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

L - mocha lacing atop a pitch black body.

S - chocolate, vanilla, barrel, caramel, brown sugar.

T - fudgy chocolate with vanilla bean shaved on top. Wood, molasses, caramel. Low bitterness. Low sweetness. Low booziness.

F - medium-full body with minimal carb.

O - shockingly drinkable for almost 13% abv.

 

 

 

 

Pours jet black with no light passing through and no head. Nice dark fruit and licorice smell with the bourbon burn. Very thick with roasted coffee take and bourbon aftertaste.

 

 

 

Never had the barrel aged version and it's been a looong time since I had Expedition at all. Bottled October 2018

The carbonation is light and the body just a touch thin, but this is still a wow. Molasses and bakers chocolate most noticeably with burned brown sugar, earthy vanilla, and a very faint note of port lurking in the background. Warm but not hot at 13.4%

At 13% this brings the heat but comes off smooth and mellow. Pours like used motor oil, thick and viscous. Barrel notes on the nose, with the sip following suit. Utterly fantastic, and a well-deserved sipper.

 

 

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.