30th Anniversary Cherry Stout Reserve
Bell's Brewery in Galesburg, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Imperial Special Out of Production|
Score
7.19
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We brewed a version of Cherry Stout in 2001 using oak chips and cherry pits. In 2018, we decided to brew with whole cherries and oak chips. Coming in at 9.0% alcohol by volume, this commemorative batch is a celebration of what Cherry Stout means to us.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Intense cocoa and a touch of with light cherry. Deep jet brown with almost no head. Cherry pit and dark cocoa. Long finish and some sweetness.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Bottle thanks to Rob. Pours black with small tan head that lasts. The aroma is roast, oak, cherry skin. Slick body, oak, sweet cherry, roast, dark chocolate, very good.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle. Cherry, oak, chocolate malt, and dry hay aroma. Black with small brown head. Moderately sweet cherry, chocolate caramel malt, bourbon, oak, and mildly bitter dry hay flavor. Nice body and balance.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 5/10/2018. Pours dense opaque pitch black color with a 1 finger dense tang head with good retention, that reduces to a thin lace cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big juicy/tart/tangy cherries, fruit skin/pits, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, vanilla, toasted oak, nuttiness, and dark bread; with lighter notes of molasses, licorice, raisin, prune, smoke, char, tobacco, herbal, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/black/bready malt, cherries, oak, and light earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big juicy/tart/tangy cherries, fruit skin/pits, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, vanilla, toasted oak, nuttiness, and dark bread; with lighter notes of molasses, licorice, raisin, prune, smoke, char, tobacco, herbal, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Light herbal/roast/char bitterness and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy cherries, fruit skin/pits, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, vanilla, toasted oak, nuttiness, dark bread, light molasses/dark fruit, smoke, tobacco, herbal, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/black/bready malt, cherries, oak, and light earthy hop flavors; with an awesome roasted bitter/sweet and cherry tang/tartness balance; with zero cloying/acrid flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and tart/tangy fruit. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, velvety, bready mouthfeel that is fantastic. Light slickness, sticky hops, chalky roast, and fruit tang/acidity. Mildly increasing warmth of 9% after the finish. Overall this is an outstanding fruited imperial stout! All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/black/bready malt, cherries, oak, and light earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink with the mildly bitter/tart/tangy finish. Amazingly rich and well rounded imperial stout malt complexity; great balance of cherries, without being overwhelming. Nice oak presence; not overly tart or bitter. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on style example as expected.