Bells Batch 8000 Ale

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

Bottle. Pours a clear orange with a one finger white head that lasts leaving good lacing. Aroma of coriander, citrus, grains of paradise, wheat, and yeast. Taste is the same as aroma. Medium mouthfeel with a mild amount of bitterness and light tart finish. Alcohol is very well hidden. A little to heavy on the spices but very good.

12oz bottle. Pour is an opaque melon orange color with only the faintest swirls of white film on top. Aroma is pretty heavy on the spices with the coriander taking front stage. I’m not sure what the paradise seed smells like but the other thing I smell isn’t the orange peel so that must be it. The flavor is also overwhelmed by the spices. I guess I like belgian wits because of their subtle creamy flavor. This beer is intended to be a double wit and it appears as though the spices are what was doubles. I love Bells but this one just isn’t my taste. 5/2/6/3/11

RERATE: 12oz bottle almost one year old. The aroma is still citric, and orange, but also honey and spices. The flavor brings out even more spices and grain character. Still disappointing and unpolished. The beer is raw and needs some tweaking and finishing. Although it doesn’t see old at all, this will continue to age. 6/3/7/3/16

RERATE: 12oz bottle about a year and a half old. Aroma is mildly spicy and creamy. More mild than I remember. The body is very creamy seems to have mellowed sufficiently to be pleasant. 7/3/7/4/15

Pours a nice golden-orange color with white head and pleasant lacing after head dissipates. Subtle taste of orange and coriander with a nice finish. I bought a 6 pack of this and had 3 almost immediately and 3 about two months after initial purchase. I felt the first three I had were overly hopped and masked the flavoring. Apparently two months of aging was what was needed, as the second set of three were amazing and the full flavor came through.

Bottle. Pours a hazy orange hue with yeast particles in suspension. The aroma is heavily spiced, yet tasteful in its execution. Strong coriander and orange are noted as well as subtler hints at clove and rye. There is an underlying tartness. The mouthfeel is fairly dense on this one. Any flavor I would associate with a Belgian wit is here: coriander, orange, cloves, banana. This is not heavily sweet, but rather nicely tart. The finish is lingering. The alcohol is very well hidden. This is unlike many Belgian strong ales I’ve had. This really is a double Belgian Wit. What a strange concept to take a normally delicate style and blow everything up, though it worked out pretty well.

Bottle. Poured a hazy, orangish-golden color with a ton of sediment and a light white head. Slight lacing. Aroma of coriander and clove, with a bit of banana. Mouthfeel is nice. Flavor is pretty complex. Starts out with a nice blend of coriander and orange peel, with a banana aftertaste. Not a beer I normally would like, but this is nice.

Split 12 ounce bottle in tasting glass. Pale cloudy yellow with white head. Aroma of alcohol, yeast, alcohol, spice. Honeyish sweetness with alcohol and slight spice and alcohol. Medium-full body and medium carbonation. Like Oberon with a shot of rubbing alcohol in it.

12oz bottle. Pours a hazy dark amber with a thin head, good carbonation, and some visible sediment. Aroma is both sweet and tart with sweeter citrus notes of orange, grapefruit, and passion fruit alongside notes of yeast, wheat, and spice. Taste is full with a flavor very closely tied to the aroma -- initial tartness and flavors of hops and yeast give way to a long, lingering finish of a melange of citrus, spice, and floral notes. Calling this an Oberon on steroids doesn’t do it justice.

A rich, deep brown pour with a creamy and frothy head. Aroma ranges from burnt sugar to cinnamon to orange. The flavor has a remarkable amount of complexity with a Christmas-y flavor and a quick, herbaceous finish. Batch 8000 would pair exceptionally well with a younger, more complex gouda and almonds.