Bells Special Double Cream Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Sweet Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Bottle. Poured to a dark brown with a one fingers tan head that excellently laces the glass. Nose isn’t very strong - what you can pick out is chocolate and roasted coffee, very sweet smelling. This is a very smooth brew with a lot of cream (as the name dictates,) chocolate, roasted malts and a nice, slightly bitter finish. For the complexity of this beer, it’s a little watery on the palate, but most certainly worth revisiting a few times.

Midnight brown with a small amount of suds. Smelled like tootsie rool. Tastes of milk chocolate, roasted coffee, and hop spice. Felt rich and creamy. Overall a fantastic beer.

This was a pretty good beer but sort of ho hum for Bells. Maybe I’ve just come to expect a lot from them, especially with their stouts. It didn’t pour out pure black but looked completely black when sitting in the glass. Nice off-white head and spots of lacing. The aroma I found a litttle odd, not bad, just different with coffee, licorice, grains, some dark fruit and it just seemed a little strange. Pretty good tasting beer but I didn’t think there was a whole lot going on, soft creamy coffee notes up front and it gets a bit roasty in the finish. Also some molasses and chocolate mixed in there. Solid beer for sure and I think Bells might be a victim of their own success with this one.

Black pour with a big, 2 finger, tan head. Dark roasted malt aroma, with a hint of pine, milk chocolate, and some slight lactose sourness. Bitter roasted malt and hops flavor with a healthy dose of sweet milk chocolate and a faint sour milk note in the finish. Very creamy full body with a moderate amount of carbonation.

Black-brown color with a brown lace head. Sweet malt aroma with caramel and chocolate dominating. Milky cream taste. Great palate compared to most sweet stouts. Long rich aftertaste and doesn’t end bitter and sour like most.

Typical jet black color very small brown head that does leave a lace, cant see any carbonation. Malty but a sweet milky smell like the candy "whoppers". Nice pleasant aroma not too strong and lacking a hop bite. A sweet and creamy taste to this stout rather than the usual burnt gloom and doom. Palate is excellent for this type. A most refreshing taste not oversweet and not the usual bitter pill associated with craft stouts. Great.

very nice deep black color with a mocha colored head. aroma is a bit sweet with notes of caramel, light chocolate, hazelnut, and a touch of fruit...maybe plum or fig. flavor is a milky with roasty notes and malty sweetness. ligh hoppiness balance well with a sweet roasty and dark fruit finish. mouthfeel is very creamy and milky.

Bottle. Pours a very dark brown with some head that mostly fades away leaving only a long lasting ring of foam. Tastes very creamy and thick with a little bit of chocolate flavor. Has a very long and complex aftertaste. A good stout but not up to the hype, in my opinion.