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

 

Expedition Stout Bourbon Barrel-Aged from Bell’s Brewery. 12 oz bottle. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Received from @Whyteboar in NBW BIF #16. Reviewed 17/12/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottle marked on back label “Shelf Life – Unlimited” also “PKG 11/17/2021). Served at 53.8 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 57.3 degrees.
Appearance – 3.
First pour – Brown (SRM 20), nearly opaque.
Body - Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, opaque but some light penetrates the edges – ruby.
Head – Small (Maximum 0.7 cm, aggressive center pour), camel, high density, quickly diminishing to a 0.15 cm crown with a thin, partial cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.5 – Chocolate and bourbon edge out roasted malt as the dominant aromas, no hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.5 – Flavor follows the nose – roasted malt, slightly bitter, no hops, no yeast. No ethanol (13.4 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Marked gastric warming occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4.5 – Medium, creamy, soft but lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Looks like used motor oil minus the sheen, very average for a RIS. The aromas and flavors duplicate each other and reinforce the sensory perceptions. The ethanol is totally hidden, making this dangerously quaffable. Damn good!

 

 

Pours pitch black with a finger of dark mocha head. Aroma and taste giving off loads of roasted malt, peat, coffee grounds, dark chocolate, black cherry, prune, caramel, molasses, tobacco, drying oak tannin, significant bourbon, nice amount of vanilla. Low full body. Oily, sticky, silky. A gigantic beer that doesn't disappoint. Well done as expected.

12oz bottle, package date of 11/17/21. Pours black with a very small sized brown head. Smells of bourbon, cocoa, vanilla, dark fruit, dark roasted malt, and earthy hops. The taste follows exactly. Good intensity and balanced flavors. Moderate bitterness and dryness in the finish. Above average body and low carbonation. Overall this is a great barrel aged RIS; strong yet smooth and drinkable.

 

 

 

Many thanks to Erland for sharing this one. Pkgd 11/17/21. 13.4% ABV, 12oz bottle.
Pours out to a syrupy thick ink black, forming a thick dark cocoa head with average retention, sparse lacing. The nose is definitely full of bourbon but on top of that classic expedition nose we all love...prunes, dark chocolate, raisins, figs, soy sauce and black walnut. Mouthfeel is smooth and syrupy, dense bodied. Medium light carbonation, ~2.25 carbs or so. Taste is a recap of the nose. The bourbon is well balanced with the other complex stuff going on here and gives it a more warming presence that traditional Expedition. Bitterness is mild and earthy, hops are kept in check by copious malts. Considering the rich complex malts, there is no sourness or astringency here...this easily happens in lesser RIS's if the roasted malts are overdone. One is enough. It's a heavy hitter and very rich. This might be great over dark chocolate ice cream. Hrmmm. Might have to try that.

 

 

Black in color with no light penetration. There's a fingernail of brown around the rim. The aroma is of piney hops and dark malt. I'm tasting piney hops and sweet bourbon. The mouth is thick and chewy.

 

12oz bottle
PKG 11/17/2021, 13.4% ABV
I swear I’ve had this before…but no review (?)
L: jet black body, thin brown head
S: bourbon barrel, dark cocoa, roast, char, caramel
T: very oaky, boozy bourbon, dark chocolate, roasted barley, vanilla, toasted coconut, caramel, earthy hops, tobacco leaf, leather
F: full body, sticky & smooth, ample carbonation, a boozy sipper with a dry finish
O: I thought I had this one before, but nothing seems familiar; either way it’s one I’ve always wanted to get my hands on and I guess I finally did! Such a great beer!

 

 

 

I have to say I liked this one much better once it warmed up. Before it warmed up it there was a big chocolate taste with some barrel. After it warmed the other flavors started to pop. The chocolate faded a bit and vanilla and coffee flavors became more present. The barrel also came to the forefront. A bit thin but very good overall.

 

 

12oz bottled 11/17/2021 poured into a snifter at 47° Fahrenheit 13.4% ABV. The beer pours pitch black with zero light penetration and minimal light brown head. The head recedes to an irregular ring and leaves a few tiny spots of lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring bourbon, dark chocolate, vanilla and coffee. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with notes of dark chocolate, vanilla, deeply charred oak barrel, bourbon, coffee and chocolate fudge. Moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less than medium carbonation and a mostly dry finish. No alcohol presence in the aroma or taste, which is incredible for the ABV. Overall, excellent to world class. The balance is key. All the tastes are wonderfully integrated.

Look - Just fantastic black and thick with a big thick tan head and some great lacing. How a BBA stout should look
Smell - caramel, vanilla, chocolate, molasses
Taste - Chocolate booze with a tobacco followed by some caramel vanilla, and a nice barrel
Feel - pretty thick full body with a light fuzzy carbonation
Overall - Really great classic standard Barrel aged Russian

Just misses the full-bodied taste of the best bourbon barrel stouts.

 

 

 

Pours a thick oily black, vigorous pours doesn't get much of a head, small brown that faded immediately. Boozy aroma some vanilla, coffee, molasses a hint of chocolate. Taste get all that, flavors improve as it warms. Thick'n chewy, smooth, easy drinking. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever seen this, better than I'd hoped!

2021-11-27
12oz bottle served in a pair of Georgetown sample glasses. Packaged 10/16/18. Received from @Whyteboar in a LIF associated with BIF #14.

Pours black, brown along the edges, with essentially no head. Smell is boozy, bourbon, vanilla, oak, and very dark chocolate / dark roasted coffee.

Taste is boozy and super anise-y. Lots of roasty bitterness, lots of boozy sweetness. Fairly soft and well-balanced, actually.

Mouthfeel is thick and fluffy. Overall, very nice.

2018 Vintage
12oz bottle poured into a tulip

A- pours jet black in color with a one-finger creamy dark khaki head that reduces to a thin ring around the glass

S- huge barrel aromas on the nose; spicy oak, barrel juice, caramel and vanilla. Bold aromas of chocolate brownie batter, dark chocolate, molasses, mocha cream, anise, charred malt, figs & raisins. Just a hint of underlying piney hops and booze

T- bold barrel notes lead the way with strong barrel juice, peppery oak and complimenting notes of caramel and vanilla. Mid-palate brings out notes of brownie batter, chocolate fudge, herbal coffee, charred malt, black licorice and figs. The finish gives more bold barrel juice and a hint of piney hops. Lingers of bourbon and brownie batter

M- heavy body with moderate carbonation leads to a thick and creamy mouthfeel that continues into a velvety warming finish

O- an already world class base beer gets taken up a notch with bold barrel notes that matches the dark roasted notes of Expedition, well done

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annual beer grab and generally availed in the Midwest. Pours dark very strong profile which settles down with a 1 year cellaring ( da) . More complex after a year.