Bells Batch 8000 Ale

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

Thanks beagle for this midwest brew. Pours a murky golden color. Nice foam head, but faded pretty quick. Ring around the glass held in there, though. Smell is almost all spice, slight sourness, and a #### hair of alcohol. Taste is fruity, and smooth with more spices. Slight alcohol in the finish which is perfect, IMO. Awesome brew again from Bell’s.

Bottle in trade with Dukefan. Passion Fruit and orange peel are the two most prominent scents. Unique, fresh, tropical aroma. Hazy peach body with a lasting, light, off-white head that leaves nice, artistic lace. Plentiful visible carbonation. Orange peel and coriander are evident in the flavor, although passion fruit not so much. This is a unique beer; fresh, crisp and invigorating. Slaps you in the face a little bit, but, as MilkmanDan is fond of saying, in a good way. A very good beer that’s a quick drinker, and amazingly thirst quenching for a 9% ABV brew. No, this isn’t the big Dark Lord clone monster that Batch 7000 was, but my fellow Ratebeerians, you must think outside the box with this one.

Bottle. Pours out an orange color with a nice white head on it. Plenty of sweet spicy smells along with some coriander and orange. The taste of it kind of put me off at first, but as I got used to it, it became excellent. Very easy to drink, especially for 9%. Very good stuff, and a top rank witbier - even though on here it gets classified as a belgian strong, and thus it gets lost in a sea of beers which it does not even compare to. Since this is a belgian strong, I guess I will do a blind tasting with this, chimay, rochefort 8, and pannepot. On a more realistic level, this is probably the best wit I have had, and frankly, if the brewer says it is a wit, then to me that is good enough. Cant wait for 9000. I hope its not a 8% helles, because then it would be put under double IPA.

Pours thick, hazy, suspension-laden orangish pink with a diminutive white head. Very pleasant aroma of orange, citrus, and very faint coriander. Flavor is really really nice. Taste the orange, has morphed into something akin to grapefruit. Faint hint of the seeds of paradise as well. Wonderful. Recommend this one as long as you can get it.

I’m rating this as a souped up witbier, because that’s how I feel it should be rated. Anyway, enough ranting. This one pours like a glass of pulpy orange juice, with the color and consistency being almost identical. The head is about a finger worth and whitish, producing fairly clingy lace sheets. The aroma is great, a heavy dose of citrus fruits, among them orange, lemon, a heavy dose of clovey spices, and an undercurrent of hops. I noted pale malt, but the malt aroma took a back seat here. The mouthfeel is medium to hefty, with very well hidden alcohol, and a great complexity, mixing the citrus fruit flavors with the clovey spices and hops to create a very well balanced and smooth witbier. I bought a sixer, and it will be a challenge to cellar these, because they are so good.

Many thanks go out to alexsdad06 for a few of these. Pours burnt orange/tan with gold highlights, cloud as hell with a long lasting moderate white head. Looks nice to me. Aroma is on the dessert side of fruit and spice with a lot of orange, cinnemon, coriander, wheat, brown sugar, caramel, spiced Christmas bread, and a bit of banana, pear and fruitcake. All over the place. Tastes along a similar line, but more malty than the aroma with brown sugar, caramel, dessert breads and a bit of coriander tang, orange peel and rye. Finishes with a strong grain flavor on the throat and orange/spice on the tongue. Sort of a lingering tangy bitterness, but it’s not hoppy. Creamy texture and carbonation is fairly high; full bodied but shy of being sticky and viscous. Reminds me of Brasserie de Rocs Ambree a bit. Very good stuff IMO.

GABF. One of my favorites at the fest. Fruity and sweet on the aromas. More fruit on the flavor. Touches of spice and wheat. Good

good wit pour, nice big frothy head. Aroma is typical wit aroma, but its more balanced, and sweet. Also im getting a good whiff of american hops. Flavour is very smooth, and balanced. Lots of spices, and some soft fruit flavour, possibly from the paradise seed? Overall i’m really enjoying this. The alcohol is extremely well hidden, this is a very smooth, and very flavourful belgian wit. I wish i could get more, and have this all the time in the summer.