Bells Expedition Stout

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

Phenomenal beer! It had a thick texture, with almost a semi-sweet chocolate taste, and slightly burnt. I really loved it.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a nice black color with a creamy brown head. Aroma is mainly chocolate, a little coffee, and some spicy hop notes. Flavor is chocolate and ends somewhat bitter. Hides the alcohol and warms very, very well. Great beer!

This is a very good stout! It pours a dark black with a creamy brownish tan head that is almost nonexistent. The aroma smells of dark chocolate with notes of chicory and the chocolate malty sweetness. The flavor is the same chocolate, malt, some slight alcoholic sweet notes and a slightly dry finish. For the price it is on par with World Wide Stout, but WW has a smoother finish. Great example of the style, and a solid beer. Great beer for #200.

I pulled this beer out to try against a Dark Lord just to see what was going on. After comparing the two and double-fisting each, I came to the conclusion that Expedition is probably a better example of the style (Imperial Stout), but Dark Lord really should be in a category of its own! Anyway, I digress. This is batch 8145 which is probably 2007. Pours a completely night black fluid with a small coffee colored head made up of tiny bubbles. The oiliness of the beer allows it to stick to the glass. The aroma is not so strong but has a burnt and roasty quality with some sweetness. The flavor is bittersweet on the nose which gives way to a huge bitter, roasty flavor which reminds me of slightly burnt coffee grounds. There are also notes of black licorice. The Expedition stood up well to the Dark Lord, but in the end evil triumphed because good is dumb!

bottle, pithc black color with minimal head that fades, strong fruit and coffee nose, flavor is very layered of chocolate, coffee, red wine, licorice, etc, hoppy dry finish of fruit and oak, excellent

Bottle from a trade with StFun. Wow poured out a black color with a good sized tan head. Smelled of chocolate. One of the sweeter stouts I’ve had. I almost felt like I had to chew it. Tasted chocolate, with a hint of coffee flavor. No alcohol taste whatsoever. StFun will have to send me some more of this wonderful brew.

Smells chocolaty and malty. Pours pitch black with a think brown head. Flavor very heavy, not DFH WWS heavy, but pretty heavy. Tastes like dark chocolate and oak, very syrupy and an alcohol aftertaste, but not bad. Not as much of an aftertaste as the DFH WWS, so that is good. Not bad at all on the palate for such a thick stout...It warms up your throat and you might think youre drinking spiked hot chocolate rather than a beer. Overall its impressive...best stout I’ve had...I couldnt drink this stuff everyday though that’s for sure.

Bottle from DTM’s trade to some dude in Indiana. I love pitting beers against each other (if not for superiority, then just comparison), and this one has to be near Alesmith’s Speedway Stout. While Alesmith controlled their palate with the Speedway, Bell’s Expedition Stout just punches you in the face, like Mike Tyson would if you asked him what time it was. This brew was much sweeter than I’ve experienced from the genre, and I tasted the cocoa, vanilla, and coffee (although faint). There’s more dark chocolate there than anything. This one’s complex enough to throw into the Matrix. Great brew!