Luxurious bronze-headed ebony-hued dry-bodied Imperial Stout retains chewy dark chocolate syruping, burnt coffee bittering, tar-like tobacco chaw and hesitant cedar char. Roasted barley-oats persuasion deepens hazelnut-toffee-cocoa creaminess beneath the mucky surface. At frothy finish, toasted hops nearly mask spruce, raisin, and black licorice subordinates as raw maple sap stickiness builds. Stupendous!
All posts by John Fortunato
BELL’S DOUBLE CREAM STOUT
Frothy jet-black cream stout with scattered bronze lace merges slick chocolate-milked sweetness with vanilla hazelnut coffee romp as hop-toasted charred oats thicken molasses-tarred resolve. Slight astringency blocks resinous raisin-prune subsidy and wispy cherry tartness. Mild black chocolate finish picks up ethereal creaminess. 2017 re-tasting: Creamy dairy-free full body offers ten specialty malts to create caramel-burnt chocolate syruping, maple molasses sugaring and vanilla-spiced nuttiness above ashen dark-roast hop bittering.
BELL’S CONSECRATOR DOPPELBOCK
Soft-toned lightly carbonated chestnut amber double bock rides sugared nuttiness (almond-hazelnut-macadamia) to creamy butterscotch finish, picking up spicy hop injection fueling lurked fruit esters and phenol dried prune void.
BELL’S CHERRY STOUT
Eye-squinting raspberry-pureed sour black cherry tartness reinforces dry oak trim of opaque maroon-brown marvel. Soft water flow counters syrupy malt bulk, coffee bean facade, tobacco chew dash, and burnt wood tease as lemony zest traverses roasted grain finish. Chewy Black Forest cake illusion enriches cigar ash aftertaste.
BELL’S BEST BROWN ALE
Dry earthen wood tone and roasted hop bittering juxtapose discrete mocha malt sweetness of tan-headed chestnut-hued medium-bodied ale. But tinny sour finish and overall astringent acridity preclude muted toffee nuttiness.
BELL’S AMBER ALE
Fizzy, white-headed, turbidly copper-hued amber allows copious pale-chocolate malt sweetness to douse sleek butterscotch ambience, zesty orange peel sourness, and prickly floral-herbal hop bitterness. Lively apricot-grapefruit tang and subtle banana bread illusion tucked into honeyed biscuit finish, picking up candied sugar resonance.
BELLE-VUE KRIEK
More palatable than Belle-Vue Gueuze Lambic as its obligatory tart cherry essence gets softly spice-hopped for suitable citric-soured tang. Berry overtones enhance summer ale flow.
BELLE-VUE GUEUZE LAMBIC ALE
Oak barrel-aged Chardonnay-wafted dry-bodied ale receives sour white grape inertia boosting fluctuant lemon tartness above leathery raw-honeyed bitterness streamlining earthy hop undercurrent. Watery consistency takes away some acetous nature.
BELLE-VUE FRAMBOISE RASPBERRY ALE
Dry-bodied oak-aged garnet-hued raspberry ale with tart fruit essence and spice-hopped hesitance maintains puckered sourness as tangy cherry-apple adjuncts and bubbly pink champagne illusions underline effervescent whitewater freshness.
BELLEGEMS BRUIN
Tart Belgian ale with soured raisin-fig essence receives dry cherry-cranberry gambit, green apple smear, and stewed prune notion above powdery cocoa malting. Musty earthen bottom stirs up vinous grape tannins to light burgundy finish.
BELHAVEN WEE HEAVY SCOTTISH ALE
Poured into the glass, this 6.5% alcohol-fueled Wee Heavy maintains a fuzzy head and creamy body. Peculiar mocha-grained brown-sugared raisin murk thickened by buttery caramel malt residue before bourbon-port finish flutters away.
BELHAVEN TWISTED THISTLE INDIA PALE ALE
Initial peat-smoked malting recedes comfortably to piney Cascade hopped orange-rind bitterness. At busy midst, vibrant clementine orange zest and tangy cherry-berry-peach adjuncts embellish biscuit-honeyed marzipan creaminess. By citric-laced finish, whole grain wheat bulwark acquires herbaceous floral-earthen restraint and resinous mineral respite.