Bells Cherry Stout

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

Pours black with a thin off white head. Aroma of roasted malt and tart cherry, but very subtle. Taste is nice, a little thick, creamy stout with a hint of tart cherries. For some reason I thought this would be a lot sweeter cherry and was pleasantly surprised at how the cherry does not overtake the chocolate and roasted malts. Finishes a little dry with a hint of cherry. Very easy drinking stout, but deceptivley strong.

Batch #8144 12 oz bottle pours black with a reddish tinged brown head that quickly disapates. Aroma of cherries and roasted malts. Flavor is of bitter roasted and chocolate malt and a slight hint of cherries.

Another one not available in Illinois. Great tartness, but not too much. nice finish. easily a drink all night beer.

I was really looking forward to this one. A cherry twist on my favorite...the sweet stout. What wasn’t to love? Sadly enough...this beer. Smelled good enough...the aroma isn’t as full bodied as I like, but had a hint of chocolate and cherries in there. Beer poured with a medium thickness and a thin head. Color was a rich black with a red tint; very nice looking. Taste was thin and slightly watery, bitter with only a hint of cherry. Nice touch of malt int he brew, and some choclate working as well, but just not enough to balance out the tartness from the cherry. Worst part was, the cherries themselves were hardly evident in the flavor, just the tart and bitterness. May try this one again down the road.

12 oz bottle. Thick black pour with a dark tan head and nice lacing on the glass. Strong malty chocolate aroma with lots of cherry. Hints of spice, maybe cinnamon. Typical strong stout flavor with lots of bitter roast. Cherry flavor is prominent but not overwhelming, and even a bit subtle. Good balance with a sour finish and a slight alcohol after taste. Good fruit beer!

Bottle batch 8152. Almost opaque dark brown with small tan head. Lots of roasted malt in the aroma with sweetness and hops. Sour/tar cherry taste with roast, chocolate, sweet malt, some alc. Medium bodied and creamy. Very nice.

Bottle, batch #8219. Pitch black pour with a nice cream head. Cherries, chocolate and licorice in the nose. Expected. Flavors of coffee, cool cherries, and some chocolate. Warm, engaging, drinkable. Decent, but there are better from Bells, especially better stouts.

bottle. Only a few months into my craft beer experience, this is the first beer I’ve had with enough tart to stimulate the sides of my tongue. Each drink started with a 1-2 second exponential growth of tartness with the sides then acting like duel runways carrying the flavor to the back of the tongue where I experienced a nice bitter stout finish. I wish that the beer was a little sweeter as I’m not sure if I tasted cherries or just associated the tartness to them. Overall, I enjoyed this beer if no other reason than I enjoyed the tartness and plan on trying some sour ales sometime soon.