Batch 7,000
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store

Batch 7,000Batch 7,000
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From:
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
12%
Score:
95
Avg:
4.27 | pDev: 11.01%
Reviews:
298
Ratings:
360
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 13, 2023
Added:
Oct 07, 2005
Wants:
  149
Gots:
  25
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

4.21/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
12oz bottle from Buckeyeboy. Near black pour, a few bubbles. Aroma is roasty, chocolate, woody. Taste starts sweet, pit fruit, raisins, fig. Smooth, slick.
Nov 13, 2023
Photo of Beersnake
Reviewed by Beersnake from California

4.24/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2005 bottle opened 17 years later. Poured at fridge temp, but allowed to warm a bit. Pours pitch black without a sign of carbonation. No head. Looks super thick and concentrated.

The nose is clearly showing the age. Black licorice, molasses, maple, port, tobacco, coffee, and sweet plums and raisins. Big nose!

The taste incredibly intense. Crazy amount of bitter roasted malts. Like chewing on burnt wood and leather. Tar, black licorice, tobacco, French roast coffee grounds, an earthy note, and a bit of soy sauce. Burnt toffee and VERY dark chocolate come through with time. This is insane.

Mouthfeel is thick and creamy. Very intense with the lack of carbonation. Bitter on the aftertaste. Never got to try it fresh, so I have no idea what 17 years has done. Glad to find this bottle for $6 at a local shop a few weeks ago!
Nov 09, 2022
Photo of buschbeer
Reviewed by buschbeer from Ohio

4.12/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4
12 FL OZ bottle
Served in a snifter
Bottled September 13, 2005

This beer pours like used motor oil. It is thick and viscous. I was only able to achieve a skim of head after raising my bottle over a foot above the glass. It was dark mocha colored head that disappears rapidly leaving no trace of its existence.

I get that characteristic anise smell that most of their imperial stouts seem to have. Dark chocolate is also present along with an alcohol smell.

It starts off sweet with some dark plum notes. The anise comes through in the middle and carries into the finish. There is a little black coffee near the end and hints of dark chocolate.

Very full, chewy mouthfeel

I wasn't sure what to expect out of an eleven year old beer. It was smooth and easy enough to drink. It reminds me a lot of an Expedition Stout with a couple years on it.
Oct 22, 2016
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.7/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
There are times that I weep for what has become my backlog. I have no idea who sent this to me, or when or even why. I used to love trading, but then travel, $, time and volume overcame me. I will even venture to say that this made the move with me from my family home into Chez Woody in 2008-'09 as an indication of its age, Today may be New Beer Sunday (Week 608), but this is one OLD beer! Larry, all of the Bell's staff, the crew & attendees of the GTMW, I salute you tonight!

From the bottle: "A Commemorative Brew"; "Batch 7000 is part of our commemorative series celebrating our progress with special brews. Our 7,000th is a special recipe to be brewed only once."

I feel so unworthy of Pop!ping the cap at this point. I am up to almost 4,000 reviews on here & I know that this beer (& bottle) were sent to me for specifically this purpose, but I am humbled, I have read up & dust, cobwebs, et al are to remain undisturbed, so I have honored that tradition. I kid you not, I am really having a tough time opening this. Tears are running down my cheeks, unbidden. I have looked at it for years. Upon Pop!ping the cap, I noted a ring on the outside of the top where the oxygen-fixing cap had adhered for so long. I will be pouring this as gently as possible & only a bit at a time, so as to respect the beer, as the Alstrom Bros used to routinely exhort us. I got no head from the initial pour and even an in-glass swirl raised nothing more than a brief skim. Color was Black/Opaque (SRM = 44) with ZERO light penetration. Nose was as smoky as the aftermath of the house fire in Montreal in 2002! We were up for the Mondial de la Biere & between the hotel & the Metro station was a house that had recently burnt to the ground. I was a firefighter in the US Navy, but I primarily dealt in Class Bravo fires, which is why this one remains so memorable. Accompanying the smoke were leather, dark chocolate and dried, dark fruits such as prunes, raisins, cherries & dates & figs. Phew! I raised my glass, as I am wont to do, and no less than my buddy, Kenny, appeared. Ken Longshore was a great buddy of mine who passed right after the USS Normandy's (CG-60) 25th reunion. His widow agrees that I routinely see Ken as he was a big supporter of my madness. He sits by my kitchen door wearing the bemused grin that he always had around me. I do not know whose passing hit me harder - his or my Pops, the latter of whom was the impetus for my taking early retirement. Too sappy? Sorry, but Pops visits in my dreams, while Kenny shows up to help me drink. The carbonation was gone, causing this to drape across my tongue like a lead apron or a bulletproof vest. Thick? Viscous! Jeez-o, man. Now, the late Doc Maree was patting me on the back as Kenny laughed. Beyond its prime? Perish the thought! This was bordering on coffee brandy & the fusel alcohol had barely subsided. My eyes were watering, my nose was running & my watch stopped in response to my first sip. Recovering, the taste was really leathery, with dark chocolate and anise notes as chasers as the electricity flickered & my reefer shut down. Should I have waited even longer to drink this?!? Dang, this was literally breathtaking! I am flabbergasted by how well this has held up. The dry finish had notes of anise, treacle, leather, dark chocolate, smoke & more leather just for good measure. Dang! Is my mouth supposed to hang open, unhinged? I weep, I weep. I just cannot believe how fantastic this has become. This should be my legacy, unless some other beer should unexpectedly overtake it. If Stone can re-release 02.02.02,, perhaps Bell's can recreate this. In the interim, I will simply weep for what has passed.
Oct 17, 2016
 
Rated: 4.34 by Shawner from Minnesota

Sep 04, 2015
 
Rated: 4.35 by Lare453 from Florida

Aug 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.11 by AndyEdgar from Illinois

Jul 30, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by jbierling from Michigan

Jun 06, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by Texasfan549 from Texas

May 02, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by kjkinsey from Texas

May 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by jrob21 from North Carolina

Feb 13, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by Toasterbus from Ohio

Oct 26, 2014
Photo of CTHomer
Reviewed by CTHomer from Connecticut

3.53/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A: deep brown; almost no head; what was there was medium brown; ended up with a thin ring around the edge of the bottle; no lacing;

S: all molasses;

T: molasses as well; there is some roasted malt in the middle , but it's muted and disappears quickly;

M; a touch syrupy; low carbonation;

O: very interesting; would have liked to have tasted this fresh and have this review be a comparison;
Aug 04, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by birdsellam from Indiana

Jul 27, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by KAF from Iowa

Jul 02, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by DaftPatrick from Minnesota

Jun 18, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by zestar from California

Jun 07, 2014
 
Rated: 1.25 by chippo33 from Vermont

May 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by BYOFB from Wisconsin

Mar 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by tectactoe from Michigan

Feb 06, 2014
Batch 7,000 from Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 360 ratings