Bells Rye Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Dark brown, tan head fades quickly. Tons of roast up front in aroma, smoke, and only hints of rye. Flavor has a bit more of the spicy rye character, but roast and smoke still dominate. Mouthfeel palate are a tad thin at times. This one just doesn’t do it for me.

on tap at 07 eccentric day :) dark red/black pour. Decently noticeable aroma right from the start. A little more hoppy than some stouts, but a nice variation anyways. The only drawback of it being lighter/hoppier than some is the palate is a little lacking. Still nice, especially for something new.

12oz Pour $2.25 Eccentric Cafe Bell’s Rye Stout poured the darkest of browns bordering on black. Mahogany highlights flashed through along the sides of the glass. A minimal ecru crown formed on the pour (because the bartender) and left decent spotty lacing as it fell. Aroma was that of roasted grains and a mild coffee ground goodness. The rye was definately apparent wit ha very welcomed spicy caracter. Flavor was very similar to the aroma with a solid rye spicing that made this beer special. A lot of the standard stout flavors came through like roasted grains, mild coffee, and mild bittersweet chocolate. The alcohol is amazingly well hidden. This is on the lighter side of stouts and the mouthfeel really shows that. Body is medium and smooth with a nice slickness that keeps things moving. Highly drinkable with the moderate body and enjoyable rye spiciness. Drank this rye stout while eating a reuben and I don’t think there could have been a better combonation on that cool November day. 11/11/07

Pours jet black with about a finger of dark tan head that reduces fairly quickly to absolutely nothing. After about a minute, once the head has disappeared, it looks like a glass of soy sauce. The nose is fairly muted for a Bells stout, with a bit of the spicy rye poking out behind dark roasted malt. I’m not sure that the combination of scents works too well for me. Light to medium-bodied and fairly thin, especially in comparison to other Bells stouts that I’ve sampled, the mouthfeel is silky-slick with a lightly lingering roasted finish. The flavor is a spicy (rye) roasted malt front with just a touch of hops poking out from behind. It’s a bit thin for my tastes, and I prefer both the Double Cream and Kalamazoo to this one. But a third placed stout from Bells still kicks the crap out of a lot of other breweries’ "best". A very drinkable and enjoyable stout.

As far as Bell’s Stouts are concerned this is probably near the bottom end of them (although their other ones are so good). I had this on tap at the brewery. The stout wasn’t as dark in color as you might expect. Light flavor that doesn’t stay with you as much. I think it would be a great beer for people just beginning to drink Stouts...or if you want something not quite as heavy.

tap at eccentric.....appearance: dark brown but not yet black with thin tan head.....aroma: roasted bitterness, toffee, and chocolate.....taste: sweet malt, chocolate, and then a bite of peppery spice to give it some character. finish was of a burnt roast.

’06 Bottle: Pours a dark brownish-black color with a minimal tan head. Has a strange earthy aroma that almost smells like wet weeds. As this warmed it improved in aroma and the rye aspects come through along with some bold malt. Thin bodied, chocolate malt taste with almost none of the rye characteristics. Not too impressed with this, although drinkable.

12 oz bottle. Pours black with a white-ish head, looks like a fairly typical stout. Smells like vegetable soup... mostly cabbage, some cooked carrots. Really unique and kind of bad smelling, but maybe something I could get used to depending on the taste. Tastes surprisingly good, chocolate, rye bread, a little bit of hops. Decent beer, definitely unique, and drinkable despite the vegetable soup taste/smell. I like it, and I think I’d buy it again.