 bhensonb (2713), Woodland, California, USA
May 3, 2008
Bottle. Tart cherry aroma over toasted malt. Opaque black color with a tan head that left promptly. Full bodied with creamy carbonation. Flavor is dark, dark, dark. It’s slightly sweet, but the almost unnoticeable cherries do impart a balancing tartness. This is deadly stuff. How can you sip just once? The finish is amazingly complicated. This brew just doesn’t quit. Eventually a woody astringency (cherry pits?) is noticeable. After that some chocolate comes forward. A brew to ponder.
pforei (313), USA
Jul 16, 2008 Bottle from Foodery, Philly. Black cherry soda color with small dark tan head. Aroma of chocolate cherry and roastiness seems coherent. But the tartness/sourness of the taste doesn’t fit the choclate/roasty supporting cast. Innovative. Thick and slightly medicinal after warming. Odd taste is left on the tongue.
502Flavors (159), Kentucky, USA
Jul 13, 2008 12 oz. bottle into sniffer. Jet black pour with a minimal mocha brown head. Aroma is strange - reminds me of a Sam Smith with its dusty notes. I can sort of detect cherries on the aroma, but funky sour cherries. Lots of molasses, smoke, and bitter chocolate too. Flavor is funky as hell: smoked meat, no cherries, almost sour ale finish. Starts off gross but gets more tolerable. weird stuff though. Nice and rich on palate, pretty coating. Overall: strange. Worth tasting just to experience the weirdness of it.
twitcher (110), framingham, Massachusetts, USA
Jul 11, 2008 Updated: Jul 12, 2008bottle. Pours a solid, opaque black with almost no head. Aroma on the light side, dark semi sweet fruits, some raisins, a hint of cherry, and some burnt toast. Flavors don’t work too well... some acidic tartness and hints of cherries, heavy over-roasted malts. Lots of bittersweet flavors overwhelm any other flavors. Eh. Full bodied on the palate, with a bit of an oily slick finish. Not one of the more impressive offerings from Bell’s.
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Gah... as it warms... this brew, uch as I hate to say it, ventures into the realm of drain-pours. I’m sure some enjoy it, but for me, this is one of the few offerings from Bells that just thoroughly craps out.
Odeed (1429), Bakersfield, California, USA
Jul 5, 2008 black body with brown highlights.nice light brown head.lots of molasses in the aroma,with a bit of chocolate and coffee.flavor is much of the same with some thick cherry syrup shinning through at the end.its interesting if its anything.
sirpsycho (153), Murrysville, Pennsylvania, USA
Jul 4, 2008 Bottle. Batch 7821. Pours a very dark brown, head that disappeared almost immediately. Aroma is soy sauce and a slight cherry note buried in there somewhere. Taste was an assault on my tongue ! Big, up front notes of soy sauce and a very unleasant medicinal cherry flavor on the finish. I checked the brew date, begininning of 2007, so it’s a little over a year old. I know I cellared it correctly, I’m wondering if the place I bought it at (place in Ann Arbor, MI) took care of it while they had it. If I’m feeling brave in the future, I think this deserves a re-rate. But it’s going to take awhile before I risk abusing my tongue again. Not what I’m accustomed to coming from such a great brewery. I tried very hard to finish this one and unfortunately I couldn’t.
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