Susie's Sweet Stout
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store

Susie's Sweet StoutSusie's Sweet Stout
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From:
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Sweet / Milk Stout
ABV:
5.6%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.48 | pDev: 16.09%
Reviews:
43
Ratings:
44
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 16, 2012
Added:
Jan 09, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jcalabre:
Photo of jcalabre
Reviewed by jcalabre from California

2.8/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I originally sampled this beer on 23 November 2002. I am writing this review from my notes.
Even though it's labelled as a sweet stout, I was quite surprised at the lactic taste it left on my tongue. It poured nearly black, w/ no head. It's a nice stout, but nothing spectacular.
Aug 21, 2003
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by mcallister from Ohio

Feb 16, 2012
Photo of hopdog
Reviewed by hopdog from Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle acquired in trade with ClarkVV (thanks!).

Poured a dark black color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of chocolate, roasted malts, lactose, and some dark fruits. Tastes of dark fruits, chocolates, roasted malts, and lactose. There was also a ver light sourness to the taste.

Notes from 2/3/06
Nov 14, 2008
Photo of Pegasus
Reviewed by Pegasus from Texas

4/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Deep ruby in color, quite clear, with a small tan head, which falls to a small tan collar.

Aroma: Sweet coffee and milk chocolate aroma, very appealing, rather like a chocolate latte.

Taste: Opens with sweet coffee and bitter cocoa, this carries through the taste, with some bitter hop notes. The finish is quite dry.

Mouth feel: A bit thin, with little carbonation, pleasant.

Drinkability/notes: A very nice example of the style, well worth a try, if a you are fortunate enough to find a bottle.
Jul 21, 2007
Photo of CharlesDarwin
Reviewed by CharlesDarwin from Rhode Island

3.44/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5
Originally reviewed May 27, 2005. 12 Oz Bottle. Whoa! Rich burst of creamy rich dove chocolate, dominating. A light note of coffee. Clearish dark chocolate brown, like Coca-cola. Uh-oh. This is sour. Is there cherry juice in this shit? No carbonation. Salty sweet cherry flavor. God knows when this was bottled or where it sat all these days. Not like infected sour bad, just like lemon or cherry juice in the beer. Hops aren’t really there or have faded a lot. Maybe all this is characteristic of this beer. Doesn’t taste particularly light struck. But geez, NO carbonation. Palate is a little watery but very sweet and tangy. A little viscous coating burnt apple. Strongish dark roasted coffee aftertaste.
Aug 11, 2006
Photo of Mitchster
Reviewed by Mitchster from Michigan

4.59/5  rDev +31.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Hehe, quite the find here. I was working at a Dr.'s office and saw this sitting in the bottom of the fridge. Upon further questioning, he seems to remember this was a gift from probably 2003 or so. Cracking this beauty open reviews it still has some spunky carbonation, pouring to nearly opaque black, forming a modest cocoa-tan head with good retention and adequate lacing. Dense yeast balls settle, appearing as if sand was in the bottom of the glass. The aroma is breathtaking, reminding me of what a quality brewery Bell's used to be. Sad to say, but since the move to Comstock, only 2-3 beers out of their lineup even appeal to me anymore. This aroma is rich and sweet with tons of black walnut, sweet milk chocolate, cocoa, dates, and vanilla. The mouthfeel is silken smooth with a medium-dense body, but not syrupy. The taste is a recap of the aroma, however, there is an interesting acidity and slight sourness in the aftertaste, kinda like sour milk. Everlasting aftertaste of black walnut and milk chocolate.

A wonderful nostalgic brew, this stuff is. I wish Bell's could still brew like this. Yummy.
Jun 20, 2006
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Reviewed by Gueuzedude from Arizona

4.05/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Sampled February 2006
Pours with a frothy, large bubbled, half-finger thick brown colored head. The beer is a deep black, opaque color. The aroma smells quite dry, a bit acidic, with a hint of plum-like fruitiness towards the end. Aromatic notes of dark roasted coffee beans intermingle with a hint of sherry and an underlying, rich malty note that reminds me of dark chocolate. There seems to be a bit of mustiness here as well, but just a touch and it seems to mix into the fruitiness somehow.

