Bells Rye Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Poures a dark brown with minimal light tan head. Aroma is roasted and malty with earth tones and spices. Not all that pleasent of an aroma actually. Flavor is roasted malt and some coffee as well as rye and wood. Mouth is medium in body with no bitterness in the short finish. Not the best Bell’s I’ve had. A little on the plain side, though its not bad.

Dusty, airy, musty aroma, almost like spoiled carrots and such. Something I find common in rye beers... strange. Tastes decent, some roasted oatmeal and barley flavors, mild creaminess on the palate. Slightly sweet finish. A somewhat plain beer but doesn’t exactly taste bad.

Black pour that allows a bit of light through at the bottom with a quality brown head. Roast is detected in the nose before I bring it up close. Fruit aroma is under that roast, smells like a roasted plum or somesuch. An interesting one. It finishes dry with a waxy mouthfeel. The flavor is hard to nail down toast, roasted bitterness that isn’t coffee, it’s not nutty but it is a bit wood like, a taste like a softwood smells when it is cut with a dull blade and the friction burns it a bit. A light milkiness to it also. Ap-4 ar-6 tas-6 pal-3 ov-13

Bottle and rerate (batch 9370). Similar to the previous rating with these changes: aromas lack a "sourness." Instead, they are earthy and nutty with detectable rye. Flavor seems to be sweeter... no longer a bitterness. This sweetness seems to bury a little bit of the rye presence, though. All I can think this time is that I would LOVE to try a barrel aged version of this... (I made no changes to the numbers.) Looks just like a good stout, dark, tan head, etc. Smells a little off... sour, earthy aromas of peat and minimal chocolate undertones. Rye is present in flavor, and then gives way to burn malt and bitter chocolate. Finally ends up with a cream flavor that dissipates quickly. Could finish a little stronger, aftertaste is pretty brief. Different.

Pours black, with a light brown head. Aromas are roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate. Flavors are roasted malt and rye, coffee, chocolate, and hops. Pretty good, but it seems to be missing just a little something. Thanks to MikeMac for this bottle.

12oz - 7235 - Aroma is roasted malts and big rye with small coffee and hops. Pours black quickly fading brown head and decent lacing. Flavor matches aroma with a weird back of the throat stickiness. Palate is dry and creamy. Different and tasty.

Thanks Phil (Philip)! This beer has a hearty roasted grain aroma that could be compared to darkened toast or burnt popcorn. It is black with an off-white head. The roasted grain taste is nicely developed. The finish of this beer is slightly disappointing as it fades softly not leaving much of an aftertaste.

Medium viscosity, opaque and inky brownish-black in color with a dusty tan concentration and related wrung for the head. Aroma is non-committal: ashes, and burnt and dry chocolate bricks. Rye is aromatically prominent, and charred to a point of singed brazil nuts. Other contributors include unsalted pumpernickel and unsweetened chocolate. Arid and lighter fairing flavor farce with a chocolate rye prominence promoted in a waxy way of the word. Semi-sweet morsels err on the side of hardly sweet at all. On the cusp are chocolate shavings meandering with rye dinner rolls. Some delicatessen chocolate squares, initially intended to chase the coffee at a Parisian cafe, take on a new locale of their own, upstarting in Kalamazoo. Waxy-laden layer cakes across the palate, most especially coating the tongue and churning from there. Careful, cautious extension towards the balance quotient, with bitterness akin to sugarless mochas moving us right into the finish, along with a taste of baker’s chocolate when a Hershey’s square was expected. Rye is only recognizable as a mild spice note at the end. Not a disappointment, just a different direction than I thought it would take.