Bells Expedition Stout

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

Lucky to have this on draft @ Barley’s No. 1: This is just a beautiful beer. Pours black as night, with a thick, indulgent tan head. Aroma is burnt coffee and dark fruits, and some dark chocolate. Alcohol is present in the nose. Flavor is silky and rich, with undertones of vanilla, coffee, traces of lactose, and big roasted chocolate malt flavor. Well-balanced to give a very full mouthfeel, that finishes warm in every part of your mouth. Just a well done, delicious, impressive imperial stout.

Batch 8145, bottled Sep 2007. (Thanks Bells Batch finder website!) Pours an intense deep black color with an espresso colored head. Flavor is dark chocolate, coffee, ripe cherry, a bit of bread. Has a nice little spiced tang at the end to finish it off. Full bodied, a bit syrupy. Alcohol notes come through after letting it sit on your palate for a bit. Wow, this stuff is liquid manna. For such a big stout it goes down super easy. Rich enough that you really couldn’t drink more than one, but the one you drink is delicious down to the last sip.

I don’t even know what to say. The head is so amazingly dark and the full bodied aroma brings tears to your eyes. Not even going to lie to you, it’s the best beer I have personally had so far.

2007 Bottle - Batch8311, pours a viscous black with almost no head, thick like motor oil, aroma is light, toasty and fruity, flavour on the front end is cloying, burnt sugar, chickory, molassas, and cocoa, it stays thick as it warms and the alcohol is always present, on the back end high bitterness, way more than expected, but pretty pleasant given the richness - very good Imperial Stout, but its reputation preceeds it, and that is a high bar...

Bottle. Pours black as my soul with thin mocha head. Pretty standard aroma of chocolate, coffee, and caramel. Wonderful taste.

12 oz. Big bubbly, three-finger head tries to last. Chocolate, coffee, and hickory aroma has some metallic and herby hop notes. Flavor is initially molasses, turns to hickory smoked molasses, sweetened (just right) coffee, dried wood, char, and finally some cured tobacco leaf and slight alcohol. Medium-heavy body is syrupy and just watery (yet dry) enough on the finish.

Poured from a bottle. Paid 10.99 for a sixer! Poured thick black with tan head. Like previous raters said, it pours like motor oil. Aroma is strong molasses and roasted malts, with lots of hops. Flavor is amazing. It has all the complexities of a fine belgian ale with everything that makes a stout so great. Think I will cellar a sixer and see how this ages.

Bottled. Wow! This beer really changes character with temperature. I poured this a little too cold and it was dominated by molassas and soy sauce but really nice once it warmed up a little. Pours like oil with a cholately brown film on top. Aroma and flavour are dominated by chocolate and coffee. Really nice at the proper temperature.