The beer has a certain fullness to it as it hits my mouth, yet at the same time it is light and a tad thin around the edges (some signs of it's age). There is a chocolate-like sweet note here, especially in the middle and towards the end of a draught of this beer. Up front a bit of acidity accentuates a solid fruit character that makes me think most of sweet, aromatic plums. The finish has a note of dry, roasted character, which intermingles with the sweet malty notes, and, in fact, is ultimately subservient to the sweet, chalky malt notes in the long finish.

This beer is still quite nice, what age is here mostly adds to the complexity. Some oxidation has increased/ enhanced the fruit character, and certainly makes up for the thinning of the palate around the edges. There is also a certain sherry-like or even port-like quality here, which again adds to the complexity. This has definitely held up pretty darn well.
Feb 24, 2006
Photo of weeare138
Reviewed by weeare138 from Pennsylvania

3.62/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to hopdog for this...
Appears black with a tan head and spotty lacing around the glass.
Smell is of lactose, chocolate, dark fruit, light coffee, and slight sourness.
Taste is of the same aromas and seems slightly sour.
Mouthfeel...well, it is slightly sour, as this one is obviously past it's prime. It was still a pleasant brew.
Feb 06, 2006
Photo of HardTarget
Reviewed by HardTarget from Texas

3.65/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Bottle Inspection: Thanks to Eyedrinkale for tossing this in as a freebie in a trade.

Aroma: Cough syrup intensity, dusty with grape and a cloying sweetness

Appearance: Black glass shows good clarity with rich thick ruby edges. Tiny off white head that didn’t lace.

Flavor: Super sweet, coffee and dark chocolate in the background of all the black malt. It’s almost astringent.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a light smooth texture.

Overall Impression: Intense beer. Well crafted, but the years haven’t been kind. Heavy sweetness that I think might have once been more balanced with hops, but a rich taste that I grew to enjoy.
Sep 25, 2005
Photo of CortexBomb
Reviewed by CortexBomb from Michigan

1.38/5  rDev -60.3%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1
I found a bottle of this recently at a local store...and I bought it with no small amount of trepidation. The reason? This is a milk stout that was only brewed in 2003 and it is currently 2005. A lot of beers keep for an extended period of time but this isn't one of them.

The pour was about average. The beer was stouty black, but had a pretty minimal head which left quickly. The smell was sugary, but had an off-milky aspect to it as well which was not appealing.

The flavour was a train-wreck...this beer is obviously not intended for the long haul and the sugary sweet that this beer obviously used to have was instead completely off with an odd and not enjoyable flavour that I'm at a loss to describe other than to say that it was bad enough for me to take about 4 sips of this before throwing in the towel and dumping it down the drain.

I feel bad for beating up the rating on a beer that is clearly not meant to be consumed this long after bottling, but if you find this somewhere like I did be smart and leave it on the shelf because it isn't worth drinking anymore!
Sep 06, 2005
Photo of clvand0
Reviewed by clvand0 from Kentucky

3.18/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
This beer poured a very dark color with an oily texture, very little head and left no lacing on the glass. The aroma is not very strong, but there is a certain sweetness along with a bit of malt. Wow, is the taste sweet - a little too sweet for my tastes. The malts are noticeable, chocolate and roasty malts. Slightly thin for the style and the sweetness was more than I prefer.
Nov 10, 2004
Photo of ppoitras
Reviewed by ppoitras from Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle obtained via trade with CRJMellor. Thanks for the opportunity...

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1/4" brown head above the opaque dark brown/black brew. Head quickly faded to a layer of bubbles, and lacing was okay. Aroma is sweetly of dark malts, as expected. Taste is strongly of dark malts, with some slight bitterness, but the leaning is toward sweetness in the end. Mouthfeel is okay, but suffers from an almost complete lack of carbonation. Drinkability is reasonable. A slightly above-average stout, but there's better around, and some that I can even get locally...
Aug 14, 2004
Photo of UncleJimbo
Reviewed by UncleJimbo from Massachusetts

3.79/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12 oz longneck bottle.

