Bell's Barrel Aged Expedition Stout | Bell's Brewery, Inc.
Brewed by:
Bell's Brewery, Inc.
Michigan, United States
bellsbeer.com
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 13.00%
Availability: Rotating
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by CRJMellor on 12-13-2004
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 236 | Reviews: 35
4.6/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.74/5 rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
3.84/5 rDev -13.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.52/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.59/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.65/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
3.75/5 rDev -15.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.9/5 rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Pours black. Foamy, short brown head the last little while leaving a lasting ring.
Smells dark chocolate, bourbon, roast malt, caramel, light dark fruit and oaky vanilla.
Taste dark chocolate, rose malt, dark fruit, espresso. Followed by Oaky, vanilla, bourbon and Roast malt. Finish is semi dry with roast and chocolate linger. Full body and creamy lower carbonation.
370 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Pours black. Foamy, short brown head the last little while leaving a lasting ring.
Smells dark chocolate, bourbon, roast malt, caramel, light dark fruit and oaky vanilla.
Taste dark chocolate, rose malt, dark fruit, espresso. Followed by Oaky, vanilla, bourbon and Roast malt. Finish is semi dry with roast and chocolate linger. Full body and creamy lower carbonation.
370 characters
4.44/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.47/5 rDev +0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.62/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.42/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.47/5 rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
4.6/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.23/5 rDev -4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pour is viscous and color is stark, shiny black with a thin but dense mocha blanket that dies off to a bubbly film and thick collar.
It sure smells like Expedition!--starting with the classic dark molasses and licorice notes up front, but with more chocolate roasted malt. Some mocha coffee notes are there, and plenty of nutty wood is also asserting itself, which is almost like peanut butter, but at the same time as though it's splintery and dry. This is very unique--the label art goes well with this aroma!
Taste is tangy, heavily roasted mocha malt with a little less licorice than the base. More bourbon than wood comes through on the palate than the nose, and it tastes quite hot with a little peppery spiciness and a hint of maple and smokey raisin. However, it really doesn't taste all that drastically different or barrel-aged to be honest.
This beer is slick, round, viscous, thick and delicately luscious at first, but as it goes down there's a bit of a burn and tingle, with a little chew and a semi-dry finish.
I'm having this very freshly bottled--dated June 2017.
1,084 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pour is viscous and color is stark, shiny black with a thin but dense mocha blanket that dies off to a bubbly film and thick collar.
It sure smells like Expedition!--starting with the classic dark molasses and licorice notes up front, but with more chocolate roasted malt. Some mocha coffee notes are there, and plenty of nutty wood is also asserting itself, which is almost like peanut butter, but at the same time as though it's splintery and dry. This is very unique--the label art goes well with this aroma!
Taste is tangy, heavily roasted mocha malt with a little less licorice than the base. More bourbon than wood comes through on the palate than the nose, and it tastes quite hot with a little peppery spiciness and a hint of maple and smokey raisin. However, it really doesn't taste all that drastically different or barrel-aged to be honest.
This beer is slick, round, viscous, thick and delicately luscious at first, but as it goes down there's a bit of a burn and tingle, with a little chew and a semi-dry finish.
I'm having this very freshly bottled--dated June 2017.
1,084 characters
4.65/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
5600th review! 12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 6/2/2017. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy dark tan head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, molasses, fudge, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, marshmallow cream, biscuit, dark bread, and roasted nuts; with lighter notes of licorice, cherry, raisin, fig, date, coconut, smoke, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon barrel notes; with big strength. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, molasses, fudge, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, marshmallow cream, biscuit, dark bread, and roasted nuts; with lighter notes of licorice, cherry, raisin, fig, date, coconut, smoke, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Light roasted bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, molasses, fudge, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, marshmallow cream, biscuit, dark bread, roasted nuts, light licorice/dark fruits, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon barrel flavors; with an amazing roasted bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak spiciness balance, with zero cloying/acrid flavors after the finish. Very slight dryness from bitter/oak spiciness as well. Light-medium carbonation and very full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, velvety, and slightly chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is insane. Alcohol is extremely well hidden; a mildly increasing warmth of 12.8%, with zero barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is a world class barrel aged Russian imperial stout! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV. Definitively a great improvement over the base beer, which is already a top style favorite. Same huge, rich, and complex malt body; with perfect barrel integration across the board. Also extremely less bitter; hardly any charred roast and earthy hop notes. A lot smoother/silkier and far less drying. An insanely amazing offering, and top tier style example.
2,474 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
5600th review! 12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 6/2/2017. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy dark tan head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, molasses, fudge, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, marshmallow cream, biscuit, dark bread, and roasted nuts; with lighter notes of licorice, cherry, raisin, fig, date, coconut, smoke, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon barrel notes; with big strength. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, molasses, fudge, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, marshmallow cream, biscuit, dark bread, and roasted nuts; with lighter notes of licorice, cherry, raisin, fig, date, coconut, smoke, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Light roasted bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, molasses, fudge, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, marshmallow cream, biscuit, dark bread, roasted nuts, light licorice/dark fruits, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon barrel flavors; with an amazing roasted bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak spiciness balance, with zero cloying/acrid flavors after the finish. Very slight dryness from bitter/oak spiciness as well. Light-medium carbonation and very full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, velvety, and slightly chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is insane. Alcohol is extremely well hidden; a mildly increasing warmth of 12.8%, with zero barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is a world class barrel aged Russian imperial stout! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV. Definitively a great improvement over the base beer, which is already a top style favorite. Same huge, rich, and complex malt body; with perfect barrel integration across the board. Also extremely less bitter; hardly any charred roast and earthy hop notes. A lot smoother/silkier and far less drying. An insanely amazing offering, and top tier style example.
2,474 characters
4.74/5 rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.41/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
4.66/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Bell's Barrel Aged Expedition Stout from Bell's Brewery, Inc.
4.45
out of 5
based on 236 ratings.
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75