Bell's Barrel Aged Expedition Stout | Bell's Brewery, Inc.

4.81/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

4.83/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Bottled 6/2/17. Pours black with cinnamon tan head with some clarity underneath; decent cap retention; thick tan/brown ring and moderately heavy lacing; medium legs upon swirl. Sweet caramel, bourbon, roasty malt nose. Flavors is caramel, toffee, bourbon and oak; lite bitter roast malt; bittersweet dark chocolate; a tad dark cherries; semi sweet caramel/toasted toffee finish. Some dryness from the oak; medium full body but mor dry than viscous; moderate carbonation; tiny alcohol bite on tip of the tongue; slightly warming. World class RIS, roast malt, bourbon and barrel flavors balance well with right amount of sweet and dry to make for an enjoyable drinking.

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4.53/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.6/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A deep bow towards LambicPentameter for this 12 oz. bottle. Expy Stout was my wife’s gateway beer into the dark side…for years I heard “I don’t like dark beers”. One night in the middle of 2008 she gave in to my offer of an Expedition Stout & a few months later we were hunting Darkness on tap together. She won’t touch her previous favorite (“A Kolsch” she sniffs now).

The pour is eye-patch black with a ribald head that fades faster than a Twins starting pitcher. The nose isn’t overwhelming, but nice fudge, sweet malts, vanilla, touch of bourbon. Not objectionable. The beer, not the pitching. THAT was highly objectionable.

Expedition Stout – Bourbon Barrel Aged is a barrel showcase. Massive bourbon presence along with a thick, coating mouthfeel puts me immediately in mind of a slightly smaller cousin to Bourbon County Stout (like free safety vs. linebacker). The base is there but muted: slight roast, malt sweetness, liquid fudge, great depth, but without the stone fruit that haunts some years (& which I’m not fond of), with just a shadow of hops. Vanilla follows, along with a finishing touch of spice, so I’m going to swear these were aged in rye whiskey barrels. A sipping beer. I need a fire.

Simply decadent. The barrel & the base work together like Buxton & Sano. If only they could pitch. A truly outstanding beer.

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4.48/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.5/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.49/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.74/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

3.46/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Was excited to try this and the pour into the glass looked awesome with 1 finger tan head. Smell was bourbon and chocolate, good mouthfeel and weight to the beer. The barrel presence is really good, vanilla notes and deep bourbon. The problem is the finish. It's almost metallic, or a chalky astringency. I let the beer warm up some to see if it mellowed but still something left at the end that frankly ruins the beer. Some might think it drinks hot, but the finish isn't alcohol burn, it's something else. It's a shame because everything else leading up to that is fantastic.

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5/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

4.35/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

4.43/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.73/5  rDev +7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Aroma - Strong barrel presence. Oak and vanilla also present.
Look - Thick, dark black motor oil.
Taste - Boozy. Hop-forward, but not bitter. Smoky and rich.
Feel - Thick and coating. Dry finish with hoppiness.

This is a very good barrel-aged stout. The barrel-aging enhances the roasty imperial stout base beer in the flavor and body of it.

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4.75/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

4.17/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.25/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.5/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.19/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.44/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.59/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.6/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Side by side with 2016 Expedition. Thanks Dave and Jon! Great oak character. I'm a huge fan of Expedition Stout and the base beer shines through so well. Lots of barrel flavor. Absolutely delicious.

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4.45/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Damn son, this is incredible. What I love most is the base stout is still perfectly represented.
L - dark and the blackest night, its beautiful
S - Roasted chocolate love? Pretty sure its love, dark chocolate
T - Dark fruited crunch bars, maybe some chocolate covered pretzel goodness, good nutty factor
F - thick raisins dark-viscous-oaky dessert cake, crazy nice
O - a beer I'm thankful to have come across, what a treat, everything I wanted it to be and more.

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4.74/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

4/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

4.54/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5