Bells Batch 6000 Ale

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

Wow. Batch 6000 is one impressive beer. Immediately upon pouring, I noted the pungent, well-balanced aromas of grapefruity, bitter hops and the malt caramel, bread, cherries, and soy sauce (which incidentally was only noted initially upon opening the bottle). Deep red-brown body, with a thin, quickly dissipating tan head that clung to the sides of the glass (St. Bernardus) and left nice lacing. Plenty of yeast sediment in the body. Flavor was as described by previous reviewers- clearly controlled by citrusy, grapefruity hops, but nicely balanced by rich malt complexities: caramel, cherries (especially as the beer warmed), bread, toast (especially in the initial sip), and soy sauce. Bitter citrus aftertaste. Some warming alcohol was noted at the end of the glass, but this young beer is already quite smooth for a 10.5% ABV creation. An amazing beer. I can't wait to try this after 6 months of aging. Updated 5 November. Tried another bottle tonight, comparing it to Double Bastard. Bells 6000 appears to be built from their IPA (Two-Hearted Ale), whereas the Double Bastard is malt-dominated. The tanginess and heavy citrus of the Two-Hearted Ale also dominate Batch 6000 in its infancy.

A murky, ruddy brown with plenty of sediment combines with a medium light tan head to start off this celebratory brew. Nose is a nice combination of hops and a very sour citrus note(argo0 says grapefruit, which seems reasonable). Flavor is a full force, all out assault on the palate, from beginning to finish! A lot of hoppiness from start to finish, and also some serious complexity, giving it an almost creamy, yet vineous quality. Listed as an American Strong, bottle describes it as a barley wine, but it's a good beer among either category! Really quite exceptional in this offering from Bells, and a marked improvement over Batch 5000!

Smells like oaky, big malts, restrained but big hops, clobbering malts in the mouth with a finish like burnt grapes and a little dry soot. Like Old Foghorn on steroids. Superb. Had at RB Philly gathering February 2004.

Thanks Jeremy for letting me try this on Christmas day!! Pours a deep, dark mahagony color with a thin lacing head. Malty caramel aroma. Very sweet! Almost candy like. Sweet, caramel taste in your mouth. Smooth, a hint of some hops. Warm. Easy to drink since the alcohol presence is hidden. A very well done beer.

Brown reddish color with a small tan head. Aroma is prunes and caramel. Flavor is caramel with the hops mpre pronounced in the flavor. Palate is nice and silky. Very good beer...this is one of my favorite barleywines ever i think.

(Bottle) Pours a cloudy reddish-brown body with a small off-white head. Aroma of fruitiness, caramel, and toffee. Flavor of fruit, chocolate, toffee,and caramel malt with a bitter finish.

On tap at BW3’s, downtown Indianapolis. Feb 2005. Dark brown with little head. It has a smooth mellow presence of malt and dark fruits like raisin and plum. There are definate barley wine characteristics in this beer. The flavor is round with brown sugar/molasses and a roasted malt playing with a moderate alcohol presence. A very nice beer, I’ll have to pull one out of my cellar in a couple more months and re-rate. 7-3-8-4-17=3.9 Rerate 2/19/06 A bottle that has been in my cellar since I bought my first 6 pack. Pours nicely, greaty creamy head. Round, chocolage, boosey, piney, earthy, maple, oak, vineous, tannin, molassses, dark fruits, walnuts, sweet, liqourice, alcohol. Those are what I got from this wonderful barley wine. Everything in this beer works so well together. The aroma is really what you expect an aged barley wine to smell like. There is a mix of piney bitterness, sweet bready malts, and a bit of alcohol. Any harsh bitterness that may have existed when it was young has mellowed and come into perfect ballance with the great malt sweetness and the welcoming alcohol tang. A little over two years old and this beer is top notch.

#100 what better way than with a mich. brew. Poured a nice mahogany with a small tan headand very little lacing. Aroma caramel raisins malts, alcohol and a sweetness like cherries.Flavor plums, molasses, malts,cherries and alcohol as it warms. I ahd this last year a I thought it was good beer, now after sitting in my basement for about 7 months it has become a very good beer I glad I bought more than a couple of bottles would like to rerate this in a year. thank you bells