Bells Rye Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Bottle @ Cole’s. Black, no head. Nose is slight cherry, deep roast, caramel. Flavor is light roasty malt, some cerry, light rye spice. Much lighter flavor than expected.

2002, consumed summer ’07 Dark brown body with samll whispy tan head. The aroma is milk chocolate, light oxidation, rye and berries. The flavor is milk chocolate, toffee, light cherry, lightly spicey rye and a touch of sherry. Medium body is very soft with light carbonation. This has held up very well. 9/3/8/4/16 4.0

Re-release versionBlack body with small tan head. Quickly fading. The aroma is freshly roasted rye bread, chocolate, molases and a touch of espresso. The flavor is rich and roasted, lots of rye, molases, a bit of smoke, chocolate. The finish is bitter and slightly acidic, mouthfeel is thick and creamy, though carbonation is a touch too high. 8/4/8/4/15 3.9

Poured and inky black with some reddish-brown on the edges when held to light. Very fizzy light brown head. Very thin looking. Robust and grainy aroma. No hops. Chocolate with some spice from the rye. The rye character is evident in the flavor. Blended with bitter chocolate and coffee. Thin and fizzy on the palate. Watered down. Not very impressive. My least favorite of the Bell’s stouts.

What a treat and a surprise to find this on tap at Carrboro Bev Co (aka Tyler’s Bottle Shop), as no bottles made it to NC. Nice smooth-looking pour, a bit sludgy with a thin cafe au lait head. Sharp and slightly nutty aroma blended with chocolate malts, that sweet spot that Bells hits so often with stouts of all variety. Smooth and a bit chalky in the mouthfeel, which complements the very modest rye addition. I’d actually like more pronounced rye flavors, as this one’s a bit too understated. But I certainly enjoyed it well enough.

I love stout, but some things should not be put into them. One of these things is rye. Gives a grainy and bitter taste that wasn’t too nice. Bitters lovers might like this one. Came off a little bit thin too.

12oz bottle. Batch 7235. I’m glad that this one didn’t completely slip past me! DarkPitch Elegantly balck! Ring of tan head. Nose is of toasted rye bread. No big surprise there. Sweet malt undertones with a slight hop aroma. Medium to full with a definite sweet malt dominance. Palate is oily and slick, yet grainy and fruity. Slight vanilla and caramel, baked flavor (if that makes any sense). Good! TASTED 11/24/09. 12oz BOTTLE. BATCH #9399. Similar, pitch and finger width of tan head. Similar nose. Hints of toast, caramel and berries. Touch vanilla and candy. Full bodied and a very familiar and distinct Bells flavor. Damn, they make good stouts! The rye really adds a great addition to the complexity of the palate. Bitterness to coincide with the coffee astringency. Roasty toasty and delicious. Dry with a new dimension to my past rating. Sticky lingering finish. Coating and cloying. Money.

Tap @ Bennno’s. Black body, small tan head. Worty caramel/chocolate aroma. Thin flavor - dry, bitter baker’s chocolate with spicy rye and some light grass. Tart chocolatey finish. A nice beer but it doens’t draw you in - too thin and bitter for that.

My 2nd consecutive rye rating, following the New Glarus Unplugged Smoked Rye Bock. Hadn’t seen or heard of this Bells brew before; I see it’s been around for about 4 1/2 years. Where was I? Bottle. I’m not digging the aroma. Has a rauchbier thing going on. Opaque body with a light tan head that is very large and mostly lasts. Excellent lace. Thin and weak. This brew was available in the singles section at Steve’s Wine in Madison. I’m guessing it was in that section because it is old and needed to be moved. This brew just doesn’t have much character. For a beer with 6.7% ABV, I would have expected a stronger alcohol profile and certainly more flavor. This tastes more like a German Dunkel, and not a good one. Very disappointing.