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!

Bell's Brewery - Best Brown Ale 2011

I just finished watching a documentary on the making of South Park, and Trey Parker/Matt Stone are insane.  Aside from their undeniable creative genius, they have incredible work ethic.  Can you imagine having to come up with ideas for a show, develop the scenes, write the script, create the animation, record the voice-overs...literally create an entire episode from scratch....all in just 6 days!?  Seems impossible.  But they make it happen.  Their true genius is in their ability to mock everyone and everything that deserves to be mocked.  Love those guys.

Tonight I'm drinking Best Brown Ale from Bell's Brewery in Comstock, MI.  Bell's is well-known for the heavy-hitting HopSlam Imperial IPA, and their Expedition Stout.  We've also tried their Batch 10,000, which was one of the oddest brews I've ever tasted.  Best Brown Ale is a seasonal brew from Bell's, registering a mild 5.8% alcohol.

The label includes a picture of an owl on the front, quite the stately label, as expected from Bell's.  The beer is a murky, dirty dark brown with a thin layer of cream head.  The aroma is pretty basic - sweet, nutty maltyness with a touch of nutmeg.  The flavor starts off with hefty malts.  Very nutty, with some woody, earthy undertones and a touch of hop bitterness in the middle.  This beer is heavily carbonated....too carbonated.  A hint of dark fruits, along with a dry and sour bitterness at the finish that lingers for a bit.

Overall Rating:  Well, I disagree with the name of this brew.  It's definitely not the Best brown ale....the carbonation was overwhelming, and the finish left an odd, out-of-place sour flavor that didn't sit well.  This one will go towards the bottom of my Bell's list.  C+

Bell's Brewery - Octoberfest

First off, I'd like to talk about something that's been bugging me tonight.  Is anyone else annoyed with the marketing strategy for Coors Light beer?  They market their beer as tasting "super-cold", with these annoying commercials with ice-trains crashing through buildings, and this blue bar on their bottles showing how super-cold the beer is.  How can anything taste super-cold?  The colder the beer, the less you actually taste it, everyone knows it's a farce designed to mask the awful taste of the beer.  And of course it's refreshing, if you serve it at 33 degrees.  Anything that cold could be considered refreshing.  Coors, I'm sick of hearing about how cold your beer is......it tastes like shit, regardless of its temperature.

Tonight I'll be drinking an Oktoberfest bier from Bell's Brewery in Comstock, Michigan.  This is their late-summer seasonal, and registers 5.5% alcohol.  The beer is a slightly hazy, dark golden amber color with a big layer of white head.  The aroma is hugely malty - sweet buttery biscuits, caramel/toffee and a spicy hint in the background.  The taste starts off with lightly toasted bread.  Grainy, sweet maltiness that screams Vienna-malts.  Herby and earthy, but with the slightest bit of tart apples coming through towards the end.  Through the finish there is a bit of noble hop bitterness and spice to dry things up. 

Overall Rating:  Another great Oktoberfest!  Simple, smooth, with loads of malts and a nice light hoppiness to balance things out.  Put this on your list for this fall - definitely worth a try!  B+

Bell's - Amber Ale

Today is my wifes birthday!  I wanted to make sure it was a great one so I went out of my way and did a few special things for her that I normally wouldn't do.  I ordered some flowers to arrive for her at our house in the middle of the day, a bouquet of calla lilies which are her favorite.  I also made a reservation at a new Italian place called Parma thats only a short jaunt down the highway from our house.  It was amazing.  Highly recommended.

There were, of course, a few gifts involved as well.  One was the movie Tangled.  We went to go see it in theaters and she loved it so I thought it was an appropriate gift since it was just released yesterday.  Plus the horse in the movie is friggen hilarious.  I also got her a necklace of a bejeweled robot.  It sounded cooler then what it actually turned out to be.  I thought it was going to be this nice, petite necklace that she could wear it around and flaunt her nerdy side.  What it ended up being was giant piece of bling.  Think massive rapper necklace except not $57,000.  She decided it would work better as a key chain... I guess thats better than returning it!

So happy birthday to my wife and thank you to her for letting me write a review on her birthday!

Tonights brew is Bell's Amber.  I picked this up in another pick-a-six pack just last week.  According to Bell's website this is their flagship beer which surprised me.  Everywhere I go, at least in downtown Minneapolis, I see Bells Two Hearted.  In this area I think thats their flagship beer.  Everybody here knows Bells by their Two Hearted, not their Amber.  Maybe after this review I will think differently.

As I poured this into my pint glass I notice a big ol' load of sediment flowing throughout the beer.  Its not entirely surprising since this has happened with other Bells bottles Ive had.  Once I let it settle, we were ready to roll.  Brilliantly clear with a light amber hue.  An egg-white colored head persists in a thin layer after settling.  A sweet malt and toasty aroma are the first flavors I smell.  Some hops are present in the background.  The flavor follows through nicely from where the aroma left off.  A crisp and sweet/bready maltiness is accentuated by the carbonation.  Slight bitterness creates a clean finish.  No alcohol present from the 5.8% ABV.

Overall 4.0/6.0 - A good example of an American Amber.  Its the last example listed within the BJCP style guidelines which says something.  But for me, I wasnt all that impressed.  This is probably one thats much better on tap.  The sediment was a bit of a drag and prevented me from enjoying the entire pint.  The flavors were nice and the overall brew was easy to drink.  Once it warmed the flavors were much bolder.  If its on tap grab a few for yourself and your buddies.  If you see it in a six pack, maybe you should continue searching for another Amber.

