This is very close to Double Cream Stout in my book. Double Cream Stout is sweeter and creamier, while this one puts primary focus on the roasted flavors. Kalamazoo Stout is still surprisingly sweet, unless you drink one after drinking a Mackeson XXX or Double Cream Stout. Thick, dark, and rich, this is a bargain stout. Drink this one side-by-side with a Goose Island Oatmeal Stout, and you will realize how good Bells beer is!

Time to dump an old review. After 600+ ratings, this is still my favorite IPA (not counting I2PAs). Pours with a hazy golden body topped by a medium off-white head. The hops aroma and flavor really shines- some notes of pine and citrus (grapefruit, lemon) are present but the intense floral characteristics combine with sweet, tangy malt to create an awesome, creamy palate. Now that this is available year-round, it makes a nice "stock" beer to keep in the fridge as it is highly drinkable.

Here is a quality dry stout. Try this one along with a Double Cream Stout to compare the two styles. This is my favorite of the "November Stouts." Trumpeter's Stout doesn't rival Kalamazoo, Double Cream, or Expedition Stouts, yet it makes a nice companion beer.

Wow. I found a beer that may rival Double Cream Stout (what a coincidence, it’s from the same brewery!). This one is powerful. Expedition Stout is genetically modified and fed the appropriate mix of steroids and hormones to create a rich, robust, sweet flavor in a gravy-like pour. When Ben Franklin made his famous comment about God showing his love to humans by providing them beer, it is this beer he had in mind (thus, he was also an oracle). A must-buy, even at the steep price. Of course, you don’t want to drink more than one or two of these at a time! This must be the stout syrup that other stout-makers use to dilute their respective products. Unbelievable! Warning: this one has little to no head whatsoever. It is so thick that what little carbonation is present surely is prevented from escaping!

1994 Vintage sampled at Bells 20th Anniversary Party.
Imagine my delight when a nice list of vintage beers was placed on the bartop at Bells during their Anniversary Party. Unfortunately, none of these 750 mL bottles were allowed off premises! So, I ordered up the 1994 vintage of my top-rated beer and filled up. The years have been kind to this beer. The classic opaque dark brown/black body, light tan head, lacing, ahh...it all looked so familiar. The aroma was rich and dominated by molasses and prune. Layers and layers of molasses, toast, prune, coffee, raisin, licorice, and roasted malts coated my palate. Rich and full-bodied, and only showing slight hints of oxidation after 11 years.

Rating for 1994 vintage: ARO: 8 APP: 5 FLAV: 9 PAL: 5 OV: 17 (4.4 overall).

Updated 13 October 2003
Time to replace an earlier vague review. Double Cream Stout is perhaps my favorite beer. Pours deep brown with a thin tan head. Plenty of "floaties." Aroma is roasted malts with hints of sweet lactose. The new label indicates this stout is brewed with 10 malts, so the flavor is quite interesting. Roasted, slightly burnt chocolate rules the palate, and is infused with sweet and tangy notes of lactose and perhaps hints of dark fruit. Licorice also peeks through the creamy morass. Medium-thick body. Always a treat and a major reason to look forward to fall. However, what happened to the labels? Bring back the orange and cream!

Updated 1 November 2004. On to the Fall 2004 release. One thing about Bell’s is that their beers are not necessarily consistent year to year. While I liked the 2003 Double Cream Stout, every bottle I sampled (from several sources) had a dominant licorice-like flavor that masked the roasted-sweet interplay, not what I remembered from 2002 and prior years, when this became my favorite beer. The 2004 version is exactly as I first remember this beer. Rich, soft roasted malts with hints of coffee and chocolate, much like the regular Kalamazoo Stout, but with a sweet, fruity (cherry) characteristic (lactose?) undeveloped in the former beer. Rich, velvety, and amazing. I can now once again state with confidence that this is my favorite beer.

Beers like this remind me why Imperial Stouts are currently my favorite kind of beer. Probably the blackest beer I have poured, dark as orc blood! Minimal head really didn't surprise me because this beer did not seem like the kind to screw around with such things. It wants you to get right to the Evil. Aroma is a dark and foreboding roasty smell with some black coffee and dark chocolate. The aroma really did not prepare me for how strong this beer is. Somehow the smell does not warn you of the sinister alcohol content that waits to pounce on you the second you take your first sip. Flavors of alcohol, coffee, roasted malt and burnt wood. A truly baleful beer, this is definitely the Lord of Imperial Stouts, and will make a lesser beer cry like 7 year-old girl with a skinned knee.