Bells Rye Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Bottle: Black coffee in color, brownish edges, small beige spritzy head, dies quickly, sparce lacing.   Heavily roasted malts on the nose, slight campfire, but also a bit of pasture.   Balance of milk sugar sweetness, subtle hop bite, softly roasted malts, and grains on the tongue.   Moderate body, mouthfeel is rather thin tho.   Seems more of a sweet Porter or Dark Ale than a Stout.   Somewhat dry/chalky finish.   Fairly average, cross between weak Milk Stout and a Rye Ale.   Thanks goes out to Styles for the bottles!

Tap at MacNiven’s. As stouts go, this one is good. Opaque black body and nice brown head. Smells like, well, rye. Some toasted notes along with brown sugar. Tastes like, well rye. Again good toasted quality malts shine throuh and linger in the relatively short aftertaste. Rye is present, but doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the beer. A bit watery, but this is something I usually find in stouts.

I always jump at the chance to try a new Bells, especially a stout. Had this on tap at the Map Room. Pretty full of chocolate flavor, more than I was expecting. Medium bodied. On the palate this is a pretty solid tasting stout, though probably the least good of all Bell’s stouts. The rye definitely kicks in on the finish and I don’t really dig it. Definitely worth checking out, though.

Pours black with a little off white head. The aroma doesn’t say "I am a stout", but more of a spicy Belgian smell. The flavor has what I initially would characterize as an ash tray taste, but as I drink more of the beer, the taste has a dry smoke flavor with some hidden dark malts. Nice thick mouthfeel. Not too sure why the high ratings, but I have a sixer of this, so if my opinions change I’ll change the rating.

Pours absolutely opaque black. Brownish tan foamy head, little lace. Aromas of coffee, toasty malt, chocolate, smoke, alcohol, and chocolate. Flavor was predominantly smoky malt, with coffee, earth, peat, alcohol, and just a hint of rye. Well-tempered hop bitterness. Nice thick, chewy mouth.

12 oz bottle

Poured ver dark with a thin tan head, Scents of rye, grain, oak and smoke wafted from the glass. On my first sip, the grains were obvious - rye and what with a slight smoky flavor not unlike cured ham. A creamy coffee taste soon followed and then it faded away leaving almost no taste behind. Towards the end of the glass I began to detect the taste of club soda. Overall, a fairly nice stout from Bells but I doubt this is one to actively seek out again.

Pours very very dark brown, almost black with a quickly dissappearing tan head. Aroma of coffee, roasted malt, earth, wood. Tastes like same, near the end it seems to taste woodier but also creamier. I’ve given it a few extra points simply for its uniqueness as I’ve not tried a "rye stout" before -- may rerate after trying others. Overall, another good and interesting beer from Bell’s.

Happy Day after St. Patty’s Day! Had this on tap at the Smokehouse, one of their guest tap offerings. It was my first brew of St. Patty’s Day. Heavy nose of caramel & coffee. This brew is black with brown highlights. The average frothy tan head is mostly diminishing with no lace. The flavor is very balanced with pronounced malt start meandering into a roasted caramel espresso finish. The full and soft palate is exquisitely creamy.