Bell's Barrel Aged Cherry Stout

Bells doesn't announce when they are going to release their 750s at the brewery. They just show up at the general store for sale without an announcement.

 

What Cam said.

 

It was today. I bought it all.

 

Can the barrel make a very "meh" beer good in this case?

 

No, but it can make it rare. Lets be honest, that's all that matters.

 

Looking forward to having this one fresh, was not a big fan of the bottle I had released in 2007.

 

John Mallet probably knows.

 

Cherry Stout is a very polarizing beer, I enjoy it but I would not say it is a top tier stout*. The -bal version is honestly one of my top five beers ever.

*Cherry Stout with age is a top tier beer. I think it is better than most at 5 years.

 

What kzoo said... I dont buy the 6 month lifespan as the website suggests

 

I talked to two of the guys at the Bell's store yesterday and they confirmed that this just got put into barrels recently (within the past few weeks). They also said that it will age at least 12 months. No other word on what the next round of big bottles will be, but they did say that they haven't brewed anything downtown or bottled anything in months due to the expansion out at the main brewery. It also sounded like Wedding Ale might be the next one that hits the shop.

 

I'll pretty much second this. Regular Cherry Stout is far too tart for me fresh but after a few years it mellows out and is very enjoyable. Barrel Aged Cherry Stout was delicious fresh in 2007.