Bells Java Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

12 oz. bottle from Ludlow Wines. Pours very dark brown with a small brown head that leaves some brown around the edges. Big roast coffee aroma, with notes of burnt toast, smoke, and ash. Flavor is also a lot of roast coffee, with notes of dark chocolate, brown sugar, smoke, and burnt toast. Smoky finish and aftertaste. Bitter, but mostly roasty and smoky- a little sweetness helps make this more palatable. Light-medium bodied, with a gritty roast coffee mouthfeel. I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but regular coffee drinkers- especially those that like it black- should like this a lot.

I shared a bottle of this with beerbaron617 today. It’s the first time I’ve tried this beer and I feel like it has a lot of good things going on, and yet at the same time it’s not amazing. It has an awesome aroma, lot’s of coffee, I mean, it’s all coffee, tiny bit of hops, but really it’s all coffee. It’s super dark and opaque, and it’s seemingly thick in the glass. This coffee tastes only OK, it’s not a show stopper by any means. If you enjoy coffee this beer would be the best thing for you. It’s flavor is predominantly coffee, but has a weird taste of licorice also. I think this beer would go great with a brunch.

First beer review since joining the US Army!!! I shared this with my beer buddy MereLikesBeer. It poured an opaque black-brown with tan head. The aroma was nice, with lots of roasty coffee notes. Unfortunately the taste was like the smell, only a lot stronger, and not quite balanced. I expected a lot more from this brewery ,and this beer, and it just didn’t deliver. Oh well.

thanks stfun! nice stout, smells of black coffee tastes off black coffee, almost looks like black coffee, but it’s not! great stuff, really tasty!

Location: 12 oz bottle from Wine and Beer Westpark, 12/17/09

Aroma: The aroma is all about burnt/roasted coffee
Appearance: Dark brown color with a thin, light brown head with spotty lace
Flavor: Taste is lightly sweet up-front, with a big, long bitter coffee finish
Palate: Relatively full body, decent mouthfeel, pretty dry
Overall Impression: This is not a bad beer, but it might not be my style. This one tastes a lot like black coffee, but since I like my coffee with a little cream and sugar, I guess it’s not made for me. It’s a little too burnt in feeling for my tastes as well. Anyway, it’s alright, but a bit one dimensional, as the coffee completely dominates this brew.

Deep black pour with a thin string of tan/light brown head that sheets laces slowly as it disappears. Potent black coffee aroma, with extra-robust, nearly-burnt Sumatran coffee dominating all other smells. Even for a non-coffee-lover, the flavor is tasty. Make no mistake, this isn’t a chugging brew...the black coffee and loads of dark chocolate on top of chocolate malt flavors are way too strong for that! ABV is just right here, which proves you don’t need 9+% to make a nice stout!

Bottle, thanks tarheels86. Pours thick black with a light brown head and tons of lacing. Flavor is coffee, dark chocolate, roasted malt. Big coffee flavor, I could slam these if they weren’t so expensive

12oz bottle (2009) into a pint glass. Pours pretty solid black with some light showing through the edges with a half-finger milk chocolate head floating above. The aroma is light chocolate and coffee mixed with sweet stout and a hint (jusssst a hint) of alcohol coming through. The flavor is absolutely smooth and complex with milk chocolates, sweet roasted malt, a touch of sour American stout, and just the right amount of fresh coffee blended beautifully into the end of the flavor. This is good stuff!