Bells Bourbon Barrel Aged Cherry Stout

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

Pours a coca-cola black with a red hue. Minimal head and slight lacing. Aroma is nice and sweet, a great mix of cherries, vanilla, dough, and chocolate. Flavor is very nice, lots of wood, vanilla, and cherries, with touches of chocolate, bourbon, and yeast. Nice hint of smoke in both the aroma and the flavor. Everything was held in a nice balance. Not overly complex, but a nice beer nonetheless.

Bottle. Pours a deep dark brown with a tan ring. Rich aroma, of cherry syrup, malt, and wood. Big cherry syrup taste, with malt, bourbon, and dark fruits. Lingering sweet sharpness. Tasty, but I think I prefer the non BA version.

Bottle: Deep, dark brown pour with a small brown head. Aroma is bourbon filled with a little sweet cherry juice. Flavor is what brings this down for me. Overtly bourbon filled with a bland, artificial cherry presence. Light malt, but that is it. Not nearly what I’d hoped for; a big letdown.

Bottle, batch 7777. Aroma quite buttery and woody with sweet notes from the bourbon, almost candied sugar-like. Flavor contrasts the sweet bourbon notes with the tart cherry notes, with the butter/wood taking more of a back seat. I thought the tartness of the cherry was far too prominent in the regular cherry stout, and the bourbon and wood were nice compliments. However, by the end of the glass, the tartness was really starting build, not quite to the point of sour milk as I found in the regular, but still overriding the balancing components. Certainly an improvement for me though.

Bottle, batch 7777. Pours black with a small tan head. Aroma is heavy on the diacetyl and bourbon. Flavor is sweet and bourbony with diacetyl in the background and butterscotch in the finish. The cherry is much less pronounced than in the regular cherry stout--here it’s just more of a sweetness. Sticky and a bit heavier than the regular too. I can’t really say it’s an improvement....not really a fan. 6/4/6/3/13 (3.2/5)

Bottle thanks to SoLan. Poured black with nice tan head. Aroma was cherry bourbon and lots of alcohol. Taste is wood, cherry, burnt malt, bourbon, and alcohol. Nice texture and mouth feel. Overall enjoyed...

Bottle shared by wolf at SL. Good head, black in color. Aroma is alcohol... Taste like a sweet cherry tea and alcohol. Not that well balanced. The bourbon note definetly doesnt go well with the cherry. The texture was a little thin for a stout but not watery. Overall, just an ok beer.

B8K. Near black. Thick, woody nose with light cherry....almost mead-like. Cherry, chocolate, some barrel notes on the palate. Big body. Candyish, though, the way the cherry comes across. It’s a little bit crazy, unfocused. Really doesn’t come together - the elements seem to contrast rather than complement.