Bells Le Pianiste

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Bière de Garde
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Tastes of socks bananas and French bandaids. Yes..... French. Unimpressive as hell.

Draft at Maduro pre-GTMW Friday. Murky orange-tan, thin beige head. Toasty biscuity malt tones. Orange, mellowed as well. Medium to full bodied, a dry citrus aftertaste, maybe even a hint of rye. OK, well executed, just doesn’t nail it though. Chewy malt tones.

Poured a light copper color into a pint glass. Aroma was orange muted by some breadiness. Flavor was a bit “earthy” with orange and some spice. Just not as complex as many good Biere de Gardes. Has a light body with a dry finish. Not one of my favorites in this tap tackover but happy a tried it.

Honey and dough nose with a touch of fruit. The taste is lightly sweet, lightly bitter, with biscuit and light golden fruits, some herbal and floral hops. Toasted malt finish.

sample at GABF on 10/1/11. deep orange pour with a small white head. orange, spice and yeast notes across the nose. nice balance throughout. light bitterness, spices, light banana, bread and light malt backing. dry spice finish.

On tap at GABF, why wasn’t Bells much bigger there? Pours a mostly clear orange color with a medium white head. The aroma is rich sweet fruity malts, some bread and apples. The flavor is light spices- nutmeg-, a rich dried apple, light bitter hops. Very clean and nice.

On tap at the Eccentric Cafe. Fairly straightforward here, dry, fruity, and mildly spicy. Light head on the pour, and mango-orange in color. Looks like fruit juice, with a light layer of carbonated head. A light aroma, with mandarin citrus fruits, and lots of grains. Pale malts, white dinner rolls, and mild herbal spice. A mellow carbonation in the body. Also, lightly tangy and grainy. Fruity flavor notes of mild lemony citrus, tropical mango, and oranges. Balance with bready rolls, and mild spice. This wasn’t too bad, but nothing truly special. Good.

Number two (of three) in the French Jazz series - The Amber Serving glass: Poured from tap into small goblet. Appearance: Cloudy orange with very thin head. Aroma: Not much at first (slightly malty and sweet) but opens up as it warms with a focus on caramel and a nice earthiness. Taste: Just seems to be light caramel malts at first taste, but then becomes very nutty, fruity, and earthy. This one really improves as it rests in the glass. Palate: Moderate carbonation, smooth, somewhat full body. Overall: This seems to be the more traditional Biere de Garde of the three, and I think it is the best. Great sipping beer, and at 5.8%, you can just keep sipping.

On tap at Maduro. Poured hazy medