Bells Cherry Stout

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

12 oz. bottle - Batch 8870, so just over a year old; thanks to grownfool for the trade; dark brown pour with faint tan head forming along the edges; toasty malts, mild roast and faint cherry aromas; definitely some tartness with light body and fizzy mouth feel; the stout side is either quite light or very faded over time; mild cherry and almost sharp tartness dominates the flavor; not enough stout here for my liking and maybe better when fresh to balance out the tartness

A: Very dark black with hints of blood red shimmering thru as you swirl the glass. There is little to no head right from the pour. If you swirl the glass you can awake some tiny bubbles though, which will form a head just big enough to cover the top of the brew. S: Very nice. Deep dark fresh ground coffee aroma with a definite smell of ripe cherries. There is a hint of chocolate as well that helps to gives it a unique chocolate covered cherry type aroma. T: Very unique. Had I not seen any reviews before drinking this one I would have been very surprised. The cherry taste is of bitter cherries. Not what I expected but very nice nonetheless. As soon as it hits the tongue you taste tart cherries. This gives way to a nice chocolaty malt base which finishes with the taste of fresh coffee. M: Medium to thin in body actually. I would like it to be a little thicker.

12-oz bottle. Thin brown head the disappeared rapidly. No lacing. Black, black, black. Not much aroma either. Some coffee, dark chocolate and cherry. Actually smells a lot like a chocolate covered cherry. Taste is sour and only slightly bitter. Texture is medium with mild carbonation. Long finish with a touch of tinniness on the end. A very interesting brew. I would try this again with food but not by itself. Taste buds need recovery time between sips to recover from sourness.

bottle courtesy of daknole, i think. pours black with almost no head that vanishes before your very eyes. aroma is huge on cherries, not much else. a lil overly sweet for me on smell and taste. not a bad beer, but the cherry really dominates. very tart, almost an oxidized taste to it. palate is pretty much flat, thick syrup. i hope the ba version is better.

This 12 oz bottle was from Strykzone, and poured a totally black color that let absolutely no light through and raised a small light brown head and left light lacing rings. The nose is rich roasted malt and coffee and chocolate aroma with some cherry. Very heavy body and creamy mouthfeel. The flavor is roasted malts with a nice mixture of chocolate, coffee, and sour cherry. Light bitterness in the finish for overall an unusual and very enjoyable sipping beer.

Dark, dark brown, basically black. Dark milk chocolate tan head dies quickly. Dark fruity aroma, roast, heavy cherry, chocolate, bitter roastiness. Taste is lots of liquid chocolate covered cherries, cherry cordials, Maraschino cherry juice, roasty, fruity. Unfortunately I’m not a big fan of cherries, otherwise I’m sure this is fantastic.

Batch 9434. Pours a jet black with little head. Smells like malt, sugar and a hint of fruit. Nice full bodied stout that starts tart and ends with a sweet note. Not much cherry flavor per say, but the tart says cherries. Nice beer.

12oz bottle from Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits in DC. Pours nearly black with slight reddish-purple hues. One-finger tan head with average retention. Aroma is mildly tart with roast, chocolate, cherries, and red wine. Flavor is tart cherries, roasted malt, chocolate, slight cheesiness, and lots of vinous notes. Almost falls into the sour category - not a lot of sweetness. Palate is somewhat acidic with medium body and a long finish. Poured the last little bit through a wine aerator that my wine snob family was using, and this definitely made the flavor better and well-rounded.