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

had this on draft at the Oasis Brew pub in rockford. This beer is reivewed from notes taken on 1/27/12.

Appearance: black bodied beer with a dark brown head almost 2 fingers of head that lingers for a while and falls down to a ring around side of the glass. Lots of lacing on the side of glass.

Smell: heavy roast and lots of malt. smells good!

Taste: same as nose. Lots of big roast notes and moderate bitterness; tastes very similiar to coffee. Also in the mix is tobacco, tar, molasses and dark chocolates. The beer has a mild sweetness to it. The beer finishes moderately bitter and the flavors all just linger for what seems to be forever.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied beer with low carbonation. Its thick and chewy. It drinkable considering the big heavy flavors that are present in the beer.

Overall: This RIS by Bells is a Beast! Its a beer that would be more enjoyable for someone with a well tested palate. Not a beer for someone new to this style.

---

3/25/2012

serving: bottle

poured into snifter.

Vintage 2007(September 17th) batch number 8145

Appearance: black bodied beer with one finger of dark brown head. head drops to a ring and thick lacing on the glass. This beer still looks good after many years of age! 4.0

Smell: The nose is really subtle at this point. roasty malts and dark fruits. maybe a hint of sherry from oxidation. 4.0

Taste: This beer is now sweeter and less roasty. It still has got decent roasty notes and some smoke, but it got some serious milk chocolate notes. Little bit of raisins, fudge, molasses, and brown sugar. There is a hint of sweet cherries and bitter black licorice in the aftertaste; its aged fantastically. Still got lots of depth and compexity. 4.5

Mouthfeel: full bodied beer with low carbonation. The carbonation is still holding up well and the beer has become quite silky smooth. There is not any sharpness to this beer at all. Really nice and mellow stout after some time on it! Wow. 5.0

Overall: This beer does improves with aged without a doubt! I was skeptical, but now that I have tried some vintage Expedition stout, I think that its the only way that I want to drink it! Put some away and see for yourself...if you have the patience to wait 4 years and 7 months! This beer just made be a believer of aging big stouts! 4.5

---

4/21/12

serving: bottle

bottle into snifter.

Vintage 2008(September 16th). Batch number 8728!

Appearance: Black bodied beer with one full finger of dark brown head. Head drops to a moderately thick cap with a few large bubbles. This beer looks very similiar to the 2007 vintage! 4.0

Smell: Huge dark fruits especially raisins. The beer is more smokey than roasty, but it got both going on in the nose. Some sweetness imparted from the malts. Black licorice is in there too. The nose is quite robust at this time! 4.5

Taste: Nice balance of smokey, roasty, and sweet. Dark fruits is the big player right now. Raisins, figs, and plums. A little chocolately sweetness with moderate black licorice notes. The beer finishes with moderate bitterness that overpowers the black licorice. 4.25

Mouthfeel: full bodied beer with low carbonation. The carbonation is still holding up well; the beer is silky smooth and mellow. There is not any heat from the alcohol. 4.75

Overall: Bells must brew Expedition Stout specifically for aging. My opinion after drinking/reviewing 3 seperate vintages of expedition stout... age or forget about this beer for a least 3 years; its really better with age than it is fresh. The beer really comes into its own with lots of time! 4.5

Tap at Beermongers Day 6,000. Colour is like obsidian with a thin tan head. Nose is regiment with anise, fennel, wintergreen and cocoa paste. The palate is tightly wound and quite ashen with charcoal, bittersweet chocolate and burnt currants. The mid palate is both tangy and astringent and the finish is much the same as well as being long, laced with Finnish licorice and black strap molasses.

Absolutely great beer. One of the best stouts ever brewed.

On draught in a snifter.
A dark pour with a thick mocha colored head and beautiful lacing.
Wonderful dark roasted caramelized malt flavor. Dark chocolate and cordial cherry, espresso beans, raisin & plum notes, black strap molasses, a little smokiness. A slight earthy/chalky flavor that’s difficult to describe on the finish.
The booziness is not overwhelming and adds to the experience.
A very good Russian Imperial Stout.

I look forward to trying one of the barrel aged versions of this beer.

This beer is so good, I need to run out and get more. Exceptional!

Looks very dark brown with a quarter-inch dark tan head that dissipates to a thin layer. There is some slight lacing.
Smells like sweet dark cocoa with a hint of alcohol.
Tastes like a mocha with a shot of dark cherry.
Feels thick and syrupy with some astringency in the end.
Overall, a very pleasurable experience.

With so many imperial stouts on the market, it’s easy to forget what a classic Russian Imperial Stout should taste like.

This is what it should taste like.

