Subsidiaries
8.9/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
2002 bottled. Black, with deep, dark violet tinges around the edge. Head is almost nonexistant from this bottle, and there is plenty of burnt white colored lacing. Aroma is incredible. Strong, alcohol and malt with some rich maple smoked malt and some dark fruit aroma.
This beer opens up with huge malt flavor that is fairly sweet, somewhat oily texture, and full of alcohol and malt. There is plenty of brown sugar appeal, along with some smokey almost sweet maple sausage flavor. Has a nutty taste that becomes a little more apparent and a mild bitter quality comes out as the body progresses. Slowly a nice dry/woody hops flavor appears and inserts its flavor smoothly. Flavor is still bursting with ripe dark fruit and in the finish there is a woody hops appeal that is just apparent enough to balance out the malt. Has a wonderful balance of hops and malt. The best I’ve seen in an Imperial yet. This beer gives it all. Hops, roast, chocolate/coffee malt, dark fruit, alcohol, woody smoke flavor, some bitterness. . .and plenty more. Extra Full Body, perfect carbonation (almost none). After trying this, I had to order another. Incredible complexity, so many flavors to pick out. This beer will keep producing new sensations every time you try it. This would be incredible aged, as well. If this beer was more affordable, or I had more money, I would be drinking it daily. Rerate. Sure, this beer has some acidic moments and alot of hops bitterness, but again, huge flavors, rich complexity and potential for extended aging, comes at a price. If you can’t handle the high ABV, bitterness and some acidic notes, drink a different style of beer.
2003 Bottle. Oh wow. This is so young it’s ridiculous. Can hardly finish, too sweet yet, bitter hops are overpowering. This will age NICELY!!! 2003 bottle aged 13 months A bottle from an early November 2003 batch consumed 12/26/04. This stuff ages perfectly. The hops die off and you just have beatiful malt, a full body, thick chewy chocolate and roast. I can’t get enough ot it.
2004 bottle Still pretty close to perfect. Hops mellow out wonderfully after a year. Tried side by side with the batch 7000 and the malt structure is fairly similar, albeit a little less brash and having less "Spanish coffee" influences, for lack of a better term. Thick, rich malt, but yet balanced and supremely thick, rewarding texture.
2005 bottle, batch 7205 Pretty thick and chewy, obviously, and actually I ended up liking the aroma more than the flavor. Too much soy/oxidized dark malt on the finish of the flavor. The nose had a beautiful, but now faded, hop nose, very fruity and wintergreen/resin-like. Prunes, black chocolate and plenty of drawn out vinousness with a big backing of roast. I havent been floored by any of the 2005 or 2006 batches.
This beer opens up with huge malt flavor that is fairly sweet, somewhat oily texture, and full of alcohol and malt. There is plenty of brown sugar appeal, along with some smokey almost sweet maple sausage flavor. Has a nutty taste that becomes a little more apparent and a mild bitter quality comes out as the body progresses. Slowly a nice dry/woody hops flavor appears and inserts its flavor smoothly. Flavor is still bursting with ripe dark fruit and in the finish there is a woody hops appeal that is just apparent enough to balance out the malt. Has a wonderful balance of hops and malt. The best I’ve seen in an Imperial yet. This beer gives it all. Hops, roast, chocolate/coffee malt, dark fruit, alcohol, woody smoke flavor, some bitterness. . .and plenty more. Extra Full Body, perfect carbonation (almost none). After trying this, I had to order another. Incredible complexity, so many flavors to pick out. This beer will keep producing new sensations every time you try it. This would be incredible aged, as well. If this beer was more affordable, or I had more money, I would be drinking it daily. Rerate. Sure, this beer has some acidic moments and alot of hops bitterness, but again, huge flavors, rich complexity and potential for extended aging, comes at a price. If you can’t handle the high ABV, bitterness and some acidic notes, drink a different style of beer.
2003 Bottle. Oh wow. This is so young it’s ridiculous. Can hardly finish, too sweet yet, bitter hops are overpowering. This will age NICELY!!! 2003 bottle aged 13 months A bottle from an early November 2003 batch consumed 12/26/04. This stuff ages perfectly. The hops die off and you just have beatiful malt, a full body, thick chewy chocolate and roast. I can’t get enough ot it.
2004 bottle Still pretty close to perfect. Hops mellow out wonderfully after a year. Tried side by side with the batch 7000 and the malt structure is fairly similar, albeit a little less brash and having less "Spanish coffee" influences, for lack of a better term. Thick, rich malt, but yet balanced and supremely thick, rewarding texture.
