Bells Smoked Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Smoked
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

On tap at Eccentric Cafe. Pours a black body with a huge, two-finger width, creamy brown head that dissipates slowly and leaves lots of lacing. Gorgeous. Aroma is smoke and beef with some rich chocolates and a light roast. Just a touch of earthy citrus creeps in as this warms. The nose is more smokey, while the flavor is pretty balanced all-around. Flavor is more roasty and plenty of chocolate oozes in while the smoke blends nicely with the rest of the flavors. Very rich and bold flavor. Finishes dry with a touch of earth and acidic citrus and plenty of lingering tastes that last for quite awhile. Medium bodied. Overall, a really good beer. Sweet, rich, robust, smokey and all-around well balanced. Very nice.

pours pitch blak, naturally. Looks thin. About 1/3 inch of dirty dark brown head. Served cold as hell… I envision hell as very cold. Smell is pretty great, even at this temperature. First I got huge dark chocolate, then the second whiff got a lot of the smoky character. In fact, that’s all I get now. Pretty peaty, though the bready/malts are still pretty obvious in the nose. Probably the best smoked I’ve ever had, because it’s such a complement in the flavor rather than the whole point of it. Actually I’ve had a real ygreat smoked barreled beer, but I can’t remember what that was. This is a very well-made beer. Too cold to really evaluate the body.

On tap at the cafe. Dark pour with a tan head. Smokey, bacony, sausagey aroma. Flavor is smokey and meaty. Some chocolate. Pretty great smoked stout.

On tap at the Eccentric cafe. Good aromas of Charred oaked logs and burnt malt. black pour with a tan head. the flavor seems a little weak...could be stronger. Very slight hints of vanilla throughout.The smokiness is a good mix with the thin flavor of chocolate. Im thinking this one will have to be tried again and let it warm more than I did.

Draft at Eccentric Cafe. Nose is beef jerky, beech smoke and roasted grains. Taste is very robust and multi-layered. Lots of smoke and charcuterie. A touch salty and roasted. Pleasant underlying bitterness. Very nice.

Delicious beer thanks to Phil (hope that’s his name, I’m terrible with names!) at Vintage Estates. Aroma was a nice mix of smoke and bitter chocolate. Pour was a beautiful deep dark brown/near black with a 1 finger tan head. Taste was nice and smokey. Perfect mix of stout and rauchbier. The smoke comes up the sinuses after the bitter dark malt and chocolate leave the front. Glad to have gotten to try this.

draft at the brewpub - Pours black with a one finger tan head. It smells of smoke and roast malt. The smoke is very evident in the flavor but doesn’t completely overpower the dark roast malt of a stout. The palate is unusually bubbly for a stout. It’s medium bodied and has a slightly bitter, smoked finish. Should be classified here as a Smoked style.

On tap. I was given a thin-looking dark brown liquid with a very small head. Aromas of smoke and peat with a touch of molasses and anise. Flavor is fairly smoky, but it’s more of a peat smoke than a charcoal smoke, if that makes any sense. Molasses and anise are also present in the flavor. My complaint (especially at first) is that it comes off as thin... it seems like there is not quite enough malt. It doesn’t come off as particularly watery, just thin. By the time I hit the bottom of the glass, however, this initial assessment seems silly and wrong. Flavor and palate and all are full and good at this point. I’m not sure whether it is a temperature issue or what. All in all, this is pretty darn good stuff.