Bell's Expedition Stout - Bourbon Barrel-Aged

This 12-month barrel-aged version of our award-winning Imperial Stout thirsts for travel but is perfectly content to sit in your cellar, maturing until you are ready. The tough part? Deciding if you want to enjoy it now or wait until later. You can’t go wrong either way.

Note: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Expedition Stout was aged in Four Roses bourbon barrels, bottled May 4, 2016, and released at Bells General Store on May 6, 2016.

4.3

193 reviews

Comstock, United States

Community reviews

4.0 12 oz. bottle, pours black with a small tan head. Aroma is intensely complex, with complex bourbon, a touch of vanilla, alcohol, and a touch of roast. Flavour is loaded with bourbon barrels, medium roast, and alcohol. Decadent, complex and rich. Really nice.

3.4 Dark brown, no head. Looks fairly flat. Lots of bourbon on the palate. Lots of bourbon, a whack of that. It's pretty simple, which is funny. This was such a killer brew back in the day (Expedition), but many have caught up.

4.2 Howler from Champps in Brookfield into the Dangerous Man snifter for 5100st rating! Excited to have a top 5 Impy Stout ... About black pour with a brown head leaving spotty lacing. Aroma leads with big thick sweet malts, blackstrap molasses, roast, choco/coffee, vanilla, and dark fruit. Wow! Big nose. Further down the glass, the barrel shows more, along with the remembered anise from the base. Very thick. Taste is of thick sweet malts, chocolate, dark fruit, roast, a solid barrel component, anise, and molasses. Thick & sweet, with a nice barrel. About full bodied, there is an alcohol presence, and the blend is good. Finishes sweeter barrelly than bittersweet. Very nice. Same issue as the base brew, with the roughness. Tasty, in that slightly rough way. The barrel smooths, but also doesn't. Overall, likely an upgrade from the base, with the nice additional barrel. 15.7

4.4 bottle. Received allotment of 4 on 5/26/20. Incredible imperial stout - roasted notes and bourbon hints. Crazy for 13%. Letting other 3 age and will report back. Outstanding

4.0 Bottle from Appalachian Vintner. Pours black with a thin khaki head. Leaves a lot of lacing in the glass. Big notes of roasted malt and bourbon. Thick on the tongue. Hides it’s booze well. Kind of like a tastier motor oil.

4.1 Pours black with a thin brown head. Aroma is roasted malt, cocoa, caramel, and bourbon. Flavor is roasted malt and caramel with a strong bourbon and oak flavor. Finishes with bourbon and chocolate.

4.3 Bottle. Pours pitch black with a short tan head that left decent lacing. Aroma of bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, wood, and light coffee. Flavor was rich, smooth and full bodied with bourbon, caramel, dark chocolate, vanilla, oak, subtle coffee and had a hint of cherry. A world class imp stout.

4.0 2018 Vintage. Ar: Pungent oaky booze; wet wood; toffee; plums and raisins; a bit of sherry. Ap: Jet black and opaque; no head, just a thin ring of tiny bubbles and a faint hazy pattern of very-small bubbles on the top. T: Deep bourbon; clean alcohol; char, cherry, and burnt caramel; very woody; medium-high sweetness, but fast and clean; bitterness is medium-high, with some mossy, herbal hop flavor; finish is coffee and more bourbon and cherry. M: Medium-full body; rich and thick, but not sickly; carbonation is medium and very soft; medium-sweet finish. O: Fantastic BBA imperial stout; a rich and well-made imperial stout that is full of bourbon flavor, yet without becoming too boozy or unbalanced.

4.5 Pitch black color. Semi sweet nose with nice charred character, dark chocolate, vanilla, oak, bourbon, coffee, roasted malt, fairly boozy nose. Low carbonation excellent oak character. Just such good depth. The dark chocolate character is amazing

3.0 Coffee?

4.3 Pours a very dark brown with a light brown-reddish head. Chocolate syrup, sorghum, coconut, and vanilla nose. Dark roasted malt, chocolate, sweet smoky bbq, and sorghum flavors. A note of cherry and its accompanying tartness appears midway and helps to temper the otherwise cloying feature. Some roasted bitterness helps as well. Viscous mouthfeel.

5.0 12 ounce, bottled 10-16-2018. Deep ebony with a thin film of cream on top. Nose has rich toffee, dark chocolate, toasted nut, vanilla, blackstrap molasses, char, soy and a hint of dark cherry. Flavor is all the same stuff plus graham cracker, coffee and dried fig. Smooth, heavy mouthfeel with low-medium carbonation. Well balanced and dangerously drinkable.

5.0 Pours a jet black with a very foamy tan foam head. Aroma is bourbon, vanilla, char, caramel, and roast. Flavor is smoky bourbon, dark fruits, char, chocolate, roast, and caramel. Smooth, full-bodied. Incredibly deep and complex. Perfection.

4.1 Sergey's hunt, bottle; 13.4% ABV, packaged 10/16/2018 Dark brown colour. Bold aroma, loads of dark malts, bourbon, bit of molasses and alcohol. Good body strength; not ashy, but the dark malts dominate, some rye, coffee, vanilla, maybe some liquorice, and big alcohol punch. Old school monster, and under that point of view it's excellent.

3.8 Can sample at a tasting at Max's place. Thanks drfabulous. Black. Vanilla, bourbon, chocolate, sweet, some soy sauce, roast, some booziness, full-bodied.

