Michigan Stouts: Bell's Special Double Cream Stout

My beer tastes shift with the seasons, and with the cold, rainy weather that's set in, I want stout.  Dark, rich, roasty, bitter, creamy stout.  Now, I enjoy stout year-round, but it's this time of year that the urges really get going.  So, I went off to Arbor Farms, where I like their collection of singles and the fact that they put useful little "Made in Michigan" flags on the shelves below the Michigan beers for quick reference, and bought several different Michigan stouts.  I'll be reviewing them one at a time.  Today: Bell's Special Double Cream Stout.  It's available seasonally November to March.

Of course, Bell's is a truly beloved brewery in Michigan.  They do a lot of different styles quite well, and many Michiganders mark the true start of summer by when Bell's Oberon becomes available on tap.  In fact, Oberon is inevitably the seasonal tap during the summer at good bars.  Served with a slice of orange, it's like a pint of sunshine.  We do love our Bell's.

It sure isn't Oberon season any more.  I need something with more heft, and this double cream stout fits the bill.  It has a creamy head the color of strong coffee with a touch of milk.  The head dissipates fairly quickly to a thin foam.  The brew is a molasses color: almost black.  The aroma is strong and complex, with a slight sour note that's not unpleasant.  Kind of fruity and initially hard to place.  As I took it in, it struck me as a cherry note.  Some chocolate and coffee aroma, too.

The flavor screams coffee!  Oh, the coffee!  Lots of stouts have coffee flavors, but this one is impressive.  It's really strong in the finish and combines beautifully with dark chocolate.  That touch of cherry is there, too, toward the front end.  This stout is impressively long in the finish, with coffee and chocolate that won't quit and stay delicious for a long time -- as opposed to some long finishes that, well, don't stay pleasant.  That dark chocolate flavor is really assertive.  If you've often heard about chocolate notes in beer but haven't been able to detect them, try this one.  Can't miss it here.  The beer sweetens considerably as it warms, but coffee remains the dominant flavor, along with that dark chocolate, and the result is a nicely balanced, creamy, delicious beer, with a rich mouth feel.

6.1% abv.  The single was $2.19 at Arbor Farms.  Enjoy!