KOTBR #32 In Review | Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout at Spencer's Stadium Tavern

You may have noticed a new name in the Knights of the Beer Roundtable list above. Matt, who has been serving as Kelly's groupie for quite some time, has now been officially Knighted after a full ceremony featuring mug clinking, congratulations and hugging, and a virgin sacrifice*. Because we're now an unwieldy seven (as opposed to a svelte six), we're once again we're revamping the way we do our reviews. This may be the last "KOTBR In Review" post ever. Just try to hold back your tears.

The Knights met at Spencer's Stadium Tavern, the potential goldmine located just southwest of Lucas Oil Stadium. After everyone warmed up with an Avery's Ellie's Brown Ale, we moved on to the feature beer - Bell's Special Double Cream Stout.

Gina started us off by call the nose amazing. But also saying "(it) also reminded me of an ashtray." She decided this beer would be a better choice in colder weather before awarding it a tentative 3.25 mug rating.

Jim complimented the Avery warm-up before moving on to the Bell's.

This beer, which was offered only in bottles, poured with a black coffee color and very little head. The nose on the Special Double Cream Stout has to be the most complex of any beer that we've reviewed (or that I've tried, for that matter). I definitely got the bizarre ashtray smell that Gina detected, but I also could smell molasses, pepper, raisins, coffee, licorice, and a yeasty odor that many Belgian ales give off.

Despite the compliments on the nose, he felt the taste was a little too peppery, and awarded the Special Double Cream Stout a 3.00 mug rating.

Kelly was last to chime in on the Bell's, and picked up some interesting notes in the nose:

It reminded me of the smell you get when you open a box of Whoppers – and I really don’t like malted milk balls. When I was a kid, my dad used to hide malted milk ‘jellybeans’ in my Easter basket, and laugh at me as I found the “surprises”. Ugh.

She then admitted that she's not really a fan of milk stouts before giving the beer a 2.50 mug rating.

All of the Knights would also like to give a shout out to the Pinkos* from Drinking Liberally, who were also in attendence.

*Jokes

KOTBR #32 | misty malty-scented memories...

I was particularly glad to return to Spencer’s Stadium Tavern for Roundtable #32. I used to be a Thursday night regular as part of Drinking Liberally, so it was great to return and hang out with Jason and the gang. This was also the second time the Knights have convened at Spencer’s for a review.

Spencer’s hasn’t changed much since its humble beginnings back in 2005 (this location has been a bar in some form since 1933!). It’s stayed the same cozy bar with dark red walls, excellent food and an admirable beer selection. Sure, you can get ‘football’ beer, and Old Style is featured prominently, but head bartender/manager/all around badass Dustin keeps the cooler and taps well-stocked with Beer Geek favorites.

The Knights in attendance (Jim, Gina, Mike and I) warmed up with Ellie’s Brown Ale from Avery Brewing. Like Jim, I usually warm up at Roundtables with something easy to drink, and this beer didn’t disappoint. Something in it (the dark chocolate, perhaps?) reminded me a lot of the Brugge Black Belgian Dark Ale. Chewy and sweet, with a slight hop bite at the end, this was a great precursor to the main event.

We chose a round of Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout for our reviewed beer. We got this round before I was even halfway through the Ellie’s Brown, which turned out to be a good thing since this stout was served way too cold. It took a good twenty minutes before I could really get a nose from the glass, but once I did, I got the usual chocolate-malty notes, with spicy undertones.

(As an aside: It reminded me of the smell you get when you open a box of Whoppers – and I really don’t like malted milk balls. When I was a kid, my dad used to hide malted milk ‘jellybeans’ in my Easter basket, and laugh at me as I found the “surprises”. Ugh.)

The best way I can describe the taste of this beer is... average. Meh. Okay, even. I was expecting more of a chocolaty, roasted taste, but instead I could just taste the nagging, sort-of-sour flavor that really turns me off of most milk stouts. I realize that I’m an outlier, though, and encourage fans of cream and milk stouts to try this one for themselves. 2.5 mugs.

