Bells Expedition Stout

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

330 mL bottle. Pours a motoroil pitch black with a small, dark brown head with great lace. Aromas of roasted malt, chocolate malt, espresso, cocoa, and dark chocolate. Heavy body- very thick and syrupy with an onslaught of roasted malt and dark chocolate and vanilla extract. All the sweetness is balanced nicely by a plethora of hops. 10.5% abv is nicely hidden. This truly is an amazing beer and fantastic version of the Russian Imperial.

Bottle gifted from my brother. Pint glass, shared by my wife and I. Pours an incredible, dark, coffee-molasses color with a field-khaki-drab head. After the initial pour, the head regenerates as a constant 8th-inch pillow. It smells like a semi-sweet chocolate-espresso malt with a touch of hops and soy sauce. Tastes much the same, with the addition of raisins and the bite of pipe tobacco burning slightly hot. Very intense flavor. Full in the mouth. A wonderful example of stout. A great beer for watching the Big 12 Championship game.

pours a pitch black with a tan head. Aroma is dark roast malt, obligatory chocolate and coffee tones, some nutty tones, molasses. Flavour is very complex. Bitter coffee and chocolate tones mixed with tobacco and sweet malted milk, dark chocolate. Mouthfeel is a little slick. very interesting bitter finish with a slight sticky alc and a lingering burnt smokey malt.

Bottle. Thick black/brown pour with a foamy, light brown head with clingy lace. Head reduced as it warmed & the lace became spotty. Aroma is of smoke, roasted, almost burnt coffee beans, dark chocolate, & molasses. Alcohol is pronounced & not at all mellow in the flavor. The coffee, chocolate, & smoke continue in the flavor in addition to roasted malt. Bitterness is heavy & almost a little biting. This is definitely a full bodied stout with a syrupy texture, a lasting bitterness, & a little metallic note in the finish.

Bottle pours a pure black color with a very thin tan head. The aroma includes cocoa beans, pipe tobacco, roasted coffee, dates and prunes. It has a very smooth, yet syrupy mouth feel. Sweet flavor includes a nice combination of all the aromas listed above, but also a faint hint of smoked teriyaki jerky with a bitter aftertaste. It’s a very interesting medley of flavors. The 10.5% is quite noticeable.

This is such a wonderful old friend that was first tasted many years ago, and only now is getting my rating. this stout goes so well with a piece of Hersheys Special Dark.....words cant describe it. Its no wonder I have set Bells as my benchmark. It has a wonderful chocolaty ,roasted malt aroma, with an even better flavor. Good lacing on the glass, almost pitch black with dark tan head.Wonderful infusion of hops .Finishes nicely with a coffee chocolate mix, with the slightest smattering of vanilla.

A great imperial stout. Good in the bottle, even better on tap at the brewery. Dusty, chocolate, cherry, coffee raisins. Small head. Not heavily carbonated. Creamy taste. There is some slight taste of hops, but not much. More citrus I would say.

Bottle. Very dark brown body, small to no head, lightly carbonated, light coffee nose. Citric hops, moderate bitterness, not particularly sweet, coffee/chocolate roastiness, slight sourness, not really much different than the much-lower-rated Victory Storm King.