Bells Batch 8000 Ale

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

Bottle (12oz). Shared with blankboy and tupalev, blankboy’s bottle. Cloudy gold with a smallish frothy off-white head. Pungent grassy/yeasty aroma, deffo Belgian yeast, candi sugar. Taste - similar - sweet, almost sugary up front, then pungent lemon zest, coriander, grassy bitterness - like a sweet saison, quite pungent. Thick, heavily astringent mouthfeel, nicely carbonated, longish spicy finish - very nice, juicy and dry.

12oz Bottle - Trade - pantanap
Aroma – Deep rich Belgian yeast aroma with tons of fruitiness.
Appearance – Deep Orange amber color, cloudy and with a thin head.
Flavor – This beer had flavor to give to the next beer. Rich Belgian flavors with great malts and spice. The orange peel and coriander where awesome.
Palate – Nice Mouthfeel, great texture with a good dry finish.
Overall – A over the top Belgian Beer this had flavor and was great to drink.

On tap. Pours a cloudy yellowish orange color with a bright white head. Aroma is similar to a heavier Winter White or perhaps even Sparkling Ale. All the Bell’s white beers kinda blend together. Bready, yeasty, doughy with the citrus and banana and all the other smells that every other wheat beer has. You can sense from the aroma that this is a stronger than average wheat beer, not so much from the alcohol just the intensity of the malts and spices. Taste is the same, with the bready maltiness being a little bit out of balance. This reminds me a lot of Southampton’s Double White and Southern Tier’s Heavy Weizen. Good though really nothing special.

Bottle courtesy of mgumby10 -- thanks!

Gotta say I’m disappointed by this one, especially given my generally extremely high regard for Bells. But this one? It’s no match for Batch 7000, that’s for sure.

Pours a very hazy light orange-gold with scant head, like apricot nectar in my snifter. Softly sweet over-ripe peaches and cider, coriander --- but also strong savory flavors and aromas: a grilled portabello mushroom burger with jarlsberg melted on top (or rather, like burping one, if you really want to know). The flavors just don’t come together, the beer is thick and almost syrupy -- too sweet, something like pumpkin spices -- it’s just not working for me.

Medium golden color with decent head. Aroma of spicy yeast with a little banana and some sweet flowers. Taste is dominated by honey sweetness with rich, complex, bready malts. A hint of fresh citrus and some alcohol. Really just a bit too sweet for me though. Thick with a slightly bitter finish.

12oz bottle served in Duvel Tulip. Bottle conditioned, quite a bit of yeast. Poured reddish gold with a big bubbled white head. Clove, Belgian yeast spice and a little alcohol in the aroma. Lots of spice in the flavor. Rich mouthfeel. Fruity flavors, plenty of malt with some candy sugar. Warming. Solid beer, but didn’t really make a big impression on me.

Bottle. Aroma is a mild sourness and orange. Cloudy orange with good lacing. Huge flavor, tons of citrus and a dry bitterness. Smooth, clean palate.

Bottle thanks to shp555. Pours a cloudy orange with a thin white head. The aroma is spices and citrus. The taste is really quite close to a marmalade sandwich; some citrus and coriander along with wheat. Really a nice beer, simple and yet so darn good. Is this really 9%? It has very little alcohol presence. Nice.