Bell's Brewery Inc. - Special Double Cream Stout

Quick!. Think of a state that has a prominent craft beer culture? If you are like me, the three states that instantly come to mind are: Oregon, California, and Colorado. After this initial search, I thought about the question more thoroughly are realized that Michigan, yes Michigan, has an equally established craft beer culture as the three aforementioned states. Michigan is home to such great breweries as: Founders Brewing Co., Dark Horse Brewery, Jolly Pumpkin, Kuhnhenn Brewery, and Bell's Brewery, the makers of today's beer, Bell's Special Double Cream Stout.
After sitting in my closet and fridge for an entire year, this stout pours very deep black. As the beer was pouring, it appeared to be more aqueous then creamy which was very surprising based on the name. There was a very small head retention and it contained no red highlighting.
The aroma from this beer was quite weak. There was no discernible hop character in the nose, but chocolate malt, subtle coffee, and oats are present.

The taste profile was much more complex than the nose. There is a huge malt character in this beer and the sweetness was almost to cloying for my palate. To go along with the malt character, this stout has a black licorice component  and a slight burntness.
The mouthfeel was creamy and medium-bodied. With that being said, I expected it would be even silkier. Also, this beer contained almost no carbonation, possibly due to the aging process.
Overall, I let my anticipation get the better of me for this beer. I enjoyed this stout, but it was a little to sweet. I wish this sweetness was balanced with a prominent hop character. If I were to have this stout fresh I think the hops would add the missing component to make this stout exceptional.

Cheers,

PandaMack