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

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

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!

 

 

 

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.