(Kalamazoo, MI) – Within the last month, an old Bell’s beer has made a quiet return. Bell’s Rye Stout is back in bottles after a long absence. Beer reviews had typically referenced batch 7235 from February, 2006, as the last one bottled. Batch 8180 from October, 2007, appears to have been tap-only.

Why were people aging this beer for more than a year anyway? From all accounts, it seems to be one to drink fresh. The folks at Binny’s briefly described the new batch in a blog post:

“Bell’s Rye Stout is one of the lighter stouts the brewery offers, clocking in at 6.7% ABV. The black liquid has subdued flavors of coffee, toffee, and sweet chocolate. The twist comes with the rye, as it provides a nice little twang. It is a dry yet smooth in the mouth, and an overall easy drinking beer. A bittersweet finish fades into a lingering bitterness on the palate.”

Also back are Bell’s Java Stout and Bell’s Sparking Ale. Larry Bell has confirmed that the return of these brews comes at a cost, however, as Hell Hath No Fury Ale will not be bottled this season.

There were two special releases we were really looking forward to as well. Bell’s The Oracle Double IPA met all expectations in its limited release run. The beer earned a 4.4 average on Beer Advocate tying the mark set by Bell’s Hopslam.

Unfortunately, there is no news on the other, Bell’s 9000. The Hoosier Beer Geek crew just traveled to the brewery and reported that 9000 hadn’t been packaged yet. Nothing from Bell’s tweets or Facebook yet either . . . stay tuned.