Bell's Cherry Stout Review

Name: Bell's Cherry Stout
Style: Stout
ABV: 7%

Since we are in the dead of winter, Bell's Brewery has released their winter seasonals and lucky for me I have them in my possession. The first one I'm gonna take a look at is their Cherry Stout. I have had one other cherry stout which was from New Glarus as part of their Thumbprint Series, so let's take a look shall we?

The beer pours a pitch black color with a reddish-brown head and no lacing.

The nose has a nice cherry tartness with some chocolate, licorice, roasted barley & malt notes to round things out. Almost reminds me of a chocolate covered cherry!

The flavor starts out with tart cherries with notes of dark chocolate, roasted barley and floral hops. The aftertaste is quite roasty, perhaps a little too much so.

The palate has a rather thick body and a syrupy texture. The carbonation is mild but it doesn't go particularly well with the overall body.

It's an interesting concept, but the flavor, while not terrible, is too roasty & imbalanced for my liking and the palate doesn't feel right. Needless to say, I wouldn't go out of my way to try it again if there are better options available.

Bell's Cherry Stout - 6.5/10

Badger Hill Cherry Double Dunkel Review

Name: Badger Hill Cherry Double Dunkel
Style: Dunkelweizen
ABV: 8%

A couple weeks ago, I reviewed a beer from one of Minnesota's newer breweries: Badger Hill Brewing, and found it to be pretty good. I have procured a few more beers from them for examination and the first one I decided to go with is their Cherry Double Dunkel.

Cherry Double Dunkel is part of Badger Hill's Wanderlust Series. This is their second installment with the first being a white IPA which was released around May of last year.

Cherry Double Dunkel pours a very cloudy hazy brownish-red color with a filmy head. There isn't any visible carbonation here due to the cloudy nature of the beer and it leaves a clean finish on the sides of the glass.

The nose has a nice aroma of cherries and caramel malts upfront. In the base of the aroma are some apple, wheat and yeast notes.

The flavor is pretty consistent with the nose but not quite as robust. I'm getting some cherries, caramel, wheat, yeasts and raspberry tartness. The aftertaste is has a mildly tart fruity taste but is otherwise somewhat dry. The palate is fairly light with some mild carbonation.

I have to say that while this was good, the flavor is not quite as vibrant as the aroma leads you to believe when you consider the parts as a whole. If this had a little more flavor, it would be a lot easier to recommend. Still with that said, it manages to be a pretty solid Dunkelweizen

Badger Hill Cherry Double Dunkel - 8/10

Borealis Fermentary Mon Cherries Dubbel Review

Name: Borealis Fermentary Mon Cherries Dubbel
Style: Dubbel
ABV: 8%

Tonight I'll be redirecting your attention to Duluth's craft beer scene once again. Actually this beer isn't even from Duluth, but from a small community called Knife River, MN which is located about 15 minutes up the shore from Duluth. In Knife River is a microbrewery called Borealis Fermentary, they specialize in Belgian Style beers and the availability is very limited; By that I mean you can only get it at 9 Locations, both on-tap and off-sale in the Duluth Area.

Last week I managed to grab their Mons Cherries. As you may have already guessed from the title, this is a Dubbel Style Beer with that is brewed with Cherries that comes with an ABV of 8%. I have had their Speckled Ghost before but I will hold off on reviewing that until I can find an actual bottle of it readily available (As I said, limited availability!)

To start out, it pours a pitch black color with a creamy off-white head with some carbonation visible along the sides of the glass.

The nose starts out with some rich cherry, oak, chocolate and plum notes which leads into licorice, figs, spices and hops. I'm getting that barrel aged aroma here, particularly with the oak scent. Makes sense since this is aged on oak.

The flavor has strong oak, licorice and cherry notes upfront followed by chocolate, tobacco, spices and malts. There's that oakiness that gives off the impression of being barrel aged. Also while the initial sip gives the flavor an underwhelming sort of feel, once you let it warm up, that's when the flavor starts to shine through.

The body is fairly light in weight and is moderately carbonated, which starts to taper off after being opened. A bit of a watery feel considering the style of this beer.

This has a different sort of feel to it compared to other Dubbels I've had and it's an interesting take on the style as a whole. Plus you get the impression that the brewery put a lot of work and love into making this beer. This is worth seeking out if you know where to look.

Borealis Fermentary Mons Cherries Dubbel - 9/10