Kalamazoo Stout Original '88 Recipe
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store

Pours a gorgeous dark... So dark there isn't even a highlight on the edges of the glass which is uncommon... This is the thick of night... Even the head goes beyond tan and into shades of brown that's rarely found on the darkest of beers...

The aroma is quite clean, with distinctive malt and earthiness with a nod of chocolate.

Taste: it is so smooth... Sweet malt chocolate caramel and a roasted note.. That's deep and pure without being overly smoky.

Mouthfeel This one engages the entire mouth It's so round it's full... It settles on both sides of the tongue as it drains in the back of your throat

 

 

 

A very dark body with only a slight brown outlining the black. And an almost creamy brown head with great lacing. The smell is of bitter dark chocolate and the taste follows this, supported by more bitter hops. The carbonation and bitterness leaves me with an aggressive mouthfeel and shapes the overall character.

12oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours black with a one-finger foamy khaki head that reduces to a ring

S- roasted cereal grain, chocolate, light char, fresh coffee, piney & citrusy hops undertone

T- sweet chocolaty malt up front is followed by a charred malt note that gives flavors of black licorice. Mid-palate gives some piney hop notes, as well as more chocolate. The finish brings out a coffee note that lingers with char and pine

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that turns slightly creamy into a smooth finish

Kalamazoo Stout Original ‘88 Recipe – from Bells. Single 12 fl oz bottle purchased from Bells General Store, Kalamazoo, MI, 20/08/24, $ 2.21 (including tax and deposit), $ 0.184 /fl oz. Reviewed 28/08/24 (Review 3343). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Printed on the label “BESTBY:10DEC24. In reefer at store. Stored at 34 degrees F at home. Served at 44.7 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 51.8 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, brown, and opaque except at the edges where light penetration appears red amber.
Head – Average (Maximum four cm, aggressive center pour), lion, high density, average retention, diminishing to an irregular 0.4 – 0.9 cm crown and complete, rocky cap.
Lacing – Good. A wide band of near microscopic to tiny bubbles.
Aroma – 4 – Roasted malt, coffee, and the weakest chocolate. No hops, no alcohol (6.0% ABV, according to the label).
Flavor – 4.25 – Distinctly bitter coffee a bit short of expresso, with some background chocolate. No hops or alcohol. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. No gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium; creamy; soft carbonation.
Final Impression and summation: 4.25 A bit too bitter for my taste. Also, this is my first awareness of a brew having brewer’s licorice – it seems lost in the coffee and roasted (partially burnt?) malt.

 

Roasted and coffee forward. Easy drinking, but seems a bit limp. If I’m going to have a stout, it’s going to be a Breakfast Stout, a Brooklyn Black or even an Obsidian. Count me out.

 

Thanks to Whyteboar for this one!

12oz bottle poured into a stemmed tulip glass.

The beer pours pitch black pour with about two fingers worth of tan/khaki head that recedes slowly leaving behind a small crown that lasts throughout the session, and a nice amount of lacing.

The aroma is roasty and coffee forward, with notes of dark chocolate, and just a hint of char.

Like the aroma, the taste is mainly roasted malts and coffee, with hints of dark chocolate, char, and to a lesser degree vanilla, and grassy hops. Medium bodied, and mildly carbonated with a nice creaminess. No booziness to speak of

Overall, this is a nice, easy drinking stout

Purchased as part of a “build your own “ 6 pack from Wegmans in Collegeville, PA on 10/23/23. Bottle date is06/19/2023!

L- Pitch black with a creamy off-white
one inch head.

S- Faint roasted malt and cocoa.

T- Tannic coffee bitterness upfront. Gives
way to a dark chocolate flavor.

F- Moderately viscous. Smooth, creamy
mouthfeel. Very very fine carbonation.

O- I’m loving this one! Fantastic color,
flavor!

 

Pitch black with one finger of beige head. The smell is of chocolate, licorice, and soy sauce. The taste is soy sauce forward with black, licorice, and a touch of rust. Medium to thick body with moderate to high carbonation. I got this in Waynesville North Carolina and I’m drinking it in Maggie Valley, August 6, 2023.

2020 bottling. 3 years old. Tan head. Dark brown color.

Coffee, roast, cocoa powder. Caramel. Has some black ipa notes in the finish which is odd, but decently enjoyable.

Pours black with a thin head with tiny bubbles. Aroma is roasted malt and more roasted malt. I'm unsure if it is my imagination or if I do indeed detect some licorice as well. Taste is roasted malt and more roasted malt. There is a noticeable amount of coffee as well here.

Look: Pours like coffee - deep opaque brown (almost black) with a creamy tan head.

Smell: Dark chocolate and coffee notes, some dark fruits and brown sugar along with the licorice as advertised on the label.

Taste: Coffee comes through pretty strongly here, nice bittersweet blend. A little acidic.

Feel: Normal carbonation, medium-full body.

Overall: Very solid stout.

 

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Inky black pour with 1.5 fingers of mocha colored head.

S: Roasted grains and cocoa.

T.F: Semi-sweet dark chocolate and roasted malts. A bit of coffee.... more roast and burned sugars. Hop bitterness complements the roast. Medium bodied... smooth and well carbonated.

O: A well executed stout. Classic style... hits the expected flavors. Enjoyable brew.

I'm biased toward Guiness Extra Stout but this suff is an absolute knockout fives all the way IMHO.