Bell's Brewery
Microbrewery
in Galesburg,
Michigan,
United States 🇺🇸
Owned by
Lion Breweries - NZ
Associated Venue: Bell’s Brewery, Inc./Bell’s Eccentric Cafe
Established in 1985
Sold to Lion Co. - Kirin Holdings in 2021
Clarkvv (16327) reviewed Rye Stout from Bell's Brewery 22 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
02 Bottle. Pours a magnificent brown with some lighter ruby tinges peeking through. One of the best looking heads Ive seen on a beer, big and creamy and has a wonderful beige/mocha appearance. Aroma is equally huge, sweet and coffee like, with a slight hint of carroway. Tons of lacing in the glass. Begins surprisingly sweet, but just when it may get too sweet, there is the classic bells stout coffee flavor to the rescue. Flavor dries out and there emerges a big, medium sweet, lighlty acidic flavor of alcohol mixed with grains and lots of spice. As the beer warms, the rye flavor is quite noticeable. At first, I passed this one off as just a Kalamazoo Stout with some rye flavor. But this beer has its own personality. The sweetness stays on the palette, even as the coffee flavor comes through. Decent amount of hops throughout, with some roasted barley as well. As it warms to around 58-60, there is a distinct and tasty rye flavor on the finish. It reminds me of Sam Smiths Oatmeal mixed with Kalamazoo Stout (with a rye aftertaste). Good.
2002 bottle shared with Muzzlehatch on 2/18/06. My above rating is pretty on par. Didnt find any alcohol, but the rye and a very dry chocolate covered coffee-bean note are truly wonderful, balancing light caramel sweetness, hints of dry vanilla and still a soothing, if slightly leaner texture. Oxidation is only lightly present and quite enjoyable (nutty, dry marzipan like notes and touches of madeira).
Clarkvv (16327) reviewed Midwestern Pale Ale from Bell's Brewery 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7.5
2002 and 2003 bottles. Pours a cloudy yellow with some light lime green tints. Lots of foamy white head. Smells yeasty and slightly appley, and definitely very meaty. Begins moderately sour and definitely hoppy. Subtle citrus tones complement the usual apple/yeasty flavor of the APA. Has a decent medium body that has a doughy texture but is stretched too thin and is very yeasty. Finishes quite dry with some tinges of malt but overall leaves a slightly unbalanced sour flavor and is way too thin towards the end. It tries to be spicy on the finish, but there is nowhere near enough balance to this beer.
Batch 12388, bottled 10/3/13 drunk on 2/16/14, as Midwestern Pale
Pretty close to how I remember the pale ale, though obviously the hop profile has changed. This was a 4 month old sample and the yeast character and malts are much more subdued, with just a basic but delicious caramel and honey-like richness that dries out nicely and is balanced with spicy happiness. The texture and body are perfect and the beer is infinitely drinkable. Not much bitterness or acid, but appropriate enough to balance with spicy flavors lingering. Upping the score a bit.
Clarkvv (16327) reviewed Batch 5,000 Ale from Bell's Brewery 22 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
Sampled 9/2003. Pours a ruddy brown/black with some violet and burgundy tinges on the glass. Very little head, typical of bells stronger beers. Highly unfiltered, bottle conditioned, unpasteurised! Smells of sweet ripe red fruit and some caramel, faintly smoky on the nose. Begins with a very full, rich raspberry honey flavor, backed up with lots of fresh caramel malt. Taste has plenty of barley malt as well, and then, the smoke flavor. WOW. this is amazing. Subtle at first and climaxing stronger but still balanced. Tastes like raspberry smoked beef barbecue. It is salty and meaty, yet retains a pleasant flavor and has the texture of moist beef jerky. It then fades into some nice, but light hops and finishes clean and smooth. Alcohol Very well masked, carbonation is minimal. Beer has a wonderfully full complex body. A pleasure to drink this.
Sampled again 6/2005 at RBSG. Still holding up spectacularly well. Smooth, silky, chocolatey and plenty of salty, rich smoke. Awesome beer that has really proved itself to me.
omhper (44378) reviewed Midwestern Pale Ale from Bell's Brewery 22 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
Bottled. Cloudy yellow. Appley, grassy aroma. Dry and clean. Hard mouthfeel, salty bitter finish. Less distinct than how I remembered it.