KOTBR #32 | Bell's Special Double Cream Stout @ Spencer's Stadium Tavern

As you might have noticed, we're a little slow in posting our reviews from last week's roundtable at Spencer's Stadium Tavern. Gina was diligent in getting her review up, but the rest of us have been slackers. Just doing our best to perpetuate the Gen X ethos. Actually, I think I'm probably the only one who's been lazy. Mike is still recovering from some pretty major dental work, and I'm sure that Kelly has been supremely busy with work and putting together her new digs (or should that be "crib"--I never know what new lingo the kids are using these days).

So here I am with my impressions of Spencer's and of the beers we tried. As for Spencer's--I could do without the smoke, but the place is well worth visiting. The menu comes with a number of pub food staples, which Spencer's does quite well. I ordered a basket of waffle fries that were as good as waffle fries can be--crisp, hot, and nicely seasoned. In addition, the beer selection, while small, is first rate. There were three or four microbrews on tap and probably 10 to 15 additional microbrew brands in bottles.

We started with Avery Brewing's Ellie's Brown Ale, a quality offering from the Boulder, Colorado brewery (and sweetly named after the owner's late chocolate Labrador). I like to warm up with an easy drinking beer, and this brown ale was definitely that. A bit hoppier than other browns, Ellie's has a nice blend of caramel, vanilla, and toffee notes. If you're looking for something that is outside the typical brown ale profile, you'd do well to choose this beer.

Our feature beer was Bell's Special Double Cream Stout, which we tried on the recommendation of our very knowledgeable bartender (whose name unfortunately escapes me at the moment--sorry!). This beer, which was offered only in bottles, poured with a black coffee color and very little head. The nose on the Special Double Cream Stout has to be the most complex of any beer that we've reviewed (or that I've tried, for that matter). I definitely got the bizarre ashtray smell that Gina detected, but I also could smell molasses, pepper, raisins, coffee, licorice, and a yeasty odor that many Belgian ales give off. I must admit, however, that I was a little disappointed by the flavor. I let the beer sit and warm in anticipation of a wonderful explosion of taste. However, I got a predominately pepper flavor. I love my pepper, but I can do without it in my beer. Therefore, I'm going to give the Special Double Cream Stout a 3 mug rating. I can appreciate what Bell's is trying to do here and loved the nose on the beer, but the Special Double Cream Stout just ain't my thing.

To close, I'd like to thank Jason and the Drinking Liberally crew for their hospitality (Spencer's is their HQ) and stimulating political conversation.

KOTBR #32 | Spencer's Stadium Tavern

Happy Halloween beer geeks.

For last Thursday night's Roundtable, several of the Knights met up at Spencer's along with some folks from Indy's chapter of Drinking Liberally. This was my first visit to the tavern and I thought the place was roomy while still being quiet enough to hold a conversation without having to yell (a HUGE plus in my book). I assume all of this goes out the window during Colts games, as it should. The place was very comfortable, even as we sat in the dark (the power to the bar and surrounding area went out for a short while).

The warmup all around (I think) was Ellie's Brown Ale from Avery Brewing Company. The coppery colored beer poured with little head and tasted metallic at first. As it warmed, something in the taste of this beer made me think of a cherry coke made from coke and grenadine. I would suspect it was the caramel malt but I can't say for sure. It's the usual as far as this style goes; drinkable, smooth, and malty.

Before I knew it, we were moving to the review. It's been a while since most of us reviewed a stout, so the choice was made for Bell's Special Double Cream Stout. I had to let this one set a while since it was served at about Budweiser temperature, but it worked out well since I hadn't yet finished my warmup. The nose on this was pretty amazing. It was incredibly complex, but also reminded me of an ashtray. The flavor was yeasty and a little earthy and also creamy and sweet. I really think this beer would be well served during the ugly parts of winter, (what part of winter isn't ugly?) so I think I am going to assign a tentative 3.25 mug rating on this and try again when the mug is warmer and the weather is colder.

*****
A side note about the Warbird brewery tour:

I am not going to rehash what Jason has so eloquently said, but I would like to say that the tour was awesome and I agree that this beer could really please any palate. I'm glad I had the opportunity to get some insight on this brewery and I took away a much greater appreciation for their beer. If you have passed up this beer in the past (like I reluctantly admit), you may want to take an opportunity to try it. The Warhawk Pale Ale is surprisingly hoppy and the Shanty Irish Red is really quite good.