Bells Batch 4000 Ale

Formerly brewed at Bells Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Bottle obtained in a trade with <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?U target=blank> ClarkVV, thanks Clark. Dark copper with some orange in colour, lasting white head, some lace. The aroma was of dark fruits, some caramel, earthy malts, some butterscotch and brown sugar. The flavour is malty, some gingerbread, rye, caramel, molasses, figs and plums. Lightly bitter mouthfeel, medium body, medium carbonation. Finishes lingering, quite smooth. Still holding up very well after all these years.

bottle. murky brown-orange body with a small ring of white head. rich yeast and malt aroma - cheese notes, caramel, and maple. full body that is mostly on the sweet side. there are some toffee flavours, caramel, yeast, with a faint alcohol presence towards the end. clean yeasty finish. very good considering it’s age. thanks Jeff.

UPDATED: JUN 22, 2006 Bottle with much thanks to jtw for this great extra! Pours a hazy copper color with a filmy white head. The aroma has some fruit notes, caramel, and some nice malt backbone. Flavor, a nice sweetness with a little spice to it. I was very worried this wouldn’t be all that great due to the age on it, but it’s held up pretty well. I was just stunned that I managed to get a 4000, 5000, and a 6000 within just over a month of each other. Trading is great.

12 oz bottle thanks to drewbeerme. So according to the description, this is 8 years old this month (I’m sure it was bottled quite a bit later) but i’ll just say wow. ... 8 years ago, i was about to graduate highschool, the world seemed completely different and it was completely different and so was I ... so this makes me feel nostalgic, not that I haven’t had older beers, but this makes me feel good. Anyway .. I’ll go out on a limb here and say, probably a little past its prime. Amber in color with a wisp of a head. The aroma is screaming with "past its prime" that old aged, a little vegetable aroma, but as it warms i’m getting some toasted, cookies, and sugar aromas ... not too bad for 8 years. Malty carmel flavors fruity with that lingering vegetable flavor on my tongue. If I didn’t know what I was drinking, I’d ask what the hell is wrong with this, but knowing what it is and the years its been through, and that I’ll probably never have another .... I’m kind of enjoying it.

Pours brownish amber in color, decent off white head. Aroma is sweet malt and caramel, with a touch of fruit. Flavor is mostly caramel and some roasted grains. Long lingering aftertaste from all the sugar. Would have loved to try this in it’s prime.

Medium amber color with a slighty off white head. Carbonated and bubbly. Smells of citrus, dough and hopps. Great, flavorful brew.

Bottle from Walleye obtained quite a bit ago. Saved it for the 4k-7k marathon that Oldgrown, 00cobraR, and myself were planning. Pours out a orange copper color without much of a head. Taste has some oxidation within it, but surprisingly not as much as I would have thought. Some sweet caramel flavors, but the hops are completely subsided. A good beer, certainly an interesting beer. Thank you Jim for the chance to try this very rare beer.

Translucent and fiery amber-copper in color with a hairline, white doily wrung to serve as the head. Toffee, brandy, rummy figs and cardboard with hazelnut oils join golden raisins avec liquid nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar and aromatic almond liquor. Flavor keeps the momentum going. “Double mild” is right-on-the-money. Brown bread and caramel biscuits are mediated by subdued cinnamon and easy-going hazelnut sheafs. Toffee chews slowly melting and diffusing throughout the palatary playing field. Dulled butterscotch and caramel coated praline chews. Gentle carbonation and a touch of wax at the tongue’s tip. Palate smacking toffee properties and a gentle, supportive hop schedule aid the ever even end quotient. Toffee bars, praline pieces and smooth maple fudge manifest in the finish. HUGE thanks to Styles for the bottle!

A big Hey_Thanks to Hey_Kevin!!! A really flavorful beer with plenty of malts to ponder. Some figgy, raisiny and some sweet and caramelly. Alcoholic and hoppy at the end. Excellent batch of beer from Larry the Guru!

Not sure what this was like fresh but it seems like it held up pretty well. Slightly oxidized with a touch of cardboard but it almost sort of adds to the nice creamy caramel sweetness. Hazy amber brown color. Aroma is sweet with a touch of fruit too. Flavor is malty, sweet, touch of roasted malts and fruit. Very complex with lots going on. More like a barleywine. Nice.