Bells Batch 7000 Ale

Formerly brewed at Bells Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Fantastic - big and delicious. Your normal kick ass pitch black pour. Minimal head - spotty lacing. Aroma and flavor are to die for... like an expedition but a little sweeter with notes of licorice and fruits. Ahhhh, what a mouth coating - thick and chewy - hated watching my snifter go empty. Hopefully I’ll enjoy this again . . . . nice! Thanks ughsmash, this one was epic.

Pours a very dark brown with a nice tan head. Plenty of froth and good lacing on the side of the glass. Smell is roasted goodness. Plenty of dark bakers chocolate with a good amount of coffee and molasses. Taste is all that and then some more. I’m a huge fan of expedition, and I think that this beer has that one beat. Quite an impressive brew. Can’t wait to see what time does to the remaining bottles I have left.

Holy crap this beer keeps getting better every time I have it. Pours a rick deep black, but somehow I think the expedition might be a touch darker than this one. Frothy lasting tight sticky head and good lace. Aroma is loaded up with dark chocolate and modest roasted coffee, some acrid dry malts and faded yet still prominent hops- definitely way less hops than when fresh. Big body and flavor with tons of roasted barley, black maltr and lot sof chocolate- nutty, coffee, bitter dry acrid burnt malts, light smoke, some molasses thick sweetness and licorice root/star anise. Damn smooth finish. Awesome.

12 bottle shared with willblake and Dickinsonbeer. Wow this is some fantastic stuff. Poured pitch black and thick as oil with a light tan head that quickly faded, a little more head would of bumped this up to a 5. Palate was incredible, super thick yet so drinkable aroma was lots of chocolate, cherries, rum, molasses and more. Flavor was even better, hard to believe, very sweet overall with notes of dark chocolate, tar, dark fruit and more. I love Bells and can’t stand the fact that they aren’t available in NJ. If you see this beer buy ALL OF IT.

Bottle through trade with Sephiroth, thanks Hans! Pours a very silky black with mohogany edges and thin lacing with minimal beige head. Great aroma that is sweeter than most other impy’s Ive had, lots of sugary molasses, licorice, mixed with charred oak wood and smoke. Flavor is exquisite; very well balanced between the sweet roasted malts, vanilla and molasses, contrasted with a good hop profile. Very nice. Smooth and velvety palate that coats the mouth, with long lasting tastes of espresso, licorice, wood and earth. Great stuff!

12 oz bottle. Pours black with a little dark brown head. Dark roasted malt, coffee, liqourice and bourbon like aroma. Clear alcohol presence. Lovely blend of liqourice and chocolate in thick oily blend. Minor citric fruit note. Alcohol does shine through. Very strong bitterness. Very strong brew.

I was looking for the right occasion to open this brew, it just seemed right to open this sucker after a line up of rather decent Belgians for the sake of contrast. Didn’t disappoint (I just wish I had more bottles!). Dark like motor oil, with a nice light brown head. Not as impenetrable as some imperial stouts, but still looks damn fine with a razor thin silky smooth head forming later on. Roast and alcohol at the fore. Some sweetness. Prunes, plums, raisins. A little oxidation (cardboard). Dry chocolate and a hint of wood. Thick healthy viscosity. This is like a milkshake and is the absolute ideal of what every imperial stout should strive to feel like (In my humble opinion). Low carbonation. Big ass sweet malt. Cut by roast and alcohol. Chocolatier than the Expedition Stout, creamier too. The prune sweetness and chewy sticky dark fruit are great. Big chocolate and roast almost overwhelm the sweet malt, but instead find lovely balance. Lingering strong roast. Bitterness lingers with perhaps some floral hops and definitely some alcohol. I wish I could get more of this puppy. Almost reminds me of some old Rogue Imperial Stout. No sign of there being too much heat.

Mega thanks to Styles for giving up a few of these in our trade. It has been quite a while since I have rated anything over a 4 so I needed to bring out something I thought would be a no brainer. Pours a thick black with a dark brown head. Nice initial carbonation. Stunning pour. Aroma is beautiful. Rich malts and fermented boozy fruits along with cocoa, molasses and licorice. Flavor is same as the aroma with hints of sourish malts and light smoke. Mouthfeel is rich and creamy and I can feel my belly start to warm up a bit now. An overall awesome beer. Thanks again Chris.