Bells Rye Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Light roasted nose, opaque brown color, low foamy head. Chocolate malt, wheat in the middle, sherry flavors too. Light coffee end. Thinish. Very nice balance and different overall.

Bottle from Bello Vino in Ann Arbor. Deep, rich brown colour with a very faint off-white head. Lots of roasted malt and dark rye bread notes in the aroma. Nice flavour - lots of roast & rye as predicted by the aroma, along with a bit of coffee & smoke, and a nice tartness in the finish. Very well put together, I liked this one a lot.

12 oz bottle, 2006 release, via MikeMac. Very dark brown pour, almost black, with a minimal fizzy light brown head that disappeared instantly. Light sediment in bottle. Aroma has a pronounced rye character with a backdrop of anise, coffee, and black patant malt. Very much like a fresh baked loaf of rye bread. Flavor is balanced between the rye and burnt malt aspects. The rye really takes center stage though. Finish is coffee and burnt rye toast. Mouthfeel is fairly thin with a little too much carbonation, which I find unusual for Bells because I normally love their mouthfeel. A very interesting beer, very prominant rye flavor. Not sure why I like rye beers so much when I hate rye bread.

12oz bottle pours black with a cascading creamy tan head that stays pretty well and laces well on the glass. Aromas of roasted almost burnt malt and coffee. Flavor is nice roasted malts as well. Dark roasted coffee comes through as well also just touch of toffee. Palate is smooth and creamy. Medium bodied. Amazingly drinkable. Would work well as an everyday stout.. Bells continues to impress me..

Rerate, 07.04.07, 12oz bottle, 2002, courtesy of artusory. Thanks, Ryan! Pours a murky brown color with some tan particulates; medium tan head with good lacing. Toasted caramel and coffee in the aroma; some dark chocolate. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: plenty of roasted and toasty malts upfront, with some rye and milk chocolate; slightly creamy, with a light effervescence; quite nice. Medium, dry chocolate and grainy finish. 7.3.7.4.15=3.6

8.16.06: Dark brown cola appearance, minimal head. Enticing toasted nose, showing coffee and rye. Medium mouthfeel, with a bit of roasted malts and coffee. A sessionable, light and engaging stout. 7.3.6.3.14=3.3

Batch 7235, February 2006; Sampled August 2008
Quite the viscous appearing brew, it definitely pours with a certain thickness to it. I easily rouse a full three fingers of a light brown colored head that fills my 25cl tulip glass to the top. The beer is a deep, almost black, concentrated brown color that shows just a hint of light in its depth when held up directly to the light. The aroma has quite a bit of spicy grain character to it, though this is not the most prominent note. Instead a nice, mellow roasted character is most notable; aromas of dark chocolate, toasted whole grain bread, smooth espresso, an earthy burnt note. A touch of fruitiness (almost a bit of prune juice) and a sweet malt note are just noticed in the nose towards the finish. While the aroma is mellow, smooth and well integrated, I would never have guessed this was two years old from the nose.

A fullness to the body does not keep this beer from having a quaffable character; this definitely has a viscous rye character to it though. A smooth roast character delivers flavors of roasted prunes, blackened raisins and a rich, deep, darkly toasted grain character that comes off with quite a bit of a biscuit / cracker character. Up front, there is a nice cocoa quality to this beer that doesn’t quite become lush chocolate flavors before a touch of roasted grain acidity kicks in. This last is quite light and the acidity actually helps to counter-balance the viscous body of this brew. This really has a nice fruitiness to it as it warms up and it definitely reminds me of a dark, sweet dried fruit (like those mentioned previously plus some fig). A significant nutty note (almost toasted hazelnut really) is in the finish and adds quite a bit of another dimension to this brew. This nutty note is likely a touch of oxidation showing through, but it adds a really nice touch here.

This has held up quite well and I am quite enjoying the cocoa notes and the bright, concentrated fruit flavors that are offset by the smooth roast character.

Black with a little head on top. Light band aid nose. Smokey and caramel malt taste. Light aftertaste. Decent!

12 ounce bottle from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville, VA. Pours a dark brown color with a thin head. Fair head retention and lacing. Aroma of caramel, roast and nutty-ish rye notes. Taste is roasted malts, bitter rye notes, caramel, coffee, hops and faint fruity notes. Medium bodied. Smooth. Good stout,