Bell's Special Double Cream Stout Review

Bell's Special Double Cream

Stout

Review Date 11/14/2001 Last Updated 1/4/2014

Try? Re-buy?

This is another great stout from Kalamazoo brewing, makers of perhaps a wider variety of stouts than any other brewer in the United States. Founder Larry Bell began the company back in 1985 out of his homebrew shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. From very small beginnings, Bell expanded production to 6,000 barrels by 1994. Last year, 2000, production was four times the 1994 figure, officially putting Kalamazoo out of the microbrewery classification, which is generally accepted as around 15,000 barrels or less. The company is now the largest craft brewer in Michigan.

Still, Kalamazoo handcrafts all of its brews and the results are always exceptional. Unfiltered and bottle conditioned, robust and extremely flavorful, Bell’s beers are sometimes eccentric, always delicious, and usually expensive (though worth every penny).

Kalamazoo classifies this as a “double” cream stout, but I find it to be closer to a dry or extra stout. It is closer to an extra in body, roasted character, and alcohol content. A classic cream or milk stout (Watney’s, Sam Adams, Mackeson, Lancaster) will be relatively smooth and less roasty than Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout is. Special Double Cream is available September through May and is one of the breweries winter seasonals.

Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout pours to a deep dark color with a foamy tan head of rather large bubbles and a rich chocolate nose. There’s lots of bittersweet chocolate character here, some roastiness too which intensifies in the finish. The beer is fairly smooth drinking and reminds me of the Cherry Stout without the cherries. A good alcohol kick weighs in at 7.5 % by volume, making this a brew to warm you on a cold winter’s eve. The chocolate character and dry finish would make this an excellent dessert beer. Try it with a thick slice of chocolate cake.

Update 1/4/2014: Yeah, Ok, Bell's beers are expensive here in Georgia (or anywhere for that matter). But they are one of the few breweries I will give a pass on that because, well, they're so damned good. Special Double Cream Stout is loaded with notes of chocolate, vanilla, silky-milky smoothness in the palate, and light phenols on into the finish. it's a wonderful beer, even if a bit lower in alcohol than it used to be (my bottle, packaged on 11/7/13, says 6.1% ABV and on the label:

Brewed with a blend of 10 different malts Double Cream is an incredibly rich stout composed of dark, sweet and smooth tones intermingles with a soft, roasty finish.

Magnificent!

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

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