Bell's - Hopslam

Tonight is my night to just hang out, relax, chill by the fire and give my brain a break.  I just finished taking two 30 question practice tests (scored above 80% on both!) and am now in need of a delicious, liquid treat.  The first brew that caught my eye on my fridge door was Bell's Hopslam.  How could I miss it with its bold, green label and awesome hop art on the front?!  Honestly, I wouldn't mind being the guy crushed under enormous hop cones at this point.  Ive got me a hankerin' for some hopped up goodness!

This is a seasonal release for Bell's brewing out of Michigan.  The bottles batch number is 10,094.  It comes in 6 packs and mini kegs which I was surprised to find out.  The 6 packs are $20 which is normally a ridiculous price to pay for beer.  However, Ive had this brew in the past and it made me smile.  So Dunz and I decided to split it and reduce the hit to the wallet.

Hopslam pours a clear orange color with an off white head that collapses into a thin layer after about a minute.  The aroma packs a nice hoppy punch.  Very citrusy and fresh.  Grapefruit and green apples are the two fruits that initially come to mind.  A subtle sweetness mixes in with the hoppy aroma.  I'm wondering if thats from the honey used to brew this hop monster.  My first sip is smooth with the hoppy bitterness, honey sweetness and alcohol all congregating together towards the dry finish.  The aromas are certainly not defiant of the flavor here.  Grapefruit, honey, caramel all make an appearance.  A slickness forms on my tongue from the hop resins this IPA packs.  A slight fussel alcohol flavor shows up at the end but doesnt burn on the way down.  I suppose thats to be expected with 10% ABV.

Overall 5.2/6.0 - A big, bold monster of an IPA this is not.  This hop-packed brew sneaks up on you and is dangerously drinkable.  The aromas and flavors are very pleasant and inviting.  The honey adds a nice sweetness that you cant replicate using only malt.  It keeps this beer from being too cloying and adds to the overall balance.  If you have $20 to drop on a six pack this is certainly a great choice.  Or split one with a buddy like Dunz and I did.  Either way, I think its worth the money.

If I were ballsy enough I would get this as a tattoo.  Such an awesome graphic.

Bell's - Expedition Stout

Bell's crafted this russian imperial stout with one thing in mind - vintage aging.  They designed the beer to be highly complex and intensely bitter in the early months, to allow the flavors to meld and grow in depth over time.  It's definitely an aggressive brew at 10.5%ABV and OG of 1.11....they aren't messing around.

The beer pours a thick, heavy black into my pint glass - the head is slow to catch up but eventually builds a thin layer on top that sticks to the glass.  The aroma is extremely rich roasted malts, chocolate, some plums and raisins, and a little alcohol fumes. 

The beer tastes similar to the smells - big and rich roasted malts that are a mix of chocolate and coffee, followed by some dark fruitiness (mostly raisin).  Then the bitterness hits, wow is this bitter!  There is also some alcohol warmth on the tail end.  I think the one flavor that resinates with me as I drink more of the beer is the raisins....the rich roasted malts are expected but the raisins accentuate that flavor well.  The texture is thick and a little chewy, with low/medium carbonation.
   

Overall Rating:  (4.4 out of 6.0)  Bell's designed an interesting RIS here - I enjoyed it despite the bitterness from the beer's young age.  I'm putting a bottle away for about a year, and I look forward to letting it age and see how the flavors develop and mature.  Absolutely worth picking up a 6pack of this one, especially if you like the Russian Imperials.

Bell's - Third Coast Old Ale 2010

Bell's has a great reputation for producing delicious beers.  I expect this one to be no different.  I wish their website had some more background on this beer though.  My assumption is that its a doubled recipe of their Blonde Ale, Third Coast Beer.  Both are nicely hopped, unfiltered and quite bitter.  Plus they both have similar names which is the final nail in the coffin for you doubters as far as I'm concerned.  One of the neat things Bell's does is label each batch of beer they produce with its batch number.  This American barley wine is batch number 9958.

This brew pours slightly hazy due to bottle conditioning and has a reddish brown coloring.  The aroma is a very nice malty and caramelized fruit smell combined with a mild citrus and bitterness from the hops.  My first sip is creamy and thick.  A malty and bitter flavor combination is prominent.  There are plenty of hops added at the beginning of the boil causing the high bitterness factor.  Although surprisingly less late hop additions to create a similar aromatic punch.  A second taste brings an almost woody and sweet toffee flavor into the mix.  After letting it warm up for about 15 minutes some of the initially hidden flavors of cinnamon and molasses come through.  A nice carbonation level helps to help dry out any residual sweetness the hops dont nab.  The alcohol is more present than what I would like during the finish.  No burning, just warmth.  At 10.2% I shouldn't be surprised though.

Overall 4.0/6.0 - This is a good brew and a solid example of an American Barley Wine.  The bottle suggests hiding some of this in your cellar and letting it age for a while.  I will be following that suggestion.  Even though I enjoy this beer now,  I know it can definitely improve with age.  The alcohol will mellow and more of the complexity that I would expect from a beer like this will shine through.  Get a six pack, have a few now and set aside the rest for next year.  Ill re-review this beer around the same time in 2011 and see how it has changed with some age on it.

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.