Bells Cherry Stout

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

The aroma was strong roast with chocolate and a estery fruit presence which was nice. The fruity aromas were dark in nature, but not discernible as cherries. Dark chocolate and espresso roast coupled with caramel were very well done. The beer poured into the glass black with a brown short lived head which did trace at the glass. The flavor was tart with a definite sour cherry presence and strong dark chocolate and some espresso nature. The finish came in immediately dry with tart cherry flavors lasting well into the aftertaste. The beer was quite bitter and really had no middle, only an initial impression of chocolate and then the finish. The body was medium-full and the carbonation was a bit low. An ok brew, but certainly not a favorite. 12 ounce bottle. Batch 8152.

Creamy vanilla on the nose, with hints of chocolate and cherries. Pours dark brown pretty much black with a thick tan head, that does not last long. Tart cherries, with a slight sweet cherry flavor, with loads of chocolate, hints of coffee, and creamy vanilla. Very smooth. I like it more this time than the first time i tried it.

I don’t know if the cherry flavor had dropped out on this beer or not, but I got more traditional "stout" character out of this beer than any fruit flavored "cherry" character. I had received my bottle via a trade (as I do all my Bells, since Bells doesn’t distribute to California....a shame) and had been sitting on it for about a year, so I’m thinking this bottle is 18-24 months old. Anyways, I was quite disappointed in the overall quality of this beer. I love K-zoo and Expedition but this beer seemed to be like an experiment gone wrong...and they bottled it anyways. The beer pours out black with a one-finger dark tan head, big bubbles with little to no lacing. Aroma had little to offer, with subtle notes of coffee, a touch of bakers chocolate and a strange sourness that reminded me a bit of sour cream. Mouthfeel was on the thin side and a bit overly carbonated. Flavor carried that same sourness, like a lactic sourness almost. Some coffee and chocolate notes are present too, but unfortunately I was expecting some cherries to make an appearance somewhere in this beer and it just didn’t happen. Perhaps the sourness was supposed to be taken as sour cherries, but I didn’t think so. It just made it difficult to enjoy, which I really didn’t.

Bottle thanks to NachlamSie. This pours like used motor oil. The first thing I noticed was how the brew glistens. It even looks oily. The tan head was quickly diminishing and had wimpy lacing. The aroma seemed not to be too strong. Even after swirling this furiously, I had some difficulty trying to pick out the aroma. I can smell some hints of cherries, of course. There are some dry, smoked qualities as well. Some cocoa lingers around. Eh, I’ve spent long enough trying to pick out the weak aroma. Now for the taste test. Very... very... very citrusy. As it hits the tongue, the citrusy cherry flavour instantly bursts. As the beer leaves your taste buds, the citrus lingers on for some time. An oily residue coats your tongue and seems to let the citrus bite persist. As the saliva washes that away, the citrus qualities diminish. Smoked qualities creep in with subtle molasses and cocoa flavours. At the finish, the smoked qualities become the dominant flavour with cherries falling far behind. This is... interesting. A good "interesting." Generally, it’s like you’ve eaten steak with cherries on top. (Okay, that sounds gross.) As weird as it is, I like it. But then again, I tend to like some very weird things.

Let me begin by saying I generally dislike fruity beers. This beer is so good, I’m now making a serious reconsideration on that prejudice. Enjoy this beer with chocolate cake or ice cream!

12 oz bottle poured into a pint glass. I pulled this from the celler, it is a 2006 bottle, batch 7674. Pours black with a small light brown fizzy head that fades away leaving poor lacing. The aroma is of cherrys and also of roasted malts. Taking a drink first I taste a hint of roast malts, but mainly I am tasting cherry. No hop flavor or bitterness. The cherry flavor sticks with you for a while. The body is medium to full with a creamy texture and soft carbonation.

11-7-07 bottle.
Black with tan head. Subtle roasted chocolate aroma. Very tart cherry taste. It actually makes the cheeks tighten when it hits the mouth. Flavor is actually not bad it is just overly tart for me.

12 oz bottle. Batch 8152. This is the first beer from Bell’s which I didn’t really like. It pours very dark with a light tan head. You can smell a hint of cherries with some roastiness. The flavor is more confused than anything to me. There was an off flavor which I can’t identify. Bell’s says this improves with cellaring, so the rest of the 6-pack is staying in my beer fridge for a while.