Subsidiaries
5.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6
Plain, light brown, no head. NOT MUCH of a scent- why? Ordinary nut brown beer flavor- a bit bitter- nothing new, nothing special. Not bad. Drinkable, especially for those who don't want to attempt something slightly risky.
Tried
on 02 Feb 2004
at 06:28
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bell's-- ahh I've head so many good things about Bell's, and until this point, I had only come across expensive sixers. Appearance: golden amber, small head- nice color. Sweet smell, maybe apple- maybe not- not quite sure. Is my nose working tonight? Bitter and kinda plain in taste. Yea, really bitter, but not really good bitter. Yea, plain. Kinda boring. Ehh, pass on this, go for something more adventurous.
Tried
on 02 Feb 2004
at 06:27
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Aromas of malt, vanilla, and butterscotch.Looks like an abbey style. Has some similar characteristics to a dubbel or tripel also. Lots of malt in the flavor, some hops, but this barleywine is dominated by the sweet flavor. some bitter taste from the hops. Rich, thick, and heavy. I think the Bells name has something to do with the high score of this beer, but it is very good. Thanks to ztrvz for teh sample.
Tried
on 31 Jan 2004
at 20:41
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Draft/ First impression is a pleasant lemony aroma. Pours a nice cloudy yellow under thin but long-lived white head. Malts are very light, nice wheat complement.is subdued for the style. A little grassy (and a tad gassy), dry, with a tingle of bitterness. The citrus taste remains prominent, though toward the end more estery fruitiness and spiciness make an appearance. Not overwhelmingly "Belgian,", but very drinkable, like a kölsch or even a lawnmower beer.
I had this at the little sports bar in Marshall Field's in downtown Chicago, "InField's," and found it a pleasant surprise. Prices are interesting: $3.50 for 24 oz Gooses, $4.50 for micros on tap (Summit, Bell's, Sierra Nevada), and $5.50 for imports (just Guiness and Heineken). The BMC's are only in bottles. Not a bad deal.
I had this at the little sports bar in Marshall Field's in downtown Chicago, "InField's," and found it a pleasant surprise. Prices are interesting: $3.50 for 24 oz Gooses, $4.50 for micros on tap (Summit, Bell's, Sierra Nevada), and $5.50 for imports (just Guiness and Heineken). The BMC's are only in bottles. Not a bad deal.
Tried
from Draft
on 29 Jan 2004
at 21:29
6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Looks like a bells stout, smells like a bells stout. Sour and acidic. thin on the palate. some coffee, some chocolate.
Tried
on 25 Jan 2004
at 01:24
8.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
This is the best coffee stout ever, but you really need to be a coffee lover to enjoy it. If coffee isn't your thing, get as far away from this beer as possible. Walk into your favorite, family owned coffee roasters, stand near the bean roaster and take a deep breath. This is, roughly, what this beer smells like. Take a handful of those beans and chew on them. This is, roughly, what this beer tastes like (with some cream and a touch of sweetness). To most, this would sound repulsive, but to a coffee fiend like me, this is the perfect marriage of the two beverages I love the most.
Tried
on 21 Jan 2004
at 17:43
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
2003 bottling. Pours like liquid caramel, with a murky orange-brown body that is topped with just a film of off-white carbonation. The aroma is an explosion of caramel and toffee with apple cider highlights. This is an exercise in flavor. Candied apples, caramel, toffee and buttery flavors are enhanced by an almost minty spiciness, finishing with piney hops bitterness. The big, sticky, relatively flat body is at least as thick as 2002 Expedition Stout. It is as if somebody melted gooey, buttery, spicy cookies in a liquid matrix. Delicious gooey, buttery, spicy cookies, that is. Alcohol is warming but subdued by the syrupy body. Thanks Mike (BBB63) for this rare gem! I have now entered the zone of beer debt.
1993 vintage sampled at Bells 20th Anniversary Party.
Another treat at the Bells gathering was a 750 mL bottle of this vintage treat, which I’ve only sampled once (the 2003 version). The body was dark copper-red, with a thick cream-colored head. Minty, spicy aroma with hints of rosemary. Densely caramely body with brown sugar, prune, grape, rosemary, mint, and definitely ginger. A fellow sampler suggested it was teriyaki sauce, which was a fitting description. Not as Christmas-cookieish as the more recent vintage I tried, but still tasty and quite rich.
Rating for 1993 vintage Eccentric Ale: APP: 5 ARO: 8 FLAV: 8 PAL: 5 OV: 17 (4.3 overall).
2005 vintage, released December 2006.
This year’s release had a deep fiery red-brown body, topped by a thin, dissipating light buff head. The aroma was primarily of cinnamon and ginger, met by sharp notes of hot alcohol. The body is dominated by sweet malts, almost soda-like in their sugary immediacy, paired with the spices mentioned above. Alcohol detectable but not overtly so. Not as complex or interesting as the other vintages I’ve tried, this even comes across as a bit thin due to the lack of depth exhibited by the exaggerated sweet malts. Rating: 7-4-7-4-14 (3.6).
1993 vintage sampled at Bells 20th Anniversary Party.
Another treat at the Bells gathering was a 750 mL bottle of this vintage treat, which I’ve only sampled once (the 2003 version). The body was dark copper-red, with a thick cream-colored head. Minty, spicy aroma with hints of rosemary. Densely caramely body with brown sugar, prune, grape, rosemary, mint, and definitely ginger. A fellow sampler suggested it was teriyaki sauce, which was a fitting description. Not as Christmas-cookieish as the more recent vintage I tried, but still tasty and quite rich.
Rating for 1993 vintage Eccentric Ale: APP: 5 ARO: 8 FLAV: 8 PAL: 5 OV: 17 (4.3 overall).
2005 vintage, released December 2006.
This year’s release had a deep fiery red-brown body, topped by a thin, dissipating light buff head. The aroma was primarily of cinnamon and ginger, met by sharp notes of hot alcohol. The body is dominated by sweet malts, almost soda-like in their sugary immediacy, paired with the spices mentioned above. Alcohol detectable but not overtly so. Not as complex or interesting as the other vintages I’ve tried, this even comes across as a bit thin due to the lack of depth exhibited by the exaggerated sweet malts. Rating: 7-4-7-4-14 (3.6).
Tried
from Can
on 19 Jan 2004
at 17:32
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
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.
Tried
on 17 Jan 2004
at 20:06
8.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
Black with a cool looking pink foam. Aroma of coffee and cherries. Flavors of cherry, coffee, and chocolate. Thick and Heavy. Reminded me of Old Rasputin-with cherry added.
Tried
on 11 Jan 2004
at 01:38
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 8.5
Orangey brown color with med slightly creamy head, fading to a thin layer. Full rising carbonation. Rich malty aroma with caramel, small amount of chocolate, light fruit. Hint of earthy and herbal hops (also slightly woody and mushroomy and not entirely pleasant...Northern Brewer?). Nice roundly sweet Britishy malt flavor up front, caramelly, nutty and light fruity. Herbal finish. Carbonation is a bit strong/biting, almost detracting from smoothness and hence drinkability - it almost doesn't feel like natural carbonation. Let it sit in the glass, especially if its too cold, but also to release the carbonation, and it becomes a really nice English Brown Ale.
Tried
on 05 Jan 2004
at 12:05