2005 bottle, batch 7205 Pretty thick and chewy, obviously, and actually I ended up liking the aroma more than the flavor. Too much soy/oxidized dark malt on the finish of the flavor. The nose had a beautiful, but now faded, hop nose, very fruity and wintergreen/resin-like. Prunes, black chocolate and plenty of drawn out vinousness with a big backing of roast. I havent been floored by any of the 2005 or 2006 batches.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Aug 2003
at 10:34
6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottled. Ruby colour, firm head. Aroma of crystal malt and grapefruit. Rather sweet. Chewy crystal malt flavour balanced by the bitterness added by flowery hops and a fair punch of warming alcohol. Pretty godd, but Kalamazoo does the really dark and heavy ones better.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Aug 2003
at 07:58
3.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 3
Flavor 3
Texture 4
Overall 4
Bottled. Cloudy orange in colour. Neutral aroma. Some melon, a lot of fizz together with a watery light body and low bitterness makes this a highly disappointing effort from Kalamazoo. Some bubblegum in the finish can't save it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Aug 2003
at 07:51
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Nut-brown colour, medium head. Smooth toffee aroma. Taste a bit like chocolate-toffee. Bitter finish. A bit too strong maybe.
Tried
on 02 Aug 2003
at 00:26
7.1/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Completely black in colour...no light shines through at all. Lustrous brown head which settles nicely and stays atop for a long time. Chocolate and molasses in the smell, just as the label says. Only malt is evident in the smell...almost no sign of hops. Light to medium bodied with the definate roasty flavours coating the mouth. The bitterness stays for quite a while in the mouth and subsides only after a few minutes. While this may sound a lot like the rating before me (by JonR888710), his bottle came from my six-pack, and perhaps we got some that were old or have gone through some hell. I'll definately try this again the next time i'm out in Michigan...but until then i've got a few left from the rest of the 6 pack. I really was expecting more from the look and smell of the beer...but it wasn't as bad as some other stouts i've had! This was a 12 ounce bottle from Merchant's in Dearborn, Michigan.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Jul 2003
at 18:22
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
2002 bottle. Pours a small head. Cloudy and a rusty orange color. Initial taste is pungent. Orange zest abounds. Nice sour yeasty taste, spongey texture. Has a surprising medium body (didnt know what the hell this beer was when i bought it). Finishes with a nice sweet orange lollipop flavor with plenty of malt. As it warms there are some slight hop notes that taste fresh and appealing. Aroma is mild and a bit bitter/sour with some yeast. I refuse to belive this is 10.25 abv.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Jul 2003
at 18:41
6.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
The colour is dark brown, but actually pretty light for a stout. The head was a nice fluffy slightly light brown and left a decent lacing on the side of the glass. The Smell is definately malty, malty and more malty. Some chocolate and coffee notes, but other than that, not much else. The taste is pretty light bodied (once again, especially for a stout) and is pretty simple: malt and a bit of bittering flavours (coffee and chocolate). Decent beer, but I actually expected more from the first Bell's beer I've had...I guess I've got two more to look forward to: Expedition & Third Coast Old. I got this at Merchant's in Dearborn, Michigan in a 12 ounce bottle.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Jul 2003
at 17:31
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Re-rate based on Batch #7235, 2006 bottling.I’m glad the Rye Stout is back, in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Deep brown body with reddish highlights, thin tan head. Roasted malt aroma with distinctive spicy rye character. Toasty, roasted malt body with spicy, earthy rye that lingers on the palate. No offensive tartness or acidity. Rather delicate and quaffable for a Bells stout, this is a perfect session beer. Like biting into lightly toasted rye bread.
Previous rating: Smells like a fine cup of coffee. Pours dark brown/red, with a thin tan head. Flavor is strong roasted malts, rye, and a tangy sweetness that I do not remember being as strong when the beer is fresh. Nonetheless, enjoyable. Trumpeter’s Stout is the best November offering by these guys.
8-4-7-4-15
Previous rating: Smells like a fine cup of coffee. Pours dark brown/red, with a thin tan head. Flavor is strong roasted malts, rye, and a tangy sweetness that I do not remember being as strong when the beer is fresh. Nonetheless, enjoyable. Trumpeter’s Stout is the best November offering by these guys.
8-4-7-4-15
Tried
on 29 Jun 2003
at 20:39
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Re-rate. Murky orange-brown body, thick, puffy buff head. Sweet aroma with brown sugar and red grape notes. The body is soft, toasty, and sweet, with brown sugar, grape, and a hint of chocolate. Perfumey, earthy, lightly bitter finish. Solid brown ale.
Tried
on 28 Jun 2003
at 19:35
7.4/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
2002 draft. Brownish amber color with some dark tones. Nice roasty, slightly coffee aroma. Does not disappoint. A good halfway between the java stout and the trumpeter stout. Had some head, which most bells stouts lack, so that was nice. Mostly even roasty notes, with some sharp/watery notes in and out of the body, but otherwise a good medium full bodied stout with some spiced mocha latte appeal that was pleasant. As it warmed some smoked flavor appeared but still had problems with the thinness. I enjoyed the fact that this stout was not overbearing, like the java or susies or cherry. 2003 bottle. Creamier and chocolatier than I remember. Very smooth, silky almost. There is a potent roasted malt on the finish and some bitter hops throughout, but all in all, pretty tame. But also pretty good. My friend thinks this tastes like an ash tray (and between the smoke, bitter roast and initial acidic/sour twang, I can see where he’s coming from)
Tried
from Draft
on 12 Jun 2003
at 21:55