Since everyone and their mother has seemingly released their own interpretation of the Hazy IPA style, it would make sense that some of the larger breweries would follow suit. Which brings us to Bell’s Official Hazy IPA, which is, of course, a hazy IPA. This beer is made with Mosaic, Citra, Azacca, Amarillo and El Dorado Hops; So you get sort of an idea of what we’re drinking today.
Appearance – Hazy bright yellow color with a light amount of visible carbonation. The head is pretty foamy but the lacing is more on the mild side.
Aroma – Bright orange peel and citrus hops dominate most of the nose but I am picking up on some light bitter notes but they don’t become apparent until the beer warms up.
Taste – Much like the nose, the palate is mostly orange peel & vibrant citrus hops with some mild pale/toffee maltiness encompassing the palate. However on the back end of the palate is where that bitter hoppiness starts to make itself known, in addition to the bright fruity flavors.
Bell’s has always been a reliable brewery for me and this beer helps reinforce that mindset. On top of that, the asking price for this beer is also very reasonably priced compared to some other Hazy IPAs out there. If you see this, this one is definitely worth grabbing!
After a year of keeping up with this series, we've come to the final beer in the Bell's Brewing Planet Series, which takes its name from the Gustav Holst orchestral suite: The Planets.
We've come to Neptune: The Mystic & it's the beer that I've been looking forward to the most since I first heard about it last year. That's because the details about this beer were mum at best with the only information given that it was based on a recipe that Larry Bell used back when he was homebrewing. Well the specifics have finally been revealed about this beer and, great googly moogly, there are bunch of them.
The list of ingredients used in this beer (aside from hops, barley, yeast, and water) are as follows:
Star anise
Dried cayenne
Raisins
Dates
Black pepper
Hickory bark
Dandelion root
Nutmeg
Grains of paradise
Fenugreek seeds
Maple syrup
Molasses
Cane Sugar
Is this a beer we're talking about here or a potion that you'd find in a wizard's lab? Then again, it is called a Mystical Stout by the brewery, so for all we know, there's a good chance that this may give me a pair of wings (not really.)
Appearance - Pitch black in color with no visible carbonation to speak of. The head is quite thin in appearance with dark brown hue and rather filmy retention. The lacing is also very sparse and almost nonexistent.
Aroma - Where do I begin? The molasses and raisin notes are front-in-center that are followed by some dark fruitness and oak notes. I'm also getting some light maple syrup notes with a bit of spiciness, some nutmeg and even a hint of black peppers. There are of course other scents in here but they're too close together to distinguish one from the other. All of this is supported by a solid chocolate malt backbone.
Taste - Rum raisin, maple syrup, and chocolate malts make up the front of the flavor, before giving away to molasses, nutmeg, and oakiness in the middle. That, in turn, is followed by some dates & cheyenne peppers.....which is followed by some more rum raisin & black peppers, some grassiness that tastes like the smell of a dandelion.....before finally rounding out with some roasted barley, chocolate sweetness and a bit of a peppery kick.
The amount of layers along with the sheer diversity in the overall flavor borderlines on being mindblowing. Like a Russian nesting doll, the flavors keep coming out of nowhere just when you think it's finished and then some after that. This is one of the most complex tasting Imperial Stouts I've ever had
I'm going to make an impassioned plea to Bell's Brewing here: I know you have tons of different styles of beer that you produce each year and I'm painfully aware that beers like Neptune are more of a niche than say Two Hearted. However if you can find it in your heart to bring this back in some way, shape, or capacity, you will have my eternal gratitude.
It is rare that I find a beer so perfect that it leaves a lasting impression on me and this is one of those beers. It makes it all the more unfortunate that this is a one time deal, because Neptune is a love letter to fans of the Imperial Stout style. I know it's unlikely that this beer will ever see the light of day again, so if you're able to find this, there is no question that you need to buy this. It is beers like Neptune that make the world of craft beer such a fun & interesting place.
Bell's Brewery has just released the fifth beer in their Planets Series, which is based off of The Planets suite by Gustav Holst. Tonight I have the beer based on the fifth canto of the suite: Saturn.
The style is a barleywine that has been aged in bourbon barrels, and it's meant to be aged for a long time according to the brewery's website. it makes sense when you consider that the full name of this canto is Saturn: The Bringer of Old Age.
Appearance - Dark orange/brown color with just a hint of carbonation. The head is on the thinner side but has some good filmy retention and the lacing itself is rather plentiful
Aroma - Strong caramelized malts on the front of the nose followed by some potent vanilla sweetness and oakiness. I'm also getting some strong bitter and piney hoppiness here too. The more it warms up, the more that vanilla and oak start to shine through, so you can definitely tell this has been barrel-aged.
