Kalamazoo Stout - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store

Bell's barrel-aged beers are always a real treat. This is roasty with a pleasant barrel character alongside the chocolate and coffee notes. The drying finish at the end lands a little harshly.

Kalamazoo Stout - Bourbon Barrel-Aged from Bells. Received from @Whyteboar in Barleywine and Stout BIF #2. 12 fl oz bottle. Received 26/02/25, reviewed 16/03/25 (Review 3473). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
“BEST BY (blank)” on label. Stored at home at 39 degrees F and served at 56.1 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature 63.1 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), clear.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, amber at the edges.
Head – Average (Maximum 1.9 cm, aggressive center pour), biscuit, high density, short retention. Drops to a 0.4 – 0.8 cm crown and a thin complete cap.
Lacing – Fair. Narrow bands of tiny to near-microscopic bubbles, connected by both wide and narrow columns.
Aroma – 4 – Light aroma of toasted malt, and a little smoke. No hops, no yeast, no alcohol, no bourbon.
Flavor – 3.5 – Begins slightly sweet with a hint of coffee and a ghost of chocolate. No yeast, no hops. No alcohol (8.5 % ABV, according to the label), no gastric warming occurs. Neither bourbon nor barrel. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Medium: creamy: soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.

Final impression and summation: 3.75 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated personal container) Revisionist, higher octane version of a classic. Meh. And what’s with adding brewers’ licorice? Or was it there before and just not delineated?

Had this as the 6th and final beer of a 6 beer flight when I was in Kalamazoo in May 2014 as part of the reunion weekend.

Pours a mostly dark brown pour. Thin tan head 1/4". Aroma was light bourbon. Light wood, typical big roasted malt kick from the beer. Thus far, the barrel seems to be exposed to the beer for less time than your average bourbon barrel stout.

Taste was enjoyable, the light nose was still a light influence taste wise, but it was enjoyable just a light inflection of bourbon, vanilla and oak on a roasty stout, melds well for the mouth feel. Not at all a chore to drink, I feel like I could have done a full pour of this and been just fine to drive afterwards. The little bourbon effect does still contribute the sense of more chocolate (no actual chocolate) and a smoothed out feel tempering the heavily roasted malt.

Its a neat thing to check out. I dunno if it makes the beer any better, but different.

 

Nice low abv BA stout. Much better than I anticipated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a dark brown almost black color with an off white head and plenty of lace. The aroma is boozy, chocolatey and big on bourbon. Smells like a hobo's breath after they have a morning mocha. Dry wood.

The taste is big on chocolate, wood, caramel apple, bourbon, a bit of yeast. Slight nutty tartness as this beer was aged in second-use barrels that held black note. Deep roast and booze.

Full bodied brew with a medium carbonation. Overall, this is a very solid beer.