Celebrate The Dark At Bell’s ‘All Stout’s Day’ This Sunday in Kalamazoo

The time changes at 2am this Sunday morning, meaning it will get dark early beginning on Sunday afternoon. And just coincidentally, Sunday is the 13th annual All Stouts Day celebration at Bell's Eccentric Cafe. (And while this may sound like a cheap shot, the Lions have a bye week, so your mood won't be dark.)

If you're new to stouts

Wikipedia defines a stout beer as: "a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout."

Most people think stouts are a heavier-tasting beer, and to some extent, that's true, especially if you drink a domestic, light beer. In that case, you'll notice a difference.

What to expect on All-Stout's Day

The event at Bell's begins at Noon, this Sunday, November 7th. The plan is to have 20 stout beers ready to pour. And, oh, yeah, stouts have a higher-alcohol content. Double digits is common. Also, stouts pair well with good food, and the plan is to have that, too.

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Here's the link to the entire All Stout's Day tap list, but some of the beers that caught my eye are,

• A barrel-aged 30th Anniversary Cherry Stout Reserve. Think cherry and chocolate. (9% Alc/Vol)
• Bourbon barrel-aged Arabicadabra (8.4% Alc/Vol) is a coffee milk stout. In fact, many of Bell's longtime favorite stouts will be on tap, including Expedition and Kalamazoo stout and your author's favorite, a nitro-version of Special Double Creme stout.
• Here's an example of those "higher alcohol-content" stouts. Cinnamon Blackbeard's Rum barrel-aged Bear Hug Stout clocks in at a powerful 15.5%. The bourbon barrel-aged Expedition (Imperial) Stout is not far behind at 13.4%

Here's how to avoid a rookie mistake

All these beers are potent. Bring a friend or loved-one and share a flight or two. Four 5 oz. pours is the size of a 20-ounce beer and you'll get a good idea of what you like.  Also, eat something. There's smoked pork, smoked brisket and smoked venison sausage on the menu. Cheers.