Bells - Third Coast Old Ale

Good evening and welcome back!  Well, welcome back to Duns and I at least.  It was a crazy week last week. Full of traveling, concerts, work and beer - it felt like the only thing we didn't do is write a beer review!  So tonight, we are going to get the pendulum swinging again.

However, going forward Duns and I are only planning on doing 2-4 reviews throughout the week.  A review a day was great back when we had the time after work.  But both of us have made the decision to spend a little less time writing reviews and a little more time on the other things life has going for us.  If we find time, we will also throw in a few beer funnies or include some information on beer-related events and news.  So sit back, crack open a beer, and enjoy!

Tonights review is of Bells American style barley wine - Third Coast Old Ale.  I reviewed this beauty back in December 2010, almost a year ago to the day.  In the review I mentioned that this beer would age nicely and that I would review it again a year later.  Well, today is going to be that day.  This beer has been sitting in my temperature controlled fridge since that day and should have aged to perfection.  Of course, a year isn't the silver bullet for aging as far as time goes.  You should be able to lay these bottles to bed for a few years and have it get progressively better and more unique.  Unfortunately this is my last bottle from 2010.  Maybe if I have more patience this year I'll stick more than one bottle away in my "cellar".

Bell's barley wine has a beautiful deep amber hue to it.  Very clear too aside from a bit of sediment that snuck its way in from the bottle.  A light white foam laces the side of my awesome new glass the wife got for me for Christmas!  A huge aroma of dark fruits, molasses, brown sugar and a hint of booze is extremely inviting.  The smell is definitely more powerful than I remember.  Plenty of those dark fruits - plum and dark cherries mostly - come through in the taste as well.  Some more brown sugar and bitterness from the hops that lasted through the battle of time show up towards the finish.  A nice boozy warmth helps to dry out what would otherwise be an overly sweet beer.

Overall - I can safely say this beer is far and away better than when it was straight off the shelf.  The harsh alcohol bite has turned into a pleasant tongue-numbing warmth and the light dark fruit aromas seemed to have doubled in strength.  If you have the patience, buy two six packs.  One for now, and one for later.  Then every year after this year you will have 12 of these delicious treats.  That's my plan at least!