I picked up a bottle of Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout a little while ago and finally decided to crack it open. This was my first experience with Bell’s but I had heard many good things, so I was excited to see what this brewery was capable of. The bottle for Double Cream says that it is brewed with ten different types of malts making it “incredibly rich”. The ABV is 6.1, and the target IBU is around 50.
The beer pours really nice, it really does have a creamy consistency coming out of the bottle and swirling in the glass. It’s very dark, not see though at all, the color is almost jet black with notes of a reddish brown around the edges. A tan colored head sits atop this dark beer with bubbles that are a mix between soapy and creamy, like very dense foam. There was some mild carbonation that was noticeable rolling up the sides of the glass; all in all, this stout looks pretty good, I was anxious to get to the taste.
Before diving into that I needed to take a sniff. The nose is bold and full of different aromas, the most notable being the dark roasted malts. Like a lot of stouts there is a chocolate smell, something like a 65-75% cocoa bar. Notes of coffee float around, and I also picked up dark fruits like black cherry. One last thing was maple; there was a very pleasant caramely maple smell.
Finally it was time to dive in head (or lips) first and really get to know this beer. Just like the smell, the taste is bold, very robust and the roasted malts come through great! I felt like the dark cherry came through a bit more in the taste of the beer and added a very sweet and actually kind of tangy feeling on the tongue. More sweetness comes through in the maple, and caramel flavors; and the beer finishes off with those coffee and chocolates in the back of your throat. Swishing it around a little bit, the beer feels thick and creamy, not quite as thick as chocolate milk but reminiscent.
As far as drinkability goes, I would have to put this on the lower end (for me at least) it seemed like one would be plenty for a night. I could really enjoy this beer on a colder night, with the fireplace going. It’s not something you can just throw back, maybe a slow drinker while reading a book or something along those lines.
Overall I think this is a pretty solid beer; if you like stouts I would check it out. If you do want to check it out you ought to pick some up quickly, its only available November 1, through March. I’m not quite sure how I felt about the tang in the flavor, I kept fighting with myself over liking it or not, but it’s not a fault, I’m pretty sure they were going for that kind of sweetness. The lacing looked pretty good and as a first impression, I’m excited to see what else Bell’s Brewery has to offer.
