Bells Bourbon Barrel Aged Cherry Stout

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

Bottle. Black color, wisps of light tan head. Great aroma - soft vanilla and bourbon notes, sour cherry, oak. The oak aroma isn’t too tannic and is softened by the sweeter characters. Bourbon is more apparent on the taste - lends a nice addition to the base beer. The sour twang of the cherry is evened out by vanilla and oak, but the end result is a rich, decadent beer.

Pours dark brown almost black w/ solid finger of creamy brown foam. Sweet aroma of dark chocolate, cream, cherry, vanilla, bourbon, oak, & treacle. Soft, creamy feel. Flavour is sweet, rich, somewhat roasty but also tart & tannic--from the cherries & oak I suppose. Finish is warm and bourbon-like (surprise). Quite nice.

Batch 7777. Pours an oily, pitch black color with a small, quickly fleeting, mocha colored head. A few isolated spots are all that remain after the thick, viscous legs slowly droop down the glass. The aroma shows sweet, dark, chocolate covered cherries, a hint of lactose, and a massive wash of sour mash Kentucky bourbon. Flavors follow suit, hot from the bourbon, with a huge, bittersweet chocolate profile and semi-sour cherries. On the finish, sour heat coats the tongue and stays there for a good while. The body is thick and viscous, but gets to be cloying pretty quickly, coating the mouth in sugar. The various elements just aren’t sitting right with me. Chocolate, sour fruit, lactose, and hot bourbon? It just doesn’t work all that well together in my book. If I had to sum it up in one word, I’d have to say "overkill."

Poured a dark brown with dark brown head. Aroma was malty, and a little sweet. Flavor is of dark malt, a little chocolate, and sweet, slightly tart cherries. Good carbonation. Get in my belly!!

Bottle shared at RBSG during the grand tasting held at Pizza Port Carlsbad in San Diego. Second taste thanks to toncatcher. Excellent aromas this time in my glass. A lot more then I got at the RBSG. Awesome stuff.

Bottle shared by Blake. Black body under a tight brown head. Smells like maraschino cherries over toasty wood & chocolate - the "fake" cherry smell isn’t that appealing. The flavor follows suit - big hit of cherry extract up front over a dry stout base; finishes with roast malt and bourbon notes. Shrug.

Poured at RBSG 08 at the Grand Tasting. Black with red hues when viewed against light. Tan cocoa head leaves solid lacing. Aroma is a seamless blend of cherry tartness and bourbon. Flavor is predominantly chocolaty and roasty, with cherry juice and subtle bourbon notes. Warming finish with great balance.

~RBSG ’08~

Bottle at the Grand Tasting. Pours black with a nice fluffy head, and creamy lacing. Boozy cherries right off the bat in the nose, slight tartness, some sherry. Cherries are big in the mouth, with roasted malts, chocolate, some coffee in the finish. Balanced-well, much better than regular version, quite tasty.