Old Fashioned Holiday Ale
Bell's Brewery in Galesburg, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy Winter|
Score
7.31
|
|
Bourbon Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale with Orange Peel & Cherry
Call us old fashioned, but we like to have special brews for special times of the year. We aged our Christmas Ale in bourbon barrels, then added dried cherry and orange peel. This winter warmer invokes classic flavors of the season and is perfect to sip by the fireplace, or put in the cellar for celebrations to come.
Originally brewed by our barrel specialist for our annual Roll Out the Barrel celebration.
Call us old fashioned, but we like to have special brews for special times of the year. We aged our Christmas Ale in bourbon barrels, then added dried cherry and orange peel. This winter warmer invokes classic flavors of the season and is perfect to sip by the fireplace, or put in the cellar for celebrations to come.
Originally brewed by our barrel specialist for our annual Roll Out the Barrel celebration.
Sign up to add a tick or review
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottled 11/21/22, drunk 11/18/23. Clear, bright auburn-amber with a large, well-retained, cherry-orange-tinted head. Got a touch of sediment in it (good to see these aren't sterile filtered). Nose is rich, thick, heavy toffee and caramel, less bourbon than I was hoping for and it seems the adjuncts have faded significantly over a year of sitting warm on the shelf. Still a bit of cherry-orange noticeable, if looked for. Not boozey. Soft, very malty but with decent attenuation and actual bourbon in the flavor, thankfully. Minimal adjunct, doesn't bread you to death. Sweet, rich, bourbony. It doesn't do many things, but at least the toffee richness and bourbon that it does do are enjoyable. And it's not thin or boozey.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Nov 2023
at 17:31
7/10
Bourbon goes nicely with the fruit notes.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Nov 2023
at 19:48
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
12 oz bottle. Bourbon, cherry, brown sugar, peaty malt, maybe some orange peel in the aroma. Flavor is more orange peel- and cherry-forward, leading into the maltiness and bourbon, but with quite a bit of lingering cherry. Maybe it could stand to be a bit fuller bodied, but they did a very good job here.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Dec 2022
at 03:34
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle with many thanks to Drake! Pours ruby red with a small beige head, light haze to it. Caramel, cinnamon, bourbon, vanilla, black cherry, citrus - probably orange nose. Caramel, bourbon, orange rind, cherry, spice, vanilla, wood, toffee. Light carbonation and it works. Tasty... didn't mean to have a beer this high in abv this early, but oh well.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Mar 2021
at 20:32
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Tried
on 14 Feb 2021
at 00:09
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
12 ounce bottle. Mahogany brown color. Brief beige head. Toasted malt nose has notes of sweet cherry cordial and orange peel. Earthy, oakey malt flavor. Sweet flavors of cherry and orange. Remarkably smooth for the high ABV.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Dec 2020
at 04:38
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Deep orange-red-brown, translucent body with essentially no head. Sticky nose, sugary, with alcohol and bourbon. Body somewhat dry, initially with caramel, sherry, and raisin, followed by oak and bourbon. Orange peel and cherry are evident. A nice aperitif for a cold night.
Tried
on 18 Dec 2020
at 14:37
7.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
12 ounce can from Woodman's Appleton, 11/29/20. How they allow a BOURBON Old Fashioned inspired beer in Wisconsin is beyond me. Brandy for life! Clear dark reddish copper, off-white head, fair retention. Aroma of toffee, bourbon, vanilla, cherry, citrus. Taste is cherry, orange, vanilla, whiskey, booze. Full bodied, slick, slightly hot. Despite the bastardization its actually a pretty solid beer. 17.5k.
Tried
from Can
on 30 Nov 2020
at 04:45
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
11-21-20 Grand Liquor
Tried
on 22 Nov 2020
at 02:48
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
12oz bottle shared with friend. Definitely unique Scotch ale - smells and tastes like the Holidays. loved the whiskey notes
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Nov 2020
at 13:36