This stout poured a dark, opaque black with almost no foam. The smell was a tangy, dark malt and roasted barley aroma with a slight sweetness that came through more as the beer warmed. The taste was slightly sour and tangy with flavors of dark malt, some caramel, a touch of fruitiness, some hops, and a trace of milk. The mouthfeel was smooth with medium full body but with practically no carbonation. Overall it was a bit tart. This was a decent stout, but it suffered from the lack of carbonation.
May 23, 2004
Photo of SheepNutz
Reviewed by SheepNutz from Kentucky

3.74/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12oz. bottle poured into a tulip-style glass. It pours a deep jet black color with only a small collar of lace, barely any at all. There is no lacing left on the glass. The smell is full of roasted malt, a little sweet with some caramel and toffee present. The taste starts sweet on the tongue, with a little bit of molasses and black licorice. The finish has bits of espresso, almost no hops present. The mouthfeel is fairly nice and thick. The drinkability is fairly good too. A pretty nice sweet stout.
May 05, 2004
Photo of Billolick
Reviewed by Billolick from New York

3.7/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12 ounce bottle, pours dark and muddy. Minimal head and lacing. Roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, caramel notes. Mouthfeel is dry and coating. Sweetness is moderate, not cloying or overpowering. Smooth and dry finish. Worth trying, along with all the Bell's stouts.
Apr 05, 2004
Photo of beergeek279
Reviewed by beergeek279 from Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Served in the 12 oz. bottle into a pint glass. The color is a chocolatey very dark brown, with a layer of tan head. The smell is a slight chocolatey sweetness. The taste is a very dry chocolate taste with a bit of lactose bitterness. Mouthfeel is average. As for drinkability, a bit off for sustainability.

Thanks to trbeer for the sample. I was expecting Mackeson's from the label, but this is more of a milk stout than anything, and a tad muddled at that. Still, probably would try this again next year if Bell's got the Stouts of November going next year.
Feb 24, 2004
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Reviewed by beerluvr from Canada (ON)

3.75/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This pours with a good looking mocha colored head, leaving fine lacing as it recedes down to a thick layer of small bubbles over opaque blackish/brown liquid. The nose is sweet chocolate with a malty and roasty background. Hints of molasses to boot. The tastes features an unexpected mellow tanginess up front, then gradual flavors of coffee and bitter chocolates with slight dark fruitiness creeping in behind it all. The finish is bittersweet, not as sweet and heavy as I was expecting it to be due to it's name, but all in all another fine Stout from Bell's.

Thanks to CRJMellor for this one.
Jan 18, 2004
Photo of AtLagerHeads
Reviewed by AtLagerHeads from Ohio

3.62/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Dark as night with a small, non-lasting beige head; no lace. The nose is quite nice and full of coffee hints. This follows in the flavor which is also quite full of coffee notes. The body is syrupy and not all that sweet, actually some sour notes come through and linger a bit. Decent drinkability.
Dec 24, 2003
Photo of Gusler
Reviewed by Gusler from Arizona

3.64/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
The beer pours a Jet-Black color with the head smallish and frothy; color a light chocolate, lace is fair to middling sheet that covers the glass. Nose is sweet malt chocolate and light hints of toasted grain, start is sweet and the top middling in feel. Finish is crisply acidic with the hops mild and pleasing to the palate, very dry and sweet aftertaste, and a drinkable brew tis true.
Dec 19, 2003
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Reviewed by tavernjef from Minnesota

3.83/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours a leather brown to settle super dark brown nearly black and very opaque, no light gets through this thing. Thin cocoa brown head, thick and bubbly but faded fast to a thick collar and minimal spotty lacing. Aroma is sweet at first then a subtle, soft, mild roastyness settles across the top as it warms, sweetness is dark cherry and light chocolate with notes of coffee. Taste is quite juicy of a dark cherry sweetness, boy this reminds me alot of the cherry stout, a bit more toned down, but not by much, oatmeal sweetness in the middle keeps it pretty potent and longly sweet on the palate with some bitterness and roastyness playing within. But this sucker is quite sweet and tingles a bit with a very strange dryness and cottony feel in the finish that sticks around for a while. Feel over all is a bit thin for a stout, close to medium body and the finish is dryish and sweet. A lot of sweetness in this! What do ya expect, its right in the name.
Dec 04, 2003
Susie's Sweet Stout from Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 44 ratings