Bell's Special Double Cream Stout Review

Name: Bell's Special Double Cream Stout
Style: Stout
ABV: 6.1%

I have yet another winter seasonal courtesy of Bell's Brewing. Since I've been on somewhat of a roll with reviewing stouts, I have taken this opportunity to review Bell's Special Double Cream Stout. I find it a bit odd that they would throw in the name "Double" even though the ABV is only at 6.1% as opposed to something higher. In any case

The beer pours a black color with a red tinge along the edges when held up to a light. The head starts out with a nice foamy look before settling to a more filmy appearance with some pretty good lacing.

The aroma has a nice chocolate and surprisingly strong lactose quality to it. Along with that are notes of roasted barley, and some mild coffee ground notes. It smells almost like someone poured coffee creamer into my beer which is the best way I can describe it.

Flavor-wise, it's pretty heavy on the chocolate and lactose with some notes of whipped cream, sugar and roasted barley and malts. Again, it's like coffee creamer but with some much sweeter notes. As for the aftertaste, it's a mix of sweet cream and roasted barley.

Despite my expectations, the palate is very light in terms of both body and carbonation. With that said, it's also got a very smooth texture which makes this very easy to drink

I have to say that I enjoyed this quite a bit! It may be a little too high in lactose for some, but this is a great beer to try out and an excellent cream stout. I wish Bell's would make this a year-round offering because I would definitely buy this on a regular basis.

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout - 9/10