Nice and balanced, slightly smoky but nothing too intense - and not too sweet. A serious no nonsense personality with mature, warm flavors. Perfect for winter.

It’s almost a cliche to say “enjoy this stout by a fire” etc etc. But you really could do so with expedition stout. For a non barrel aged stout, it has a huge amount of warmth thanks to the roasted malts – the aroma is slightly reminiscent of sitting near a wood stove.

 

L = Dark, near black body, perfectly fine half inch medium brown head, hazy, good initial carbonation.
S = Nice malt, chocolate and coffee notes, dark plum notes. Not as strong as I would like.
T = Expected coffee and chocolate notes,a bit of sweetness, but there is an overwhelming bitter metallic taste, particularly on the back end. I thought we were on par with some of the finer Imperial Russian stouts until I tasted this brew. Yikes!
F = Nicely balanced neither watery or sticky. That metallic taste though, gliding through...
O = Not sure why, but this beer should be so much better than I experienced. Probably a dud bottle, I guess.

RB transfer

From the bottle, it pours a very dark brown/black color with a modest brown head that soon diminishes to a thin ring. The nose gets luscious scents of alcohol, bourbon, coffee, chocolate (mocha) and dark fruits. The mouth gets an immediate slap of bitter chocolate, coffee, dark fruit and black malts. Powerful--a late night sipping brew - my mistake!

 

 

No point in describing what was described so many times. In a few words: coffee, roasted malt, prunes. Delicious and balanced.

 

Poured from a cellar-temp bottle dated 2022 (2.5 year cellar aged) into a 16oz pint glass. Pours an opaque dark brown/black. No light permeates this brew. A finger's worth of light brown head that dissipated almost immediately. Not getting any lacing with this bottle.
Aroma is molasses, coffee, cocoa, roasty malt, light booze nose.
Taste is what you would expect from the aroma with a hit of unsweetened dark chocolate, bold toasted malt, dark roast coffee, burnt brown sugar, pepper, alcohol, tobacco. It wants to be sweet but the bitterness from either the hops or the aged alcohol tend to balance out any sweetness.
Mouthfeel is full, smooth, warming, medium carbonation, chewy.
Overall, this one actually seems like the sweetness faded during the aging process and the bitterness took more of the front stage, which works as when I first drank this I recall it being borderline cloying. Odd as several of the reviews suggest heavier bitterness when fresh. Regardless, this is an outstanding rendition of the style (Russian Imperial Stout) and is hitting the spot on a chilly winter night. Dont expect a session brew here....this is a big beer worth sipping and savoring. Recently purchased a few 2024 dates and those are aging in the cellar for another time. Will continue to purchase.

While Expedition isn't my all time favorite Imperial Stout, I will put it in my top five. It's smooth, has some interesting notes, and my only complaint is that it is a bit too nutty. Overall, an excellent stout.

 

Appearance; Utterly black in color, impervious even to a very strong light before the narrowest point of the glass. A small, finely-beaded and quite persistent tan head crowns the body. A sheet of finely beaded and completely unbroken lacing adorns the glass wall.

Aroma: A dense aroma of bitter cocoa, molasses, dark bread, cold coffee and spicy alcohol presents.

Taste: On tasting, there is a sharp wave of bitter cocoa. This is soon followed by molasses, cold coffee, burnt caramel and spicy alcohol. The alcohol is very pleasant, offering a gentle warming note. As the taste progresses, the sweet notes of alcohol vie with the bitter notes of dark cocoa, dark roasted malt and cold coffee. These win out, but there is a little flourish of sweetness, near the close. Late on, there is a surge of piney hops that wash away any residual sweetness., and linger on, well past the end of the taste.

Mouth feel: Very full bodied, almost syrupy, with brisk, slightly sharp carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: An exemplar of the Russian Imperial Stout style, wonderfully sippable, potent, and not to be trifled with. Expedition Stout would pair superbly with a rich chocolate dessert, and seems perfect for a cold Winter's night.

Presentation: Packaged in a standard twelve-ounce brown glass longneck bottle with a pry-off crown, served in a La Fin du Monde tulip.

2024 Specialty Release - 6 pack
12 oz. bottle dated 09/04/2024 - 10.5% ABV / 77 IBUs
Brewed and bottled in Comstock, MI
Poured into a Bell's branded tulip snifter glass

Look - Pours a dense and creamy tan colored head that leaves nice lacing. Opaque, black appearance.
Smell - Aromas of roasted malt, dark chocolate, dark fruit.
Taste - The taste follows the nose with heavy bitterness in the aftertaste. Only a slight amount of booziness.
Feel - Medium-thick bodied with a sharp mouthfeel that finishes dry.
Overall - A fine Russian Imperial Stout that's bold and a pleasure to drink.