Bells Expedition Stout

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

Just popped the last bottle of this beast from a six pack that I bought this winter. I absolutely love this beer -- black as night (no light passes through), amazing aroma, chock full of roasted malts. Thick, amazing mouthfeel. Smooth, lingering, roasty taste. Great taste upfront, and then it explodes when it hits the back of the throat. Not sure if that makes sense, but one sip of this bad boy is enough to last all night. I’ve had this stuff a number of times (on tap and in bottle) and I’ve never been disappointed. In fact, it’s the brew that turned a few of my friends on to the potential of craft brews. Definitely might be my favorite beer. Bravo, Bells, bravo.

Tasted at the Orlando Beer festival. Awsome. Great mouthfeel, very dark, rich thick. I’ll be out searching for this one.

WOW! This beer poured like a dream. Deep dark head turning a lighter tan. Such a full robust flavor and thick mouthfeel. Beatiful lacing that hangs on forever. Excellent brew!! Bell’s has notihng but winners. I’ll be cellaring 2 6’ers. .... so this rating might just get better on a re-rate.

Deserves every 4 and over rating it gets. One of the more even stouts. A desert in a glass. Smells fresh and inviting. The taste is strong and delicate. Wow ..this is top shelf. I wonder if it took years of trying this recipe versus that..or if luck and happenstance was involved. Truly a great beer. Nothing fights or sours the flavor. This is a fresh beer I am trying,(for a stout of 10.5%abv) Label says 8311..I’m guessing a 3 year aging grace period.

Bottle. 12 fl. oz. Pitch black color with brown, rocky head resembling chocolate mousse. Excellent lacing. Sweet, rich aroma of cocoa, sugar, coffee, and alcohol. This seriously smells like a dessert. Very thick, full body with a velvety smooth texture. So thick it is almost like a melted milkshake. Its initial flavor is moderately sweet, but eventually taken over by a wonderful, heavy bitter ending that seems to refuse to go away. Man, this is a cool beer.

Bottle. Heavy malt aromas of dark bread, molasses, and dark chocolate, moderate perfume smell for the hops, light earth and broth for the yeast, with raisin, wine and alcohol in the background. Head is light brown, frothy with fair lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is black, but I did see some small particles at the bottom of the glass. Flavor starts moderately sweet and lightly acidic, then the long finish is moderately sweet and bitter, and just a touch sour. Palate is full bodied, between creamy and syrupy, and has a soft carbonation. It finishes lightly alcoholic. Bold in every respect. A great, almost perfect Imperial Stout.

Bottle, gift from mcbackus. Tantalizing pour of thick black with thick tan head. Aroma of fresh macchiato, vanilla bean, and a big slice of tiramisu. Creamy silky mouthfeel. Long lingering big sophisticated and strong body. Filled with whole coffee beans, freshly roasted and ground. Black forest cake emerges later. Superior stuff. A gorgeous brew to celebrate rating #1000!

Very nice imperial stout with an initially hot alcohol taste (as a 1st beer of the night) that becomes more smooth as you get into the bottle. It has a nice rich and smooth malty taste. My only compliant is the hot taste but its understandable considering the size of this beer. I suspect it will be much better in 6-8 months.