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
Dogbrick (24152) reviewed Cherry Stout from Bell's Brewery 23 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
This is one tart beer! Pours a deep dark brown with a very thin dark beige head. Black cherry aroma. Tart cherry flavor is dramatically introduced from the first sip. The flavor becomes more subdued throughout but this is definitely an acquired taste. I will try to get a bottle to age to see if it calms the flavor down at all.
Dogbrick (24152) reviewed Special Double Cream Stout from Bell's Brewery 23 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
Tasted at the Barrelhouse Brewing Company Microbrew Fest on November 9. This is an excellent Stout, which I understand is par for the course with Bell''s. I can''t wait to try the entire line! Pours black as night with a thin bone-white head and good lacing. Great smooth creamy flavor that I could enjoy all night.
Oakes (33097) reviewed Expedition Stout from Bell's Brewery 23 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
Never did have good notes on this beer - until now. I had a 3 year old 1999 vintage: ebony, still. Rich, vinous nose, faint hint of roast, deep fruit (cherry, plums), alcohol. Slippery body. Intense flavours of alcohol, coffee, big rich fruitiness, wine, burnt cherry and Christmas fruitcake. Wow. Vintage Rating: Aroma 9, Appearance 4, Flavour 10, Palate 5, Overall 19 = 4.7
Dogbrick (24152) reviewed Two Hearted IPA from Bell's Brewery 23 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Rerate 10/21/03: After getting a sixer of Two Hearted this year, I have to bump the score up. This really is a top of the line IPA. 09/29/02 (3.8):There's hops it that there beer! This was a 'guest tap' at Barley's brewpub here in Columbus, and although I usually find it wrong to try beers outside of the brewpub where I am drinking, I'm glad I made an exception here. Cloudy orange color with a thin head. Strong hoppy, floral aroma. Hops dominate the flavor as well, bordering on the extreme. This beer will definitely keep your attention. Take a whiff of one of these during a boring meeting and you'll wake right up. You'll probably get fired but you'll be awake.
Clarkvv (16327) reviewed Cherry Stout from Bell's Brewery 23 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
1996 bottle. Very dry, light chalkiness, huge earthiness, and a very sour cherry-skin flavor. Tastes very big, oily and almost syrupy. Hints of chocolate and lots of bitter roast. Wow, this was a huge beer.
2001 bottle. Hmm there’s someting i cant quite put my finger on with this beer. Too much cherry maybe. this one is getting too sweet for my liking. Not bad overall, has some character to it, too much malt for my liking though, at least its better than Sam’s Cherry Wheat. The cherry
2003 bottle. Not sure what I was rambling about in the previous rating, but that was along time ago. This beer is one of the best, if not the best, examples of a fruit beer centered around the beer, not the fruit. Wonderful dark malt flavor with a tart cherry balance. Exceptional. Bottle conditioned, tons of sediment, nice small head. 8/5/8/4/16
2013 bottle 11/7/13 batch 12401, drunk 3/14/14
Not as big a beer as I remember and probably not quite as stout-centered as I remember. Certainly not overdone with the cherries, and in fact they are still nicely tart and flavorful without being sweet or overdone. The black, ashen, roasty malts play a nice foil to the cherries and really the only thing I found missing was a bigger, chewier body. As it was, just a bit loose/watery in the texture department and not nearly as chewy or malty as I’d like a stout to be. Wonderful flavor though. Score is for this most recent bottle.
Clarkvv (16327) reviewed Special Double Cream Stout from Bell's Brewery 23 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
2001 Bottle. Pours smooth and deep, with a nice creamy off-white head. The taste is pure heaven. Even and rich, without any carbonation to drag it down. I dont find this beer to be too sweet in the least, not sure this is much of a cream stout, but who cares, at 7.5% ABV and this taste, they could call it a shandy and i wouldnt care! 2002 bottle. Very strange yet good. Tons of black malt, oily, roasty, slightly bitter. More like a porter this year, though surprisingly, the chocolate flavor is not sweet. Quite bitter and lightly yeasty. Different than the 2001, but still quite good. 2003 bottle. Wonderful it remains. Some more roast than I remember, which is nice. Good burnt flavor, like a s’more without the marshmallow. Nice chocolate flavor on the finish not overdone. Much drier. Great appearance, large dark oily brown head. Maybe a touch of thinning as it warms.
Clarkvv (16327) reviewed Oberon Ale from Bell's Brewery 23 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
2002 bottle I’ve enjoyed the bottles since before it was called Oberon. Mmmm, Peachy! Gotta love this beer. a wonderful blend of fruit and hops gives the wheat beer an elegant body that sets it apart from just your average wheat. great in the summer and full in body. Has a ton of yeast/wheat presence and the hops produce a fruity flavor. RERATE. I cellared this beer for about 5 months, not long, but I was impressed. A much more mature ale, with a warm alcohol flavor came out. Round and hoppy, yet a short, biting aftertaste arose. Nice straw color. Very desirable. I recommend cellaring this beer for a while and trying it. 2004 draught. Wow, the effects of Winter white can definitely be seen on this year’s version. I think it’s the best yet. Tons of sediment, a lot more agressive yeastiness and plenty more sweet malt. The warm fruit flavors are there in abundance, but the coarseness of texture, the big yeast flavor and slightly sour tinges that remind me of the Winter white, make this more enjoyable for me.
Clarkvv (16327) reviewed Third Coast Beer from Bell's Brewery 23 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
2002 and 2004 bottles. not bad, not great. I guess they made what they were trying to make. A little bit too light for me, and a strange bubbly/bitter taste that dosent belong. Could use some more hops, too grainy of a character. A touch more sweetness wouldnt hurt either. Has a good deep yellow color, with some moderate haziness and a huge foamy white head. Lots of sediment floaties. Aroma is dry, papery, touch of citrus, typical apa aroma, though lacking the caramel sweetness.
Clarkvv (16327) reviewed Porter from Bell's Brewery 23 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
2002 bottle (3.6 rating). DARK, BLACK, ROASTED COFFEE, DARK CHOCOLATE. BRACE YOURSELF this is strong stuff(but good). had some burnt/spicey notes on the nose that were very strange and seemed to linger too long. . . CASK! 2002 had the pleasure to try this on cask. Incredible. The strange bitter/burnt taste is gone and in its place an inviting malty roast flavor that is moderately sweet and ends with a creamy medium full body. Much better. Overall would give the cask somewhere between a 3.9-4.3 probably tending towards the higher end. 2004 bottle from csbosox. Thanks man, this stuff was fantastic! Wonderful thick and chewy chocolate malt mixes with a true coffee flavor, not too heavy, but also no wateriness. Roast, some oiliness and moderate sweetness. Even better than I remembered. I love going back to a beer I havent tried in a while and finding it better than remembered. That dosent seem to happen enough. (8/5/9/5/18)
Oakes (33097) reviewed Special Double Cream Stout from Bell's Brewery 23 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Black; rich roast in the nose. Slightly fatty body, light fruitiness (a function of the high gravity) - like cherries and grapes; long malty finish. Soft, smooth, slightly creamy and a little bit nutty. Kind of simple.
Brewery Stats
| Score | 6.93 |
| Beers | 352 |
| Ticks | 6522 |
Top Reviewers (Not including batches)
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Silphium | 156 |
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Drake | 124 |
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shrubber | 112 |
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Dogbrick | 106 |
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patrick767 | 100 |
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willisread | 90 |
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dwest | 83 |
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blackflag321 | 80 |