4.2 Apparence : Noire, pratiquement sans col, qu'un anneau, légère carbonatation. Nez : Chocolat, bourbon, malt grillé, pointe d'alcool. Goût : Chocolat noir, marque du fut de bourbon, malt grillé, assez sucré avec une pointe de torréfaction amère en finale. Sensation : Bon corps, chaleureuse, très goûteuse, longue finale. Bref : De la maîtrise dans l'art. Le fut est merveilleusement bien travaillé sur une base qui, je l'imagine même si je n'ai pas bu la version de base, me semble excellente. Peut-être pas la plus multidimensionnelle ou encore la plus ''complexe'', mais tellement bonne et bien équilibrée! Vive les petits formats!

4.3 Brown bottle, 355 ml, packaged on 10/16/2018, purchased at Griff’s Beverage Centre on May 18 2019, savoured on Stéphane’s birthday 2019; eye: liquorice, opaque, no effervescence, tiny ring of brown head, no lacing; nose: bourbon, roasted malt, alcohol, anise, molasses, chocolate, light coffee, vanilla; mouth: bourbon, roasted malt, alcohol, anise, molasses, chocolate, light coffee, alcohol warmth, light alcohol acridness, vanilla, woody, oak, finale in bourbon with presence of anise, full body, lightly below-average carbonation, mildly sweet, silky texture; overall: really good FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 355 ml, embouteillée le 10/16/2018, achetée chez Griff’s Beverage Centre le 18 mai 2019, savourée à la fête de Stéphane 2019; œil : réglisse, opaque, pas d’effervescence, petit anneau de mousse brune, pas de dentelle; nez : bourbon, malt torréfié, alcool, anis, mélasse, chocolat, léger café, vanille; bouche : bourbon, malt torréfié, alcool, anis, mélasse, chocolat, léger café, chaleur d’alcool, légère âcreté d’alcool, vanille, boisé, chêne, finale en bourbon avec présence d’anis, corsée, carbonatation légèrement sous la moyenne, moyennement sucrée, texture soyeuse; en résumé : très bon

4.3 At Max Place, pours black with a brown head, aroma of chocolate, caramel, toffee, vanilla, whiskey, coconut, flavor of chocolate, caramel, coconut, wood, whiskey, full bodied, Great

4.0 Bottle. Dark, brown with a wispy head. Aroma had notes of roasted grains and bourbon barrell. Taste was great. Flavors of roasted grains, dark toast and hints of the barrel

4.4 From bottle at home thanks to Bob! Black color with beige brown head. Malty aroma, light roasted, chocolate, caramel, fudge, bourbon, wood, vanilla, light dark dried fruits and cherry-berry notes. Sweet and light bitter taste, light alcoholic. Medium to full silky oily body with soft carbonation.

4.4 330ml bottle served in a snifter glass. Black waxed cap bottled at 10/16/2018 (13.4% ABV). A: Pours an oily black color forming a medium sized creamy and solid dark beige head with medium retention that leaves only few lingering spotty lacings in the glass. S: Sweet nose. Strong notes of dark chocolate, roasted malts, coffee beans, licorice, vanilla. Strong notes of bourbon and wood. Sligthly booze finish. Hints of grassy and flowery hops. T: Sweet and roasted upfront. Strong notes of roasted malts, candy sugar, caramel, bourbon, oak, vanilla, dark chocolate and coffee. Strong and medium persistent lingering bitterness. Grassy hops profile. M: Heavy and molasses body. Low carbonation. Sweet and roasted aftertaste. Strong notes of dark chocolate, oak and bourbon. O: Excellent drinkability. Masterpiece Imperial Stout. [ RB Review @ 06/21/2019 ]

4.3 Opaque black with a small, tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Dark chocolate, roasted malts, dark fruits, vanilla, wood, bourbon, and booze.

5.0 Drank together with Black Note, the added bourbon warmth and smoothness elevates this to perfection.

4.8 About as close to a perfect bourbon barrel stout as you can get. Love this beer!

4.6 Sometimes you stumble into a brew and this truly was the deal. Found at the Total Wine in Palm Springs and brought home to sample. The regular Expedition was highly thought of, what will bourbon barrel aging do? I deliver into my Buffalo Bayou snifter, dark, almost black, with a heavy brown head that promptly goes adios. I take a sniff, goodness. Molasses, black licorice, alcohol. And then a drink, glorious, I find semisweet chocolate, sourdough bread, berry, toffee, sweet caramel, something charred. I have to compare with Goose Island Bourbon County. Glorious indeed.

4.5 ...whoa. All the glory of Expedition Stout with the added bonus of bourbon barrel-aging. Can’t argue with that. Unsweetened chocolate, coffee, licorice, molasses, fig, caramel, vanilla, and oak, underlined by delicious, delicious bourbon. Exceptional, even for a style where exceptional is the norm.

4.2 Enjoyed at BTBF 2019. The regular version of this was my first 5.0 rating years ago. Dark brown color, tan head. Rich aroma, roasty. Dark malt and chocolate. Oak. Thick malty flavor, chocolate, oak, roast. Warmth.

4.3 Draft in snifter after a meal. Rich and luscious palate. Roast malt and chocolate. Very smooth for the high ABV.

4.1 12floz bottle, BOD: 10.16.2018, ~$9 single, pint glass. Appears near black with a thin, glistening, dark-brown head. Nose/taste/palate is full and meaty with bourbon-esque, molasses, and dark chocolate notes. Very good.

4.2 Wow - alcohol, bourbon, dried plum, vanilla, oak, coffee, bitterness, licorice, warm and smooth and mellow. The alcohol and bourbon are prominent but this stout is big enough to stand up to it. One of, maybe the, best bourbon barrel aged stout I’ve had.