Bell’s Brewery presents: Dark Night 2019

From Bell’s Brewery:

WHAT: Bell’s Brewery has brought its Dark Night celebration following the success of the previous two years. In 2019, celebrations will again be held across Bell’s distribution footprint.

These events will celebrate the longest night of the year (the Winter Solstice) with multiple Bell’s stouts on tap with some specialties that rarely travel beyond the Eccentric Café in downtown Kalamazoo. The exact lineup will vary from event to event, but below are some of the stouts that will be available:

· Kalamazoo Stout (6% ABV) – Named after the city where it all began, this is one of Bell’s most classic recipes. Smooth and full-bodied, Kalamazoo Stout offers a blend of aroma and flavors of dark chocolate and freshly roasted coffee. Those flavors are balanced with a significant hop presence.

· Christmas Ale (7.5% ABV) – Bell’s traditional Scotch Ale is rich and malty with notes of caramel and a warm finish. It is certain to make any occasion festive… or at least a bit more bearable.

· Porter (5.6% ABV) – Bell’s award-winning Porter bridges the gap between malty brown ales and heavily roasted stouts. Notes of chocolate, coffee and roasted barley are offset with a slight hop bitterness.

· Blackbeard’s Bear Hug (14.4% ABV) – Bell’s Bear Hug, a dry-hopped Imperial Stout, was aged in rum barrels with vanilla beans, toasted coconut and a pinch of cinnamon bark.

· Vanilla Black Note (11.3% ABV) – This version of our beloved Black Note Stout is aged with Madagascar vanilla beans for a sweeter, creamier twist.

· Arabicadabra Coffee Milk Stout (5.5% ABV) – A little brewers’ magic transforms locally roasted Arabica beans and a variety of specialty malts into a creamy, intense coffee stout. Arabicadabra is brewed with a cold coffee extract made at the brewery using a combination of fair trade, organic Nicaraguan coffee beans and Sumatra coffee beans. Lactose is also used for creaminess.

· Cherry Stout (7% ABV) – Tinted ruby-black, Cherry Stout gains its signature tartness from 100% Montmorency cherries grown in Michigan’s Traverse City region. Rather than doubling up on sweetness, this tart cherry varietal serves as a counterpoint to the warm, dark chocolate notes from the malt bill. Lightly hopped for balance, this beer is one of the cornerstones of Bell’s stout portfolio.

· Expedition Stout (10.5% ABV) – One of the earliest examples of Russian Imperial Stouts in the United States, Expedition Stout offers immensely complex flavors crafted specifically with aging in mind. A huge malt body is matched with a heady blend of chocolate, dark fruit and other aromas.

· Special Double Cream Stout (6.1% ABV) – Named for its velvety smooth, creamy texture, this incredibly rich stout is brewed with 10 different specialty roasted malts chosen for their notes of rich mocha and espresso. Dark and sweet tones intermingle with a soft, roasty finish.

· Bright White (5% ABV) – For those that want to take a break from heavy winter warmers and stouts, Bell’s Belgian-inspired Wheat Ale is a perfect alternative. Stylish and refreshing, all of Bright White’s clove and fruit aromas come from a Belgian yeast strain, not spices.

As part of this celebration, a special Bell’s Dark Night 2019 Untappd badge will also be available to anyone who checks into any of the beers above through the rest of December.

Some events will also feature special glassware giveaways; a limited edition glow-in-the-dark snifter was designed just for this special event.

WHO: Bell’s Brewery is Michigan’s oldest and largest independent craft brewery. For decades, stouts have held a special place in its portfolio from the year-round Kalamazoo Stout to Expedition Stout not to mention Black Note and so many more.

WHY: The Winter Solstice, also known as the longest night of the year, is a perfect time to celebrate a style that so many love and appreciate. Brewing a wide variety of stouts is one of the ways Bell’s celebrates its independence. This is a unique opportunity for Bell’s beer fans to sample and enjoy both rare and readily available stouts during a time of year that pairs so perfectly well together with dark and roasty beers.

WHEN: Dec. 16-22, event start times may vary from location to location.

WHERE: Locations across Bell’s distribution footprint, visit bellsbeer.com for more information and updates as they become available.