Bells Batch 5000 Ale

Formerly brewed at Bells Brewery
Style: Smoked
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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Pours department ruddy brown. Nose is light smoke and malt. Flavor goes more To the smoke side, like a camp fire with dried fruit.

Shared by drewbeerme at RBSG. Pours a deep and murky auburn brown with wispy head. Nose is sweet and caramel with some smoke in the distance. Light soy notes and cocoa as well. On taste, completely different experience. The smoke hangs on strong with a great campfire note that goes well with the robust caramel notes. I can’t believe this is 6.5 years old and still going strong. Perhaps on its way downhill, but phenomenal nonetheless.

Some awesome person poured some of this into my glass at RBSG 2010. Pours a dark reddish brown with some semblance of head. Very cool to try this. Aroma is still smokey, surprisingly, after all this time. A bit of sweet malt, maybe some cherry. Flavor is meat and liquid smoke. Really surprised it’s still smokey because I’ve always thought that smoked beers lose the smoke quickly. This is pretty nice. Obviously, not as great as it must have been so many years ago, but still. Wow. Awesome beer.

Sampled on tap at RBSG ’10 (Grand Rapids, MI). Pours a nice murky rusty brown, fairly opaque, some lighter edges, small carbonation. Dies to near nothing. Aromas are decent smokiness, biscuit, cherry wood. A decent saltiness and cured meats. Initial is fairly smokey and salty, a good biscuty malt with toffee, malty sweetness anf cherry wood and smokey meat smoke. Not bad, a decent oxidation sends it for the worse and a touch of bandaids follows through. A touch of biscuity mellow, Ok, the smoke is still bringing the power, but the beer itself appears to be past it’s peak. Smoked beers are definitely a secret love though and wins it a point or two overall. Cheers.

Not sure who was kind enough to open this at the 2010 RBSG Grand Tasting but thanks a ton! Poured a dark cloudy brown with a small grayish brown head that dissipated to the edges. Aroma was full of smoked malts with dark grains a bit of a jerky note. Flavor started out reserved with dark grains with smokey notes really grow to a very smokey finish and after taste. Definitely some smoked meats come out in this.

The Dan Journal #343. Tasted 4/1/10. 12oz bottle. Filtered with a lively body. Webbed off-white head. Aromas of sweet malts and smokey raisins. Lotta dark dried fruits. Big burn in the nostrils. Full bodied and totally sweet. Mild effervescence and a thick body. Dried fruit. The great smokiness really blends well with the alcohol burn. Lingering sticky finish. Still good after all these years. Tasted as part of a 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000 verticle!

poured with a tan head, slightly hazy dark amber; lace. aroma smoke dark ripe fruit, one of the best smoke/rausch beers i’ve ever had. balanced with body and a little sweetness. not sure on the alcohol. nice finish considering the huge flavor. big beer! not a session beer.

Amber pour. Aroma is smoky as hell with some bacon notes and bandaids. Flavor is really sweet with a good smoked bacon flavor profile. This one showed no signs of oxidation at all.

Bottle 12fl.oz. @ home.
[ Trade by Bobby91w ]. Unclear dark red amber color with a average, frothy - fizzy, good lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is light heavy malty, smoke - meat, modrate caramel, dark berry - raisin. Flavor is moderate to heavy plum - raisin sweet and moderate to heavy rubber - peat smoked bitter with a long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. Normal i like very much smoked beers but this was strange ! [20090816]

Bottled. A hazy amber beer with a thin white head. The aroma has notes of malt and caramel as well as light notes of smoke. The flavor is sweet with notes of malt and smoke from beech wood, as well as notes of over ripe fruits and alcohol, leading to a dry finish where the alcohol tickles the tongue. Thank a million CaptainCougar for coming to Denmark and bringing this - I’m really happy to try one of the other rare examples of a smoked BW, but I think Ungstrup’s Reserve is the better...