Bells Best Brown Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Brown Ale
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Poured a reddish-muddy-brown; medium to small white head. Aroma was light; caramel and nutty. Good for the style, just don’t like the style. Lightly sweet malt. Minimal hops. Nutty. Easy enough to drink, but very bland for me.

Pours a good solid brown color, a bit cloudy, beneath a cream colored head of soft foam. The head died back to a ring, and it left some decent spotty lacing. Not much of an aroma to speak of, I could detect a malty beer, but no real characteristics of it. Smooth, not-quite-sweet, and deliciously roasted malt flavor. Well balanced, but no distinctive hoppiness. I’ve had a prominently hoppy version of this beer once before (at a Bennigan’s in K’Zoo, MI a couple years ago) and so was surprised that this one was not hoppy like I remembered that one to be. I liked them both, but this one is more on-style than that Bennigan’s brew was. Medium body and softly carbonated.

Different Label picture but same brew. A clear chesnutty-caramel brown brew with thick foamy off-white head that leaves behind medium lacing. Very nutty aroma with notes of caramel and vanilla. Smooth malty flavor with nice bitterness, sweet, roasted nuts. Very drinkable.

Pours an Amber brown with head. I had a hard time detecting an aroma(roasts)? Shallow and malty bitter balance make for an interesting ale but its not exactly a great brown ale. Then again my expectations are high for this brewery.

Pours a nice brown color with a mid-sized head that leaves nice lacing. The aroma is of sweet malts and some hops, along with a little caramel. The mouth is creamy with a bit of carbonation as it goes down. Flavor is very nice. Malt and caramel are the most noticeable, and it ends with a slight touch of hop bitterness. Very well balanced. Tasty and easily drinkable.

Pours a clear ruddy brown with deep amber hues and a very healthy foamy light tan head. The nose is subtle. Dry toasty chocolate malts come out with the faintest floral hops. This is like liquid silk in the mouth. Smooth and creamy, entirely drinkable. The flavors shine also in this beer. There’s nothing over the top. Lightly sweet and slightly bitter chocolate malts come out with some toastiness, creaminess, a hint of floral hops and fruitiness, and a dry toasty finish. A bit acidic. There’s a slightly detectable bit of alcohol, which is surprising for the style, but lends to a subtle dryness in the flavor and finish. The aftertaste is bittersweet chocolate and toast with a hint of roast. I really enjoy this beer, not even for what it is, but for the fact that it shines despite what it being a mellow style.

Lacing and a multi-hued brown color make this beer a beauty in the glass. Aromas are straighforward hops and light caramel. There is some nice lemon contained in the aromas and the taste. The palate is really remarkable, however, creamy, smooth, rich and deep. Lots of finishing caramels. One of the best brown ales on the market -- certainly in America...

Poured from a 12oz bottle a dark brown with a reddish tint and a small tan head. Aroma was of sweet malts. Flavor followed suit with the same sweet malt as was in the aroma, it had slight caramel overtones and finished with a slight hop bitterness.