Third Coast Old Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

From a bottle poured a brown color with a good amout of head. Syrupy pour sweet with a bit of alcohol in the finish.

Bell’s does it yet again. Strong, but not overly thick mouthfeel, especially for a barleywine. Surprisingly drinkable for such a high ABV. Excellent choice if you get a few extra bucks to spend on a 6er!

The beer poured hazy brown with no head and the aroma was sweet malty and fruity with citrus notes. The flavor was grainy, malty with fruity notes, slightly sweet, OK. The palate was thick with light carbonation, very pleasing. This was an OK big beer, wasn’t all that impressed with it, but it was drinkable.

The burnt umber colored body was topped with a small, one finger thick head. There was a lot of yeast chunks floating around, so next time I’ll have to pour more carefully. The smell was bready, raisiny, and very malty, with just a hint of hops. The taste was rich without being neither overly sweet nor brazenly bitter. Very well balanced for such a high strength beer, with the alcohol not very evident either. A lot of raisin and apricot notes in the flavors, which were accentuated by a hint of sourness in the finish. A very satisfying heft to this beer as it traveled down the tongue. Not a coating nature, but not slippery either. Just a textured caress all the way through, somewhat similar to an orange juice with pulp in this matter. The finish is where the hops shined the most in their spicy herbal bitterness. Finish was pretty dry and warming. Quite easy to drink, considering what it is. Just got better and better, the more I took in.

Pours a deep red color, grainy, with a cream-colored head that gathers around the side. Aromas of vanilla, caramel, alcohol, and shoe polish. The palate is thick, softly carbonated, with a long-lasting finish. The taste is rich and malty upfront with a strong bitterness, tree-bark-like yeastiness, and alcoholic warmth at the end. This beer is almost overwhelming. I imagine it will mellow quite a bit with age. Definitely a sipper.

Bottle, 2009 vintage. Pours a dark hazy brown with a low almond head. Aroma is of sweet dark toffee with equal elements of grain, fruity yeast, and a vaguely swampy quality. Palate is quite carbonated, with flavours of dark toffee and hints of yeasty fruit. The finish is hot, bordering on harsh, with an astringent bitterness in the back of the throat. This seems like it needs a little time to mellow out. It just didn’t come together for me. Upon reflection, this played more like an amped-up dubbel than a barley wine.

Beaytiful aroma of dark fruit, bread, booze, citrus. The appearance is a nice hay red/brown, off-white head. The flavor is a nice fruity, bread dough flavor, some booze. The finish is light piney hops, sweet. The mouthfeel is syrupy, very full bodied. Excellent.

Sampled at Binny’s Glen Ellyn, IL. After Dinner Tasting. Poured a clear, deep, orangy amber, with modest, off white foam to the head, and spotty lacing. The aroma was candi sweetness, hints of caramel, dark fruit and maybe a little citrus, alcohol, and a light vinous character. The flavor followed these notes closely, along with a moderate hop bitterness, and alcohol turned warming. Current, and not a cellared version, so the color was probably lighter, and the little citrus was noticeable. A tasty winter warmer!