Bells Java Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

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!

A: Black as night, with a small espresso colored head. Picture Perfect. S: This one has a wonderful malt smell about it. Of course there are hints of coffee, but you can also smell chocolate and a hint of spice, nutmeg maybe? T: Bell’s never ceases to amaze. This is another solid beer from their ever impressive lineup. The taste is wonderful. It is so simple yet complex. This beer has a taste of a perfectly crafted cafe’ mocha. The malt gives it a wonderful backbone and enhances the taste of fresh brewed dark coffee and chocolate. M: It is very smooth, creamy, with very little bitterness despite the taste of dark coffee and chocolate.

12 oz bottle courtesy of the Binnys singles rack (Orland Park, IL). A beer I’ve been anticipating for awhile. Pours a near pitch black pour, a touch of very dark brown around the edges, opaque, a moderate dark brown head, that bubbles, stays decent sized, laces ok. Aromas are coffee, roasted malts, chocolatey mocha, with more coffee, and a bit of ashy smoke on the palate. Not bad. Initial is heavier bodied, a decent thickness, heavier coffee, roasted malts, dark chocolate, mocha on the palate, a touch of sweetness really sticks, but bitterness and roasty feel is very potent, but goes down nicely. A nice balance, largely roasty, but still enough sweetness to make the beer quite quaffable. Finish is sweet and bitter, roasty with a solid ash and coffee dominance. Good flavors, not an overly complex stout, but certainly done very well, balanced, and tasty. Very nice!

Aroma is just like fine coffee with a smoky overtone - hardly like beer at all, but most inviting! It pours a deep opaque sable, nearly black, with a very thick, fine-bubbled tan head. Flavor is rich and very smoky, maybe a wee bit too smoky. It has a tasty chocolate undertone and hints of toffee and molasses. Texture is thick, smooth, fairly tingly, and quite satisfying. Overall, an immensely pleasing stout.