size diminishing tan head. Slightly mild aroma starts with coffee, some chocolate, lightly roasted malt and yes, some faint rye malt (some smoke too) -- smells pleasant. Flavour of caramel malt, some light roastness, coffee and faint rye malt -- a touch watery. Medium bodied, creamy mouthfeel. It’s good but a little dissapointing. To be fair though, if it wasn’t a Bells Stout I would probably be praising it but Bells have so many better Stouts.

On tap at Pizza/Birreria Paradisio. Pours a clear brown to black with ruby highlights and a thin beige head. Caramel, roast, light toffee. Spicy rye flavor comes through right away along with some chocolate, roast, and just a hint of coffee. Smooth creamy mouthfeel. Finishes up with a nice spicy rye note and a long lingering roast and caramel.

UPDATED: JUN 4, 2003 This brew poured a small head of light brown bubbles and an opaque black colored body. It had a strong coffee and rye taste with good lacing. Its initial fizzyness made it hard to taste the initially flavor, but it finished well.

Bottle. [Courtesy of Papsoe, another great session @ Papsoe] Average beige fizzy head that mostly diminished. Fair display of lacework. Black color. Aroma of roasted malt, distant fruit, chocolate, coffee, sweet malty notes with a hint of brown sugar. Medium bodied with an average carbonation. Moderated bitter flavor with good balancing sweetness. Lingering liquorish finish. 31-08-2007

Opaque dark brown color with a medium head that quickly falls. Strong, spicy rye aroma. Lots of bread and earth. Nutty, rye, caramel flavors. Almost like pumpernickel bread. A bit of smoke towards the end. Medium mouthfeel. Excellent