JK (8140) reviewed Bright White from Bell's Brewery 22 years ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6.5
Much better the second time I tried it. Standard spice in the aroma. Appearance is somewhat cloudy, but not as cloudy as some and there is no sediment. Good flavor, light spice and banana. Sweet, but lacks body. --- Beer merged from original tick of Bright White Ale on 24 Dec 2019 at 20:14 - Score: 6
jgb9348 (11734) reviewed Consecrator Doppelbock from Bell's Brewery 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Slightly hazy dark amber colour with a fairly airy tan colour head. Smells of malt, grapes, alcohol and a bit of sweetness all dominate the aroma. Full-bodied; The malt is very strong in the taste, along with raisins, alcohol, nuttiness and a tiny bit of sweetness. Finishes bittering from the malt and the taste of alcohol is still present along with some residual nuttiness. This is what a doppelbock should be based upon, definately one of the better ones i've had...even though I don't like the style too much, this one was pretty good. I got this twelve ounce bottle from Merchant's in Dearborn, Michigan.
Dogbrick (24152) reviewed Consecrator Doppelbock from Bell's Brewery 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
I think this is a worthy offering in the Doppelbock field. Pours a lovely reddish amber color with a medium almost butterscotch-colored (but mostly beige) head. Thin and slow lacing. Medium-bodied and easy to drink, with a nice caramel and malt flavor up front. There are also flavors of raisins, alcohol and sweet fruit in there. The finish is mostly sweet with a bit of a hops and alcohol spike. I liked this a lot.
Dogbrick (24152) reviewed Third Coast Old Ale from Bell's Brewery 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
This brew pours a dark brownish-orange color with a very thin light beige head. The aroma is strong malt with a little raisin and caramel. The body is very robust, with flavors of malt, peppery alcohol, berries and brown sugar. There is a lot going on in the flavor but it all meshes well. The finish is a little tart for my taste but I imagine an older bottle would be more mellow. I will definitely try this again.
jgb9348 (11734) reviewed Oberon Ale from Bell's Brewery 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
Hazy golden colour with a thin white head. Very subtle yeastie aroma mixed with a small amount of citrus. Served without a lemon; Medium to full-bodied; Great wheat & yeast taste...whle the yeast is subtle, the body shows through, and the malt is noticeable as well. Not too many crazy characteristics to mention, but this beer is one of the best wheats i've ever had...regardless of country. I had mine from a 16 ounce glass served on draught at the Polish Village Cafe in Hamtramck, Michigan on 14-August-2003.
Clarkvv (16327) reviewed Lager of the Lakes from Bell's Brewery 22 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
2003 draught. Good strong sour yeast/saaz hops aroma. Very light and filtered appearance :( Taste is very dry and medium bitter. Has a slightly lemon biscuit appeal of hops that is most apparent right away. Taste does not get terribly watery, just sort of dissipates as it finishes. A decent lager, but much better stuff available from Kalamazoo.
2003 bottle consumed Jan 04. It had sediment, much better looking appearance. A good clean yeasty/hoppy flavor. Better than on tap at the brewery. Who would have thought. . .
2006 bottle "lager of the lakes"
Unfortunately bells decided to filter this one huh? Starkly clear, with nothing on the bottom and it really shows in texture. Somewhat washed out, especially on the end, with a papery-like quality. Head formation and retention are less than usual from Bells, as a result. Still, other than this issue, it’s damned fine stuff. Tangerine, peach and nectarine definitely make me wonder how they got such a delicious hop nose and flavor. Snappy bitterness, some light yeast minerals and plenty of succulent pils malt honey notes. Delicious and very drinkable
2006 draught at Slow’s bbq on 11/5/06.
Better on draught as far as texture is concerned, but with poor head formation/retention. Hop aromatics are more dry, grassy and herbal, without as much fruitiness. Still crisp and refreshingly bitter in flavor, with delicate pils malt-like notes. Really fine stuff.
Brewery Stats
| Score | 6.93 |
| Beers | 352 |
| Ticks | 6522 |
Top Reviewers (Not including batches)
|
Silphium | 156 |
|
|
deyholla | 127 |
|
Drake | 124 |
|
shrubber | 112 |
|
|
Dogbrick | 106 |
|
|
patrick767 | 100 |
|
flatmatt | 98 |
|
willisread | 90 |
|
dwest | 83 |
|
blackflag321 | 80 |