Bell's Third Coast Old Ale Review

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.


Bell's Third Coast Old Ale - 8/10

Bell's Expedition Stout Review

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.

Bell's Expedition Stout - 9/10

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout Review

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.

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout - 9/10