Bells Java Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Draught @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, Kalamazoo, MI: Pours deep, deep brown - almost black - with a bountiful foam tan head resting atop. Aroma is all coffee off the top and throughout; I squinted and strained to find some chocolate and anise waiting for me, but this is coffee’s show. That first sip again is a coffee bomb, but a great one. Dark roast, earthy coffee with subtle notes of chocolate malt, cocoa powder, tobacco, and toffee. It’s complex, it’s super tasty, and it glides down your throat without effort. A commendable effort by a superb brewery.

Aroma of roasted coffee. Kind of woke me up. Taste was much of the same. Loads of coffee with a rich thick body. Hellava good coffee brew.

There are a few breweries that are veritable powerhouses when it comes to consistently good craft beer. One of them would be Bells Brewery.

My Java poured black as night with a billowing head of foam which rises from her dark depths to proudly dominate the top of my brew. Where light manages to peak through, glints of dark earthen brown can be glimpsed while her head collapses in a series of bubbly pockets, leaving a dark tan blanket to mark her territory. Just as her head billowed and burbled her way to the top, so does her nose; coffee, a smorgasbord of chocolate, and espresso with fresh caramel crema topping her estery bliss. Warm notes of vanilla and cream temper the delicate notes of caramel sweetness as dry, toasty and crusty burnt malts cause me to salivate in delight. Enough of this nose thing, I want to make sweet love to her dark java stout depths. Our first embrace is soft with milk chocolate and cream, reminding me of a gourmet latte with hints of chocolate and caramel while coffee permeates every pore. Dry burnt malts leave each kiss dry and arid, creating an immediate thirst which is sated almost immediately. Delicate lace teases, seducing my eyes and body as we grow closer. Her coffee presence dominates while a naughty nip of lemon creeps into her finish. Whoever said ‘parting is such sweet sorrow’ was obviously a masochist because parting is nothing but sorrow. As I bid my Java Stout farewell with a tear in my eye, my senses revel in a beauteous blend of rich chocolates, fresh coffee and cream, gooey caramel, and a whisper of wood while my body melts in contented warmth.

I love this beer. I could drink her all day long, but then I wouldn’t have time to enjoy other beers. Suffice to say, Bells Brewing knows their beers and they especially know their stouts. Java Stout is an absolute success and I am happy to say that this time I have more awaiting me in my fridge for further scandalous affairs.

This is batch 8256. Appearance - Pours a dark brown with a 1 finger cappuccino head. Has wonderful head retention. Smell - Smells like an over the hill coffee smell. Not the most pleasant of smells from a coffee beer that I have experienced. This scares me a little, wonder if this one has gone south... Taste - Yup, this one might be heading south... The coffee is there, and is not very pleasant. A weird taste in there, can’t put my finger on it; not a welcome taste. Tastes kind of stale. Maybe some rotting figs, I can almost taste branches too... Mouthfeel - Great carbonation, wonderful mouthfeel. For the style, I would say this is damn near perfect. A nice and refreshing feeling. Drinkability - I don’t know, I wish I could have tried this when it was fresh. It is 2 years old now, and I just don’t like it that much. I didn’t finish the bottle.

smell: coffee all the way. Appearance: black as... well, coffee. Taste: well... coffee, strangely enough. Taste: erm, like a cup of really nice coffee! As it warms a malt sweetness emerges, softening the coffee bitterness. Very drinkable.

Bottle batch # 8315. A very dark brown color body with a medium sized light brown head. Aroma of ground coffee,malt ,and chocolate. Flavor is much the same intense coffee, cream, sugar, dark chocolate,tobacco,and vanilla,smooth creamy mouthfeel,light to medium carbonation,bitter dry espresso finish, a very tasty stout. Thank you Bells

bottle poured a dark brown color with a frothy brown head that fell away quickly but looked nice. aroma has dark chocolate malt, coffee, licorice, and light roast. light mouth feel with light carbonation. flavor has a heavier coffee, dark bitter chocolate, and roast. finishes drying with black espresso and bitterness.

Pours a deep brown. Cocoa, dark chocolate, coffee nose. Sweet, roast, cocoa, coffee flavor.