Taste - The vanilla and oakiness move to the front and center of the flavor along with the caramelized malts, all of which linger throughout. During the second half of the flavor is when you starting getting that bitter and citrus hoppiness. The aftertaste consists of some vanilla and oak notes paired with some bitter hoppiness
My favorite barrel-aged barleywine before having this was from Central Waters, but I think this is slightly better. I've been very impressed with the Planet Series so far, but this stands out right now as my absolute favorite of the series. Even if you don't decide to wait and age this, you're still in for an absolutely fantastic beer!
Bell's Brewery has been releasing a new beer in its Planet Series, which pays homage to Gustav Holst's classical musical suite "The Planets," which each beer paying homage to a section of the suite with seven in all.
Today's beer is based on the fourth section of The Planets called "Jupiter," which should invokes feelings of happiness, joy and other great feelings. Appropriate timing too because Spring has finally arrived! Though the beer itself is classified as a brown ale, Bell's has gone on the record to say that this is actually an Imperial Brown Ale. They also recommend pouring this into a Nonic glass, which is what we are doing today.
Appearance - A dark brown color that has a crimson tinge along the edges of the glass. The head is on the thinner side and takes on a khaki colored appearance, though the retention is quite good.
Aroma - Strong chocolate malts dominate the front of the nose which is paired with some moderate toffee sweetness. There's some mild floral hoppiness in the back too along with some mild roasted barley notes. You really can't tell this beer is 8% ABV.
Taste - Chocolate malts are once again the centerpiece for this beer but the toffee sweetness and floral hoppiness are more or less equals with the toffee notes getting a slight edge. The aftertaste is mainly chocolate malts and a light booziness. There's a light roastiness that encompasses the flavor, but it feels mild at best.
When it's said and done, Jupiter is a solid beer. At the same time, I think it is the weakest (a term I use very loosely) beer in the series so far as I don't think it doesn't do anything that jumps out at me. Sure it's worth checking out but if you don't get around to having this, then you aren't exactly missing too much.
Name:Bell's Mercury Style: Belgian Pale Ale ABV:4.8%
The next release in the Planet Series from Bell's Brewery, which based on the orchestral piece by Gustav Holst, recently hit shelves with Mercury: The Winged Messenger. Since Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system, it only makes sense that this beer is the smallest in terms of alcohol content at just 4.8%
The beer also pairs wonderfully with the Mercury section of Mr. Holst's classic masterpiece...
Mercury pours a very hazy yellow color with no visible carbonation. Despite there being a very thin head that retains around the edges, the lacing is on the sparse side.
The aroma has some potent clove notes in with some Belgian Yeasts along with some pale maltiness. I'm also getting some some cracked pepper and a some pilsner-grassiness.
Flavor-wise I'm getting some strong clove and cracked pepper notes upfront mixed in with some Belgian yeastiness and pale malts. In the aftertaste I'm getting some surprisingly strong hop bitterness & light spiciness in the aftertaste, which is unusually strong for a session ale; Though I'm not complaining
This has to be one of the best session ale, if not, the best I've had to date. The flavor is complex and robust yet you can still enjoy it throughout the day. I can tell that Bell's put a lot of love into making this a tasty session ale and their efforts are a resounding success. It's a limited release so get it while you can.
Name: Bell's Black Note Stout Style: Imperial Stout ABV: 11.5% So this weekend, I'll be pretty busy. Between the new apartment hunt and The Duluth Experience North Shore Craft Beer Roundtable. Needless to say, I have a few irons in the fire. In anticipation of my busy schedule, I'm going to get a couple reviews out of the way.
To start out, I've got a somewhat hard-to-find beer due to it's limited quantity (or so I'm led to believe) Bell's Black Note Stout; An Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels. From that I understand, this beert usually gets released in the Springtime. Black Note Stout pours a pitch black with a thin brown head that fades away after a couple minutes. The lacing left behind is also rather sparse.
The nose starts out with a nice aroma of bourbon, oak, chocolate malts and vanilla before ending with a nice roasted barley scent.
Flavor-wise, it starts out very chocolate malt and oak forward. The tail end of the flavor gives off a nice vanilla-bourbon taste and finishing off with some malty & roasted barley notes.
The overall palate is fairly heavy body and comes with some mild carbonation; Giving it a nice creamy texture which helps add to the overall drinkability.
If you're willing to shell out a couple extra bucks, you'll find this to be an excellent & vibrant tasting Imperial Stout. On top of that, you can tell that the barrel aging has done wonders for the quality of the flavor and that alone is worth checking out.
