Bells Batch 8000 Ale

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

Bottle. Pours a Hazy golden, ornagish color with a medium white head. Aroma of oranges, corriander,bananas, and allspice. Flavors of orange zest, wheat and malt. Medium body with a very unique spicy taste. Semi sweet finish. I completely enjoyed this brew! Nice!

12oz. bottle. Enticing fruit and spice aroma, juicy, citric and complex with notes of fresh orange, honey, coriander, clove, soft wheat malts and brown sugar, along with wafts of peppery, medicinal alcohol, bubblegum, light phenols and an incense-like perfume. Cloudy glowing orange in color with a fading, fine head. Flavor profile is rather profoundly spiced, with strong accents of clove, coriander and pepper, paired with tart, juicy citrus and gentle sweetness, somehow providing a refreshing quality at 9% abv. Mouthfeel is gently prickly and warming, almost mentholated, with a fullish body. Gains touches of sweetness here and there as it warms. Pretty well-rendered, if not the near-epic milestones seen in the 6000 and 7000.

One whiff and I was a believer. Coriander, Orange Peel. Just like the label boasts, its all there! Incredibly balanced! Great mouthfeel! Some sweet notes blended seemlessly with bitter hop notes. I took a non craft beer enthusiast and made him a believer with just a sip of this powerful formula. Very thick and heavy. I loved the Belgian Wit notes. I would buy this again, if I can find it. Highly recommended!

12oz bottle courtesy of JB175. Looks like a glass of pulpy orange juice when poured, very hazy and cloudy body, bubbly white head. Looks very juicy and appealing. Nose of coriander, fresh oranges, yeast, spices and herbal hops. Very nicely done. Flavor improves on that, oranges, lemons, yeast, hops and spices meld together exceptionally well. Medium bodied, dry palate and finish, which is very lengthy. Slightly sticky mouthfeel. A huge winner, I need more of this ASAP!

It’s been beaten to death, but this is nowhere near a BSA. It’s a travesty some arcane thinking is keeping this from it’s rightful category, because this is definitely a Wit. Hell, this is closer to a Tripel than it is a BSA.

Cloudy dull peach color. A mist of actionate bubbles reside within and climbing the glass edge. Small sustained capping of white foam sits atop. Minimal lacing in a few strings and spots. Aroma is a fairly present array of Belgian maltyness bringing in creamy orange candy, corriander dust, dullish banana, and a bit of lime. Quite clean and vibrant and sweetly citric. Flavors are full right away on the palate, big on sweet Belgian malt which really is giving more of the impression of a Tripel than a Wit. But as a big Wit it makes the grade. Large dullish citrus candy notions with orange, lemon, banana, pushed into a mushy dryness of yeasty goodness and soft breads that’s partially earthy and spiced with some corrainder and pithyness. Very rich and fulfilling with a super lofty smoothness thats easy to please. Yummyliscious! Feel is adequately broad and mediumish closing in on full; well-rounded, smooth, soft, lightly dryish, kinda creamy with a breadishness and a nice malt carriage to lift sweetness over and over again into and around the spicy yeast notes. A subtle concoction of Belgian fun here by Bell’s. I quite liked it and more is easy enough to drink down without much of problem. 9%? No where no be found. Sure its not quite up to par with the last 3 releases of Batch thousands, but its quite a treat in its own right no matter what the occasion. Congrats on another milestone Bell’s yummy brew!

12 oz bottle. Pours bright light orange with pretty big off-white head. The aroma is very orangey, almost like, I hate to say it, orange soda; the coriander also stands out a little bit, as well as some more general, grainy spiciness. The flavor is very, very grainy. It’s kind of like whole wheat bread at first. Then some spicy notes kick in: strong coriander, some pepper, some weird licorice-like notes. The finish is slightly woody and has a tart, zesty orange note to it. Dark, spicy aftertaste. Ok, but not as good as I had expected.

About an hour before I drank a couple sips of this beer I had Struiss Pannepot and as my rating shows, loved it. For its style this beer is even worse than it was before I knew its actual listed style. I hated everything about this beer, it was like bare tree wiess but worse. Spicy notes orange peel, yeast. I literally poured out 4/5ths the glass. I tried applying it being well made for style but once I logged on to see the style had no choice.

Sampled at the Newtown Brewfest. Pours a hazy straw/golden color with lasting head. Aroma of fruits, spices and grains. Exceptional flavor. The fruits, spices yeast, and hops all came together in a taste explosion that gets even better after you drink it. My taste buds were doing a happy dance with htis one. Crisp, flavorful, and refreshing. Excellent.