Bell's - Batch 10,000

First off, kudos to Cliff Lee for giving the Yankees a nice firm donkey punch and telling them where to shove their $150 bagillion offer.  It's refreshing to see a star baseball player that still has some semblance of a soul, and isn't willing to sell out to go play in Shit York.  That Phillies club is going to be tough next year.

Did you know, on June 11, 1993 Bell's Brewery became the first Michigan brewer to serve beer by the glass to the public?   They opened a cafe within the brewery that allowed customers to come in and taste all of their brews, including their smaller, more eccentric batch brews.  I'm jealous of all the people living within 5 square miles of that location.  Anyway, following the typical craft-brewery-founding schematic....Bell's Brewery was founded by Larry Bell way back in 1985 in Kalamazoo, MI with only one 15 gallon kettle.  Since then they've grown to become a craft brewing powerhouse, with distribution in 18 regional states.  They have a strong reputation among the beer-drinkers here in the Twin Cities, which is well-earned.  Thanks to Lee at U.S. Liquor and Wine for setting aside a 6'er of the beer I'll be drinking tonight, Bell's Batch 10,000. 

The statistics on this brew are absolutely insane.  The ingredients include 101 different malts and fermentables, and 60, yes SIXTY different hops.  Here is a link the the ingredient list on Bell's Website, in case you don't believe me.  It classifies as an American Strong Ale, coming in at 9.2% ABV.  How and why they fit all of these ingredients into one batch, I have no idea.  Maybe the head brewers use this as an excuse to get rid of all their excess grains and hops each year....just throw everything in a batch and brew it.....and then charge people double for it!  Genius!  Steve and I both took notes on this one, so I'll include each of our reviews below.

Dunz:

The beer pours a very dark reddish brown, impossible to see through this one against the light.  I'm pretty surprised by the lack of foam after the pour - knowing this is a big brew I expected a big strong head and didn't get it - turned out to be maybe half an inch of tan head that receeded quickly to a consistent smooth lace.  The aroma is big in maltiness and full of bread/biscuits up front, it reminds me of a big brown ale.  There's a little bit of bite to the nose, almost a licorice bite that lingers there.

The first sip, there are a lot of things happening - this one hits you hard with the different flavors right up front, it's hard to compute everything.  There is definitely some hoppy bitters right off the bat, but the malt army is right there with the hops.  It's a chewy battle between malts and hops initially, and after a moment or two the alcohol steps in and nukes them both.  The malt backbone is reminiscent of scottish ale, which I'm typically not a huge fan of.  But the other components are powerful enough to balance it out for me.  Along with the alochol there is a touch of citrus at the end that I really enjoy.

This beer is thick and chewy, almost sticky.  It's a bit light on the carbonation, which seems appropriate.  I can also feel the warming of the alcohol.

Overall Rating:  Very Good (4.15 out of 6)  I really like the concept that Bell's used with this huge bill of ingredients...In fact, I would love to learn more about it.  The logistics of figuring out the right measurements for each ingredient, and how changes in those measurements will change the outcome of the brew...well it's astronomical and frankly there had to be some guesswork in there.  But regardless of how they did it, the brew turned out to be a nice, complex, unique American strong ale that I enjoyed.  I look forward to trying this after a year in the cellar.

Steve:
The color is a clear, deep ruby brown.  Head is an off tan and lingers around for a while after pouring.  Right away I smell the dry hops. Friggen 32 dry hops! The malt is present and balanced nicely with the hops once it warms up a bit. My first taste is mostly hop with a barely there caramel flavor to support them.  The finish is surprisingly roasty, toasty, slightly chocolaty and coffee-y with hardly an alcoholic finish.  At 9.2% ABV thats impressive.  After letting half of it sit for another 15 min the brew becomes much more complex.  The malts really start to pop and the hops take a back seat.  Still easily detectable but more noticeable for the bittering aspect of Batch 10,000.  Bell's has always produced impressive beers and this is no different.  The carbonation is appropriate for the style and melds well with the medium body.  Let it sit for a while if you run your fridge cold.

Overall, this is a 4.1/6.  I like it enough to drink a sixer of it in a sitting.  Although at $18 a six pack that is quite the luxiourious evening.  The millions of malts blend well with the millions of hops.  Don't try to pick each one out, though.  Just enjoy this brew for what it is; something crafted with a homebrewers mentality and processed to near perfection.  Although, I think you could find something just as enjoyable for half the price.  Its part of the reason I docked my score.  You wont be disappointed if you are willing to throw down the coin.  If you get a six pack, be sure to cellar a few since this is one that will improve with age.