3 Minutes To Midnight
Bellwoods Brewery

 

Just incredible...like a big piece of Black Forest cake...cherries, fudgy chocolate, vanilla... truly sublime... no booze at all.. this beer is trouble... super drinkable RIS... highly highly recommended if you run across it...m

500 ml bottle into snifter, 2013 vintage. Pours dense opaque pitch black color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big juicy/tart/tangy red/black cherries, fruit skin/pits, raisin, plum, prune, fig, date, currant, red grape/wine, citrus zest, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, cognac, brandy, toasted oak, nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of cherries, dark/black/roast/bready malts, cognac barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with big strength. Taste of big juicy/tart/tangy red/black cherries, fruit skin/pits, raisin, plum, prune, fig, date, currant, red grape/wine, citrus zest, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, cognac, brandy, toasted oak, nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness. Light herbal, grassy, roast, char bitterness; cherry/cognac tang/tartness; and oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy cherry, skin/pits, dark fruit, red grape/wine, citrus zest, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, cognac, brandy, toasted oak, nuts, biscuit, dark bread/crust, light coconut/licorice, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of cherries, dark/black/roast/bready malts, cognac barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great hop/char bitter/sweet, tart/tangy fruit, and spicy barrel balance; with no cloying, puckering, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness, tart/tangy fruit, and spicy oak, Medium-plus carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready/grainy, and fairly sticky/acidic/tangy/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 10%, with minimal lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is an awesome fruited cognac barrel aged Russian imperial stout. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of cherries, dark/black/roast/bready malts, cognac barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mellowly bitter/charred/acid/tangy/tannic/drying finish; Great soft feel for the ABV. Fantastic balance of super juicy/jammy cherries, rich malts, and Cognac barrel presence/integration; with restrained fruity yeast, and earthy hops. Light residual sweetness with lingering bitter/tart/tangy dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressively spot on style example as expected. Held up extremely well for the age.

only bad beer I’ve had from them i dunt like

 

 

Pours dark - almost black with tastes of cocoa, cherries, and vanilla. Full bodied beer with low carbonation. Good nose with cherries as well as coffee.

 

 

A 500ml bottle at the brewery, December 2016 vintage, poured into a Bellwoods tulip glass.

Appearance: It was black in colour with pretty much no head and only sparse lacing, although what was there was mocha in colour.

Aroma: Cherries, prunes, raisins and oak with hints of coffee and chocolate.

Taste: Cherries, oak and raisins with hints of chocolate malt and cocoa.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low carbonation.

Overall: Very nice body, tastes great, and a very enjoyable sipper.

 

 

 

 

Pitch black color with dark brown head. Aroma has cognac, dried figs, some molasses, fruity berry notes in the background. Taste starts with sweet dried figs, black bitter cherries, just a hint of fruit tartness. Cognac notes throughout, finishes has caramelised fruit with some smoked/burnt notes. Full bodied, really smooth. A really complex tasting beer, smooth, easy drinking with a very well hidden ABV.

Poured from fridge temp. Pours jet black with little carbonation. Smell is cherries, chocolate, and bourbon. incredible. Taste is a cherry chocolate. Slight bitterness - makes it a dark chocolate taste. Incredible mix of cherry, bourbon, and chocolate. Alcohol is hidden. Unbelievably smooth beer. Some roasted malts. Body is full and thick. Overall, amazing beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle received in a trade.

This one pours a nice, dark and menacing black, with a really long-lasting brown head (seriously, it was there practically to the end of the glass- nice), and a little bit of lacing.

The aroma on this is basically heavenly, deep fudgy chocolate, a bit of sweet coffee, roasted malt, tangy dark cherries, a hint of vanilla, and just the slightest waft of cognac.

As the barrels were second use, this is not the most barrel-heavy stout that you'll find. And that's fine- it allows the cherries and the outstanding base beer to shine. It's got a wonderful thick fudgy chocolate flavor, which melds incredibly well with the sweet and slightly tangy cherries. It's still a bit bitter and roasty, which is certainly welcome with the sweet cherries. There's some vanilla from the barrels- possibly, but I don't pick up any oak. There are nice dark coffee notes, too, along with just a hint of cognac on the finish. This is a '15 bottle, and I don't pick up any booziness on it, which is cool.

This has a really creamy, and pretty rich mouthfeel, with a lower but still present level of carbonation. It's just there enough to prop the beer up, and provide that super long lasting head.

What a wonderful beer- I need more stuff from Bellwoods, stat.

 

Seems rather thin after the Hellwoods.

Fruit is subtle in the aroma and flavour, but works reasonably well with the roasted malt... though a bit more chocolate would step it up a notch. Definitely some alcohol warmth here, with a drying finish.

Thanks BakaGaijin!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow. I generally hate fruit in my imperial stouts but this works quite well. Reminds me a lot of blending a Cantillon Kriek and a De Molen 666 we did once. It's really really nice, I can imagine with a bit of time this is going to turn into something truly amazing. If it was a bit more chocolate cake or fudge that would do it for me.

 

Props to peensteen for this brew. Pours pitch black with a thumb of dark mocha head, solid retention and nice sheeting lacing. Nose is loaded with dark cocoa, hints of molasses and leather, and tart cherry notes on the finish. Much like the nose, flavours are dominated by rich chocolate and molasses, with hints of cherries lingering on the finish. ABV is unnoticeable, mouthfeel is rich and thick. An insanely well crafted RIS with the cherry twist complementing the flavours incredibly well.

 

 

Sour cherry chocolate truffle and roast malts on the nose. Roastiness is more pronounced in the taste with sour cherry and chocolate finish. A suprisingly tasty beer .

Purchased at the brewery for $12.00 for a 500ml bottle. Served at 10deg C in a tulip

A- Opens with a mighty POP and pours a huge 2" high brown head that lasts forever! Could not get a film out for the entire 3 pour bottle. Super dark black colour and just wonderful

S- Has this funny medicinal scent. Other than that pretty nice but not great

T- Cherry good. Has a bitter bite that is perfect for this stout. Don't know what barrel this is aged in but it sure is not a bourbon one! There is a sourness from the cherries that shines through after a bit. Nice brew but not great

M- Tart and bitter to say the least

O- This is a nice overall blend but the bitterness detracts. Should be ok with some time.

Food Pairing

This fruity stout went very well with....... Cherry pie! She's my cherry pie, cool drink a water such a sweet surprise, cool drink of water make a grown man cry!

Enjoy the Warrant cut LOL