25th Anniversary Ale
Bell's Brewery in Galesburg, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Amber / Red Ale - Imperial Special Out of Production|
Score
7.05
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Brewed with 100% Michigan-grown barley, 25th Anniversary Ale starts with caramel & light toffee flavors. These are paired with generous kettle and dry-hop additions, yielding a crisp, assertive bitterness and hop flavors ranging from citrus, floral and piney notes.
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Beer5000 (11421) reviewed 25th Anniversary Ale from Bell's Brewery 2 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Backlog August 2011. Slightly unclear golden body under an off-white head. Aroma has malt, caramel and fruitiness. Taste is sweet malt, caramel, generic fruit and alcohol. Fine body with long lasting malty aftertaste. Nice.
jgb9348 (11997) reviewed 25th Anniversary Ale from Bell's Brewery 2 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Beer #18 of my 10,00th Beer Milestone Celebration! Deep dark brown coloured body with a very muddied glow and a good opaque quality towards the bottom, with a very faint off-white head on top, only a half centimetre tall that fades quickly (understandable due to age). Aroma of roasted malt, oatmeal, light cereal, some grain, pitted fruits and a bigger dose of prunes and raisins, but some smoke, too. Medium to Full-bodied; Strong roasted malt flavour with some oatmeal and bunches of pitted fruits, toffee, treacle and a dash of nuts, but the rustic and slightly smoked grain note makes this a bit interesting towards the finish, but it's clear that this beer has lost a lot over time. Aftertaste is fairly sweet, not very rich, showing some vanilla, light grain, toffee, caramelised sugars, light coffee and even a dash of oak, but the complexity, range and definitely the robust quality is lacking, most likely due to time. Overall, a good option still, somehow, but only as a malty and slightly sweet beer without the nuances or ranges that you might expect from a heavier beer at the time, but with just ME keeping this bottle for ~13 years, it has definitely lost something and if you have a bottle (perhaps saving it for a special occasion like me), it's probably best to cut your loses and drink it sooner rather than later. Nice to sample, especially being a Michigander, but it's spent too long in the bottle and I should have had it maybe six years ago? I sampled this 12 ounce bottle as Beer #18 [of 21 - 10 (for 10,000) of Each side of the 10,000 Beer Milestone and the 10,000th itself!] of my 10,000th Beer Milestone, purchased from Siciliano's in Grand Rapids, Michigan on 06-November-2010 for US$2,79, with the number '9871' on the back of the bottle, and sampled at my house here in Washington on 17-June-2023.
Theydon_Bois (46756) reviewed 25th Anniversary Ale from Bell's Brewery 9 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle split at Kenny 20K, thanks to the man of the moment, 15/01/16. Lightly hazed amber orange with a moderately appointed off white covering. Nose is sweet malt, light smoke, biter orange, caramel, spice, fruit rinds. Taste comprises dark fruit rinds, earthy notes, vanilla truffles, toffee sauce, spice, fruit loaf. Medium + body, fine carbonation, semi drying close. Ok stronge.
Leighton (35102) reviewed 25th Anniversary Ale from Bell's Brewery 10 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle shared at Kenny’s 20k tasting in London. Big thanks to the man of the hour for this beer! Pours clear gold with a frothy, white head. The nose is a little papery, with note of bread and citrus. Moderately sweet, somewhat boozy, with touches of lime peel, white bread. Full bodied with fine to average carbonation. Hot finish, with alcohol-soaked citrus fruits, orange, simple pale bread. Just OK overall.
Fergus (31537) reviewed 25th Anniversary Ale from Bell's Brewery 10 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle shared at the Kenny 20K mega monster tasting. 15/01/2016. Many thanks to Kenny for this one. Hazed golden orange coloured pour with a small loose white head. Aroma is toffee, farmyard grains, toffee apple, spicy menthol. Flavour is composed of harsh grains, alcohol solvent, toffee, spicy apple. Palate is grainy, highish carbonation, semi sticky sweet, Lingering mint. Ok. Little age on show.
fonefan (85107) reviewed 25th Anniversary Ale from Bell's Brewery 10 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Bottle 12fl.oz. @ [ madmitch76 - 20K Tasting ] - chriso & Boudicca House, London. [ As Bells Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Ale ].[ Vintage ]. Clear medium amber color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting to diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, bread, dried fruit, caramel, malt. Flavor is moderate to light light heavy sweet and light to light moderate bitter with a long duration, caramel, dried fruit, malt, earthy notes. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light light alcoholic. [20160115]
WingmanWillis (38720) ticked 25th Anniversary Ale from Bell's Brewery 10 years ago
Scopey (25220) reviewed 25th Anniversary Ale from Bell's Brewery 10 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle thanks to Ken at his 20K tasting. It pours clear deep amber with a thick off-white head. The nose is rich, sweet, earthy, toasted malt, stewed orange, peach, sherbet, fruit cake and some marzipan. The taste is bitter, earthy, leather, toffee, dried fruits, fruit cake and some warming alcohol through the finish. Medium + body and fine carbonation. Not as much depth as I was expecting, but it drinks pretty easy.
Harrisoni (26309) reviewed 25th Anniversary Ale from Bell's Brewery 10 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Bottle at Madmitch 20k tasting. Amber colour lasting white head. Smells of cheese funnily enough. Hoppy. Toffee. Some ok toffee. Tasty enough.
Lubiere (24605) reviewed 25th Anniversary Ale from Bell's Brewery 12 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
A hazed reddish amber ale with a thick frothy mocha head. In aroma, sweet caramel with treacle and vinous notes, plums, resinous and catty hops, some musky character, interesting. In mouth, a sweet vinous malt with smooth resinous hops, treacle, dark fruits, light licorice and warming alcohol. Very nice. Batch 9871.