Name: Bell's Third Coast Old Ale Style: Barleywine ABV: 10.2% Well after months of record breaking cold temperatures, Siberian-calibur blizzards, and a diminished sense of optimism, winter is finally starting to release it's icy grip on the region. We are now experiencing temperatures in the 30's & 40's for what might as well be the first time since the Clinton Administration.
Which brings me to the next and probably last winter seasonal from Bell's Brewery. I give to you their Third Coast Old Ale. I've been sitting on this beer for about 3 months now so I figured it was time to go ahead and give this a proper review. On a side note, I do find the name a bit perplexing mainly because it contains "Old Ale" in it's name yet is a Barleywine-Style Ale.
Third Coast Old Ale pours dark brown color that turns to a dark crimson when held up to a light. The head is khaki-colred in appearance and fairly thin. It doesn't leave behind any lacing so it finishes rather clean.
Sweet caramelized malts and mild citrus notes are prevalent upfront in the nose. This is accompanied by some booziness, dark fruit and licorice notes.
The flavor is a mixture of caramel malts, toffee, mild citra-hops, licorice and a pine-resiny aftertaste. The flavor has a noticeable booziness to it as well. The palate is fairly heavy in terms of weight and thickness, but it's mildly carbonated
For the most, it's a good English-style Barleywine but the boozy aspect of the flavor does hurt it's appeal a bit. Perhaps this could be remedied with a bit more cellaring and be more suitable later on.
Name: Bell's Hopslam Style: Imperial IPA ABV: 10%
During the bitter cold months of winter when it seems life has all but vanished from the outdoors, Bell's Brewery delivers to us their highly anticipated Hopslam Imperial IPA. In fact I'm fairly certain that this is one of the most highly anticipated craft beers that is given a widespread release.
Even if you don't know of Hopslam, then you would probably recognize the label: A person laying flat on the ground, seemingly crushed to death by oversized hops dropped on him by the angry beer gods as punishment for drain-pouring a bottle of Pliny the Elder (Alright so I made that last part up.) I remember having this back in college and it was one of the first Imperial IPAs that I ever had. At the time I thought it was quite good, so I figure it's time to revisit this beer.
Hopslam pours a dark orange color with a cloudy appearance. The head is filmy, and the beer leaves behind some good lacing.
The nose is quite fruity to start out with notes of mangoes, strong citrus hops, toffee and caramel. At the back end of the aroma is a subtle piney hoppiness.
The flavor is almost the same as the nose but there piney hop aspect is definitely stronger here. It's goes,along well with the mango, citra-hops and caramel malts that are already in the flavor.
In terms of drinkability, it’s rather heavy in body with some mild carbonation, making this pretty smooth and easy to drink.
Overall, this is an excellent and well balanced Imperial IPA that any hop head should try out. It may be a bit pricer for a 6-pack but the price of admission is worth it.
Name: Bell's Expedition Stout Style: Imperial Stout ABV: 10.5%
It's time to review yet another winter seasonal from Bell's Brewery and tonight I'll be reviewing their Expedition Stout, which is their Imperial Stout. It's also has the distinction of being one of the first Imperial Stouts that I ever had when I first got into craft beer (The first being Surly Darkness.)
Expedition Stout pours is black in color with a brown head. The head itself has some good volume and it the beer leaves behind some decent lacing.
The aroma starts off which a heavy chocolate malt & cocoa nib scent with notes of vanilla and roasted barley.
Interestingly enough, the flavor has a distinct smokiness and roasted barley taste followed by notes of dark chocolate, licorice and vanilla. The aftertaste consists of chocolate malts and roasted barley. Oddly enough, I don't remember there being any smokiness when I had this before, but that could be because I didn't pick up on it the first time around.
The palate has some heaviness to it along with some rather mild carbonation, which fits seemingly well as it allows the drinker to enjoy the flavors this beer has to offer.
Expedition Stout is a nicely balanced Imperial Stout that has just the right amount of malt and roasty/smokiness that one would expect from an Imperial Stout. Definitely worth checking out if you can get it in your area.
Name: Bell's Special Double Cream Stout Style: Stout ABV: 6.1%
I have yet another winter seasonal courtesy of Bell's Brewing. Since I've been on somewhat of a roll with reviewing stouts, I have taken this opportunity to review Bell's Special Double Cream Stout. I find it a bit odd that they would throw in the name "Double" even though the ABV is only at 6.1% as opposed to something higher. In any case
The beer pours a black color with a red tinge along the edges when held up to a light. The head starts out with a nice foamy look before settling to a more filmy appearance with some pretty good lacing.
