Bells Rye Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in English pint

Bottled. Tnx Bullit. The aroma has bread/rye, coffee, roast. Black coloured beer with a thin, off-white lace. The taste is sweet, has rye, roast, coffee, some chocolate. Medium bodied. Quite good.

Pours a dark, dark brown with very light hints of red when held to the light. Head was small even when poured aggresively. Color of the head was tan and bubbly, left slight lacing. Aroma I actually did pick up the rye up front followed by chocolate, roasted malts and spent coffee grinds along with a hints of smoke. Flavor is a mix of the same. I did like how the rye added to the flavor of this stout. A little on the thin side, but I think I was just expecting more since it was Bells. Is brewed to style though.

Bottle: Black coffee in color, brownish edges, small beige spritzy head, dies quickly, sparce lacing.   Heavily roasted malts on the nose, slight campfire, but also a bit of pasture.   Balance of milk sugar sweetness, subtle hop bite, softly roasted malts, and grains on the tongue.   Moderate body, mouthfeel is rather thin tho.   Seems more of a sweet Porter or Dark Ale than a Stout.   Somewhat dry/chalky finish.   Fairly average, cross between weak Milk Stout and a Rye Ale.   Thanks goes out to Styles for the bottles!

Bottle. Dark brown to near black pour with a thick, dense beige head. Aroma is chocolate, rye, roasted malt, and light toffee. Taste is rye, roasted malt, light coffee, dark chocolate, and burnt bread. Body is medium with a thick, creamy carbonation. Ends with more roasted malts, chocolate, light coffee, and toffee. Rye is also present. More dark bread here as well.

Black, virtually no head. Big rye bread/toast aroma, with a note of coffee in the background. Rye bread, chocolate, a touch of smoke, perhaps a touch of whiskey. Surprisingly clean, and lighter bodied than i expected, which seem to work well here. Thanks to Springslicker for this one!

Bottled. Dark color, short head. Aroma of rye, roasted malt, hint of coffee. Taste is bit bitter, melon, fruity, roasted malt. Nice stuff.

Thanks to Pailhead for this one - kind of like a mildly spicy version of the kalamazoo stout - a little thinner - some tartness and background rye, grain, nutmeg - interesting, but one of the weaker-flavored stouts they make.

UPDATED: FEB 24, 2006 02 Bottle. Pours a magnificent brown with some lighter ruby tinges peeking through. One of the best looking heads Ive seen on a beer, big and creamy and has a wonderful beige/mocha appearance. Aroma is equally huge, sweet and coffee like, with a slight hint of carroway. Tons of lacing in the glass. Begins surprisingly sweet, but just when it may get too sweet, there is the classic bells stout coffee flavor to the rescue. Flavor dries out and there emerges a big, medium sweet, lighlty acidic flavor of alcohol mixed with grains and lots of spice. As the beer warms, the rye flavor is quite noticeable. At first, I passed this one off as just a Kalamazoo Stout with some rye flavor. But this beer has its own personality. The sweetness stays on the palette, even as the coffee flavor comes through. Decent amount of hops throughout, with some roasted barley as well. As it warms to around 58-60, there is a distinct and tasty rye flavor on the finish. It reminds me of Sam Smiths Oatmeal mixed with Kalamazoo Stout (with a rye aftertaste). Good.

2002 bottle shared with Muzzlehatch on 2/18/06. My above rating is pretty on par. Didnt find any alcohol, but the rye and a very dry chocolate covered coffee-bean note are truly wonderful, balancing light caramel sweetness, hints of dry vanilla and still a soothing, if slightly leaner texture. Oxidation is only lightly present and quite enjoyable (nutty, dry marzipan like notes and touches of madeira).