On the sixth day of Christmas...

Bell's Brewery brought to me: a 12 oz. bottle of Bell's Special Double Cream Stout, a 6.1% abv. milk stout, according to the fine folks at Beer Advocate.

It's snowing. Hard. I awoke this morning to a few inches, and the pace hasn't altered much, leaving the Northeast blanketed with 12-plus inches of the fluffy white stuff. Needless to say I haven't left the apartment once today, and after a hearty meal of steak and potatoes (pan seared ribeye with dijon roasted potatoes) I needed a hearty beer. Something about this kind of weather brings out some sort of uber-masculinity in me that can only be sated with big hunks of meat and a rich, dark stout. Twice in one week it's happened, though I'm not complaining.

Pours ink black with a finger of tan head that sticks around for the duration and leaves some nice lacing. A little coffee creeps out of the glass, but overall the aroma is pretty muted with some roastiness/biscuit becoming apparent on second whiff. A sip leaves me thinking much the same thing: nothing offensive in here, but nothing all that impressive either. Some caramel/toffee sweetness hits first, followed by some smoky malt notes and a touch of chocolate. There's a lingering bitterness, bordering on soapiness, that I'm not all too fond of. That finish does make it easy to go back in for another sip though, if only to erase its remnants, and I made short work of the glass.

This beer looks great, but I can't help but being underwhelmed. The flavors are there. They just aren't reaching their full potential. Six down, six to go!