Bells Batch 7000 Ale

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

12 oz. bottle courtesy of jjpm74. Pours black with a tightly packed reddish tan head. The aroma is vinous with dark fruits, molassess, vanilla, caramel malt, and some light roast. The flavor is dark chocolate, caramel, molasses, roasted, vanilla, earthy, fruity, and slightly smokey. This is thick and viscous from the beginning. I enjoyed every second of this beer and wish I had more. Aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel are all top notch. This was a perfect way to celebrate number 600. Thanks John!

After finishing this one i couldn´t help thinking of the tune - Paint it Black - with Rolling Stones... damn this one left behind som serious black curtains in the glass... a bet you could use this one for some practical matter aswell. Pour is deep black with a minor head The nose is a bit vinous with sour, smoky and salty notes. The taste is heavy and very powerfull. Its salty with hints of roasted coffee, burned malts, alcohol and raisins. Has a thick, oily and creamy palate.

Thanks Santa! Pretty darn intense! Very dark garnet black, large brown head. Lots of lacing. Heavy and pungent roast, acrid black malt and soy sauce aroma and flavor. There’s some deep earthiness and maybe just a touch of fruitiness. A bit over the top.

Thanks to goldtwins for this trade! Pours a deep black with a smaller size creamy tan head. Aroma of molasses, light smoke, dark fruits, vanilla, oak, sweet chocolate maltiness, earthy, caramel, toffee, nuts and some floral and light hops still sticking around. Flavor of molasses, earthy, light smoke, toffee, dark chocolate, cherries, almonds, this is very sweet and malty, but the level of hop bitterness is very high and holds this beer together wonderfully. Even getting some pine and grapefruit from the hops. Also dries out a bit in the finish. Reminds me a good bit of Expedition.

The Batch 7000 is especially sexy out of the bottle with the smell of oak and bourbon. Dark brown black pour with a small dark head. Nice flavor of molasses, chocolate, smoky coffee and almost a port like whiff. Enjoy something special during the winter with a cigar and a lawn chair outdoors.

My 300th rating & a big shout out to BBB63 for supplying me with this nectar of the Gods. 12 oz. bottle served in a snifter. Pours a jet black with a small brown head. This stuff is thick and oily. It coats my snifter like motor oil. Nose is like rum cake & rum filled cherries. Mouthfeel is thick, heavy & oily. The flavor was heavy on malts with flavors of molasses, dark chocolate, dark fruits and rum. This was an absolutely delicious brew.

Huge thanks to northernbrews for this extra! A: Thick, thick black with a 1/2 finger tan color head that just warns you that this is going to be a big beer. S: Tons and tons of dark fruits. Sweet dark fruit infused chocolate. Light molasses and carob notes. So far, very nice. T: The dark fruits are still very much at play - more so than many imperial stouts I have had. I would guess the age has brought them out to the forefront as often happens with imperial stouts. The taste is actually reminiscent of blackberry infused dark chocolate - I know there is no blackberry in this, but the similarity is there. Carob and lightly roasted malts give a wonderful interplay with the dark fruits. Some rich espresso plays in the background as well. Incredible. Complex, balanced and utterly tasty. The mouthfeel is decadently rich with moderately low carbonation yet never borders on the syrupy side. Drinkability is phenomenal for a beer of this strength. Highly recommended. This is up there among my favorite imperial stouts.

Poured out black, with a dark brown head and decent lacing. Aroma was roasty, but also fairly hoppy yet, even with being over a year old. Taste starts out very nice with chocolate and dark fruit, but then a bitter roastyness comes up followed by even more bitter hops that just seemed a little out of place yet. It was good, but it seemed like those hops we casting a shadow over the wonderfully malty flavors. With age I think the taste would be even better. Full bodied and lighter on the carbonation, but still pretty nice. This was decent, but I think it needs much more time to mellow the alcohol and hoppiness that is, IMO, in the way. Need to re-rate this.