Bell's Expedition Stout

Why I tried this: It was Bell's night, and up next was the Expedition Stout. Previously, I had written about the Bell's Consecrator. I think this stout chronologically came right before the Consecrator and was the primary reason why I started to get pretty drunk. Thanks Kyle and Logan. Anyway, this is just the next in a series of Bell's beers I'll be covering from that night.

Smell: It has a very roasted, malty scent, with a good mix of chocolate. You can easily smell the high alcohol content of this beer.

Taste: I pretty much got the same thing I smelled. It had a very dark roasted malt flavor to it, with a fair amount of chocolate to balance it all out with sweetness, but there was a strong taste of alcohol that burned the tongue a bit. I don't believe Bell made much attempt to hide how strong this beer was. Definitely an imperial stout.

At 10.5%, this imperial stout was definitely a kick to the teeth. It was also the main cause of my downward spiral of the night. However, despite the harshness of the alcohol, what was there was very good and balanced. I always enjoy a good stout. However, I don't know if I would order this again. It was a sipper for sure. With that said, I'd probably give this beer a quarter full glass. If you're an imperial stout fan, give this one a try. You may be surprised.

--Jeff

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout

Why I tried this: On another World of Beer adventure I had no idea what to order next.  The waiter we had Kyle typically suggests good beer to me so I told him to bring me a stout that I haven't tried yet.  A few minutes later and this bad boy was sitting in front of me.

Smell: Smelt like your typical stout.  A roasted malt smell.  The coffee scent stands out a bit but not too strong.

Taste: This beer at first tasted like I would expect a stout to taste like.  Since the label said cream stout I did expect a slightly creamier flavor then I sensed but it was still enjoyable.  This beer had a very well rounded flavor none of the malts in my opinion took over the flavor too much.  There was a flavor in the back I couldnt detect that gave it a very good and very original flavor.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this beer an 8.  This beer was very tasty and had a flavor I could not describe that made it more enjoyable.  Other than that this beer tastes like what you would expect a good stout to taste like.  If you are a fan of stouts and haven't had this one out I would definitely recommend it.

--Jon

Bell's Two Hearted IPA

Why I tried this: I was on an IPA binge this certain day, after coming off a Magic Hat #9. I'm generally not a huge IPA guy, as they always seem one dimensional and overly hoppy, but Magic Hat showed me otherwise. This baby was on draft and generally Bells makes a fairly quality product, so with one IPA down the gullet I braved this little number.

Smell: It has a nice herbal hop smell to it, balanced with a fruity scent that had some citrus notes to it akin to grapefruit. Definitely a strong nose on this one, and actually a huge head sitting at about 1.5 inches.

Taste: It's got a nice bitter hop taste to it up front, giving that nice herbal taste that you come to expect from an IPA. The citrus notes are nice and mild, nothing like a Belgian Wheat might have, so definitely a good addition there. The end is sealed off by a slight malt taste, not to strong, but present. A nice bitter American IPA to be sure.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this beer a 7.5: It's a very drinkable beer for sure, would go great on a nice spring or summer day, but not anything out of this world in my opinion. It's definitely worth a try though, especially if you can get it on tap. A bit of a side note however, make sure you let it warm up a few degrees first. If it comes out too cold it will mute all the flavor this beer has to offer.

--Scott