Bells Batch 6000 Ale

Formerly brewed at Bells Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

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.

light brown in color with a tan head. the smell is lightly of coffee, and hops, fruit. the taste is bitter sweet and alcoholic, very thick, very nice.

Really good barleywine. Nose of caramel and allspice, pours a cloudy dark brown with a small tan head. Less sweet than most barleywines I've had, with hops very evident to balance out the smooth malt. Thick, almost chewy mouthfeel; very enjoyable. Thanks Secret Santa!!

A very nice, incredibly tasty barleywine. Hints of rum and vanilla extract. A very nice smooth mouthfeel, with a slight alchohol burn in the back of the mouth. Finishes very smooth and rich.

rich bold smell, notice the alcohol. very dark red with noticeable sediment suspended in the glass.the alcohol is evident in the taste but the flavor remains smooth.

given it's depth of character and the invariably corrupting influence of it's high ABV, this one is bound to cause even the jaded drinker to involutarily indulge in the wanton hurling about of discriptive superlatives-- thus i'm pleased to grab a few hunks of hyperbolic vernacular and let fly to see if i can nail some germane verisimilitudes! i mean, who wouldn't be? this brew pours chestnut and red fox fiery with glowing browns, plus a proud cockscomb crest of roasted turkey tan-- and still this resplendant brew manages to suspend a fair amount of hop-bomb shrapnel right there in it's glowing bosom. monster fortified malts are wailing up from the glass like hungry demons locked in abysmal sticky dungeons. electric oranges are blinking in mute caution and boulevard fountains are gushing torrents of caramel. there are twisted hedges of bitter pine, strange apparitions of buttered rum and pools of melon nectars. oh, did i mention the mildly hallucinogenic aid i took just prior to sampling this? just kidding. this is certainly a sipper. raw and mighty, frenetically bitter and sweet-- i've never had the patience or wherewithal to store such beers and taste them at appropriately epochal intervals-- i tend to choke 'em down as i acquire them. consequently, i'm not one to say "this will age well". the grand canyon should age well, but my bell's 6000 is just history.

Deep copper w/ a lasting beige tightly formed head. Nice alcohol legs on the sides of the glass. Citrusy hop and lightly solventy alcohol; lightly malty with a hint of roast, toasted malt, chocolate, wood, and fruitiness. Flavor starts malty, but has a very non distinct malt profile. Hops in the flavor are more pronounced than malt character. Alcohol is present in the flavor and lends a light fruitiness, and there is also hints of roastiness; well balanced but bitter and finishes hop flavored and slightly dry. Very full bodied and low in carbonation w/ a slightly more than warming alcohol presence and a light hop astringency. Overall, my expectations were not really met with this one. I am underwhelmed by the lack of complexity in the malt character. It could be due to lack of aging, but hopefully some aging will round out the rough edges and hopefully give it more complexity.

On tap at Map Room-Chicago. Not as sweet as some other good examples of barley wines. Rather dry. Good deep ruby color; dark-tight head; noticeable alcohol. Not very lingering, but packs a wollop.