An unclear brown beer with a yellow-orange head. The aroma is extremely hopped on a sweet malty background and with notes of alcohol and oranges. The flavor is great; very hoppy with strong notes of oranges, chocolate and alcohol running over the tongue. Thanks to Mads Berg for sharing this wonderful beer.

Bottled, thanks hopsrus! Cloudy copper colour with thick, creamy head. Fruity, vinous nose with notes of smoke and plums. Deeply malty. Salty licorice and hops builds up to a very bitter finish. Sticks out in a crowds of barley wines. Has developed a lot in the past 6 months. Old rating (April 2004)Copper colour, small beige head. Vinous smokey ash aroma. Very rich and salty with notes of blood and metal, but hops, peppey alcohol and salty spices dominates. Extremely powerful, but also confusing and unusual. Still a bit raw, should probably have waited in the celalr for a while. (5/4/7/3/12)

I have let this one sit a couple of months. Pours a somewhat opaque dark reddish-amber with virtually no head or lacing. Strong malt and caramel aroma, along with a touch of fruit. Full-bodied with an assertive malt flavor. Warming alcohol, caramel and hops flavors, as well as a hint of port wine. The finish is a little on the harsh side so I think this would benefit from some additional aging. Still this is a solid Barley Wine.

This is a really meaty barleywine - intense nose of alcohol, pine, sherry and cherries - thick and chewy - impressive complexity, with chocolate, cherries, caramel, brown sugar and many other flavors making an appearance - hops dominate a little too much in the flavor toward the end, but this is still a really great beer - cellaring should make it outstanding.

Draft; Map Room, Chicago. Ah, Batch #6000 for my beer #200. I like the symmetry. I like the beer. It's a devil in a glass, and it's barely aged yet. Big alcohol smack in barley wine fashion. Smoky, thick, and with a big whisky nose. And plenty hops, too.

Thick dark brown head, very lacey; dark brown beer with ruby shine, clear. Beautiful nose, starting with grapes/raisins, then American hops taking over. The smell is that of really fresh hops, as like opening a bale. At the end vague impression of cream chocolate. Vinous taste, grapey again, bit of wood. Then of course hopbitterness, with an outspoken lemony character, as in lemon-sherbet. Retronasal chocolate returns, more as bitter one. Very well-bodied; syrupy, slippery aftertaste but not cloying. The hoppy bitterness is immediate. Then it glides towards the chocolate. It takes several sips before the hopbitterness is permanent. I feel guilty about this. The person who gave me this, and he ought to know, recommended to wait a year with this. I couldn't sit out a full month. And it was so good already. Superb, complex beer. Thanks, John.

Wow. Batch 6000 is one impressive beer. Immediately upon pouring, I noted the pungent, well-balanced aromas of grapefruity, bitter hops and the malt caramel, bread, cherries, and soy sauce (which incidentally was only noted initially upon opening the bottle). Deep red-brown body, with a thin, quickly dissipating tan head that clung to the sides of the glass (St. Bernardus) and left nice lacing. Plenty of yeast sediment in the body. Flavor was as described by previous reviewers- clearly controlled by citrusy, grapefruity hops, but nicely balanced by rich malt complexities: caramel, cherries (especially as the beer warmed), bread, toast (especially in the initial sip), and soy sauce. Bitter citrus aftertaste. Some warming alcohol was noted at the end of the glass, but this young beer is already quite smooth for a 10.5% ABV creation. An amazing beer. I can't wait to try this after 6 months of aging. Updated 5 November. Tried another bottle tonight, comparing it to Double Bastard. Bells 6000 appears to be built from their IPA (Two-Hearted Ale), whereas the Double Bastard is malt-dominated. The tanginess and heavy citrus of the Two-Hearted Ale also dominate Batch 6000 in its infancy.

Dark, rich murky brown, very clouded. Great beige-off-white head. Tons of lacing. Aroma has a nice woody hops smell with some caramel malt and even some alcohol. Wonderful texture, silky with lots of creamy/soft flavors, tiny bit of carbonation. Begins with a big chewy, juicy malt flavor that is medium sweet, quite caramelly and very tasty. Malt develops into a big grapefruit hops flavor. This is the most grapefruit I’ve ever tasted in a beer. Alcohol wonderfully masked. Ends on a lightly dry note with some lighter citrus and hints of orange. Drinking this beer is like biting into a super ripe ruby red grapefruit with lots of brown sugar on top. I tried this at many temperatures and preferred it at room temp. This is going to be even better as it matures, but I was vastly surprised to find it amazingly drinkable this young. My rating is a mixture of how great I thought this was now, but also how much potential I feel it has. On draught MBGSBF 2004. Well the beer is certainly still developing. It hasnt lost it’s big alcohol bite and hugely bitter hops finish, but it’s improving, the flavor is still intact and deepening. Another handful of years or so. . . .