The aroma has a nice chocolate and surprisingly strong lactose quality to it. Along with that are notes of roasted barley, and some mild coffee ground notes. It smells almost like someone poured coffee creamer into my beer which is the best way I can describe it.
Flavor-wise, it's pretty heavy on the chocolate and lactose with some notes of whipped cream, sugar and roasted barley and malts. Again, it's like coffee creamer but with some much sweeter notes. As for the aftertaste, it's a mix of sweet cream and roasted barley.
Despite my expectations, the palate is very light in terms of both body and carbonation. With that said, it's also got a very smooth texture which makes this very easy to drink
I have to say that I enjoyed this quite a bit! It may be a little too high in lactose for some, but this is a great beer to try out and an excellent cream stout. I wish Bell's would make this a year-round offering because I would definitely buy this on a regular basis.
Name: Bell's Cherry Stout Style: Stout ABV: 7%
Since we are in the dead of winter, Bell's Brewery has released their winter seasonals and lucky for me I have them in my possession. The first one I'm gonna take a look at is their Cherry Stout. I have had one other cherry stout which was from New Glarus as part of their Thumbprint Series, so let's take a look shall we?
The beer pours a pitch black color with a reddish-brown head and no lacing.
The nose has a nice cherry tartness with some chocolate, licorice, roasted barley & malt notes to round things out. Almost reminds me of a chocolate covered cherry!
The flavor starts out with tart cherries with notes of dark chocolate, roasted barley and floral hops. The aftertaste is quite roasty, perhaps a little too much so.
The palate has a rather thick body and a syrupy texture. The carbonation is mild but it doesn't go particularly well with the overall body.
It's an interesting concept, but the flavor, while not terrible, is too roasty & imbalanced for my liking and the palate doesn't feel right. Needless to say, I wouldn't go out of my way to try it again if there are better options available.
Yes, my second to last winter seasonal review for the year (you'll see the other one later this week) because despite the winter storm we had last week, Old Man Winter doesn't know when to call it quits. If you're a resident of the Midwest or Rockies, then you understand my pain. If you so happen to be reading this while in a warm climate, consider yourselves lucky that you aren't living in this proverbial Siberia.
Yesterday I did a review of Bell's Two Hearted, and today I've decided to keep it up with Bell's Best Brown Ale. I actually picked this up as part of a Mix-A-Six and was only $1.17; Hey I like my beer but I also like cheap beer! The expiration date on this was the end of next month so I wasn't gonna let it go to waste!
It pours a Dark Red Color with a off-white colored head and some sparse lacing along the side of the glass. The smell has some mild caramel, floral hops, roasted malt and chocolate scents. The flavor is also fairly mild with caramel, rum raisin, chocolate and roasted malt notes. The body is fairly thick and yet lighter at the same time whereas the carbonation is fairly mild and subdued.
The Rum Raisin flavor is the only thing that really jumped out at me with this beer but that really isn't saying too much as the flavor in general is mild and not living up to it's full potential. It's by no means a bad beer, but it's mild flavor leaves something more to be desired Bell's Best Brown - 7/10
Name: Bell's Two Hearted Ale Style:India Pale Ale ABV:7%
There are two breweries that are associated with Michigan when it comes to beer: Bell's and Founders. Even though they are not distributed everywhere in the US at this time, they are well known to craft beer lovers around the country as being one of the top producers of craft beer.
Today I will be focusing on Bell's Brewery. They are known to have a wide variety of beers, both year round and season. I will be focusing on what many consider to be the flagship beer of Bell's: The Two Hearted Ale, which is an IPA. From what I have gathered, the beer is named after the Two Hearted River located on the Upper Peninsula in Michigan.
It pours a bright hazy orange color with a decent sized head and a good amount of lacing along the sides of the glass.
The aroma has some yeast, malt, citrus hop and grapefruit notes. Rich but not overpoweringly so.
The flavor on the other hand has rich Citrus/Piney Hop, Yeasty, Caramel, and Malty flavor with a bitter resin aftertaste. The malt backbone in particular helps balance out the flavor quite well. Even though it is 7% ABV, you wouldn't tell by simply drinking this.
The body is light in weight and the carbonation feels mild and just right; Leaving you with a crisp feeling beer that's easy to drink.
It's easy to see why many consider this to be Bell's flagship beer: It's tasty, well rounded and easy to drink. The best part is that this beer can be good for almost any occasion, which gives it a much wider appeal. Bell's Two Hearted Ale - 9/10
