Bell's Bright White Review

Name: Bell’s Bright White
Style: Wheat Beer
ABV: 5%
IBUs: 21

Most of the winter seasonal beers tend to be heavier in style and alcohol content, but Bell’s decided to pull a fast one on us and give us Bright White, which is a Belgian-inspired wheat beer. Now I did some digging and I found out that this beer used to go by a different name: Winter White, which has been around since 2003. When I did some even further digging as to the reason for the name change, the best I could come up with was because Bell’s felt like it. Also, the Bell’s website goes out of its way to inform you that no spices were used in making this beer. In any case, let’s check this one out.

Appearance – A cloudy yellow color with a high amount of visible carbonation. The head is on the soapier side with some good retention and the lacing left behind is rather abundant.

Aroma – Malted wheat and Belgian yeast notes permeate throughout the nose, with a touch of floral hops backing it up.

Taste – Similar to the nose, those malted wheat and Belgian yeast notes dominate the front of the palate, with some bitter & floral hops in the middle. It finishes off with a nice Belgian yeast, banana & clove-like spiciness. In the aftertaste, there’s a linger bitter hoppiness that sticks around for a few moments.

I have to say, I’m impressed that Bell’s was able to pull off the flavor without the use of spices in this beer and stands as a testament to the talent of the crew working there. As a wheat beer, it’s a solid offering from them, but it’s made even more impressive by the fact that they were able to give us such a flavor without having to resort to the typical ingredients of a witbier. It might not be the newest beer on the block, but this still worth your attention, should you get the chance to come across it.

Bell’s Bright White – 8.5/10