Bells Amber Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

Bottle. good caramel malt aroma and then progressed into the tasting with a good balance between the sweetness of the malts and the strength of the hops.

Bottle. Pours a dark orange to amber hue with a mostly sustaining offwhite head. Nose is modest malts- bread, caramel, light toffee. Flavor is pale bread-like malts mostly with a decent caramel presence, mild hop bitterness for balance, finishes quickly and fairly dry. Medium body, watery texture, light carbonation. About as middle of the road as you can get for craft beer, modestly malty ale with an unassuming flavor profile, at least its low abv lends to easy drinking.

Probably the most disappointing of the Bell’s offerings. Just nothing exciting about this one. Garnet colored pour with a small eggshell head that diminishes quickly. Aroma is caramel malt, citrus, and freshly cut grass. Flavor is quite sweet and a bit cloying...medium mouthfeel.

Not bad, but kind of boring. This style isn’t too wild in general, but I’m kind of pissed off I spent so much money on this six pack. Could be much worse though as it is certainly drinkable and quite good, but nothing I would buy on a regular basis and nothing that overly impressed me.

UPDATED: JAN 1, 2011 Batch 8940 Apparently this was bottled on January 27th. Pours a hazy amber with a small but constant white head. The aroma consists mostly of cereal and pilsner malts. A little bit of grassy hops are present. The flavor is just as malty, a little on the sweet side, and doesn’t boast much in the way of hops or bitterness. Very enjoyable, easy drinker.

bottle poured a light amber in color with a thin layer of white foam. aroma has malts, sweetness, and some light hops. mouth feel is light and the carbonation on the low side. flavor has a malted base, nuts, light sweetness, and some very dull hops. as the glass went on the bitterness picked up a tad and some minerals lie underneath it. this is the first bells beer not to give me some excitement.

orange-copperish color with a thick head. Aroma has some sweet maltiness to it. Taste is a perfect mix of bitter and sweet. Initially a sweet malt taste with some hints of nuts and caramel, but by the time you finish, the hops kick in so the beer is not overly sweet. Only downside is that the taste could have been a bit stronger. Body was a good thickness. A bit on the expensive side compared to what else was available, but still cheap enough to be an any week beer.

poured into a pilsner glass (i like to stuff my nose in there), out of a 12oz bottle. aroma was of yeast and citrus, not very strong. came out with a decent 1 finger head with great retention and medium lacing. i picked up mostly citrus and an underbelly of malt. mouthfeel was average, carbonation was kind of heavy, but otherwise it was enjoyable. the finish was unexpected, built strong but then fell flat. regardless i’d drink another one, a decent brew.