Bell's Expedition Stout - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

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BA SCORE
94
exceptional
-
3,058 Ratings

rAvg: 4.21
pDev: 12.11%
Reviews: 1757
Hads: 1301

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Bell's Brewery, Inc.

Michigan, United States

Style | ABV
Russian Imperial Stout | 10.50% ABV

Availability: Winter. bottle (1663), on-tap (75), cask (14), growler (3), nitro-tap (2).

Notes:
Expedition Stout offers immensely complex flavors crafted specifically with vintage aging in mind, as its profile will continue to mature and develop over the years. A huge malt body is matched to a heady blend of chocolate, dark fruits, and other aromas. Intensely bitter in its early months, the flavors will slowly meld and grow in depth as the beer ages.

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Reviews

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Reviews by ThisWangsChung:

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

3.38/5 rDev -19.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

12 oz bottle into a Duvel tulip.

A: Pours a pitch black color. No "really dark brown" bollocks, this one is nearly perfectly opaque. The head is a one finger tan color that gives Ten Fidy a run for its money in terms of darkness. The retention is pretty good, and a thick collar around the glass diameter lingers nicely.

S: I immediately notice a large amount of dark fruits, like raisins, currants, and plums. Beneath that, there's a bit of licorice, anise, coffee, chocolate. and light booze. Very similar to a revved-up version of the Stone IRS - if we can compare it to any other RIS on the market, that is.

T: The flavor seems roastier than the aroma. Roasted malts open the flavor profile with a punch to the face, before a fruity midtaste and alcoholic, vaguely hoppy finish. Even for an imperial stout, the balance is lacking. Really, the palate is just beat down with roast, bittersweet dark fruits, and booze. Not much subtlety here - it's aggressive and even harsh. If there was any beer that was more suitable for drinking after a year in the cellar, this is it.

M: Thick as a brick. I can't think of any other way to describe the bigness of the body. It finishes with a lot of wet slickness and lingering roasted malts. It certainly feels decadent, but again, the big booze detracts instead of complimenting the flavor profile.

O: This one is a bit harsh, frankly. Good news is, aging it will kill that harshness stone dead. Bad news is, I only bought a single bottle. Damnit. Then again, I'm of the school of thought that a beer should be consumed as soon as its purchased, so the middling scores stand.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 23:23:41 | More by ThisWangsChung

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GoldHorde

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look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bell's Imperial Russian Stout: Expedition Stout

Another excellent stout! Mouth feel is correct - just a bit on the thinner side of cream (hinting towards a Porter style) but that just adds to the deep flavor gamut's mystery. A gargle of it just makes you want to get a V8 of huskies together for a 3,000 kilometer mush! The flavor is complex; coffee first, chocolate, smoke & caramel with a very faint echo of bourbon.

A = pours opaque black with a mocha tan head with open lacing
S = feigns at Porter style with a wet smoke (rain on burned wood after a fire)
T = again, feigns at Porter style but delivers the deeper, more complex character of the Stout
M = thinner than cream, but within Russian Stout style.
O = A great beer!

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 04:44:10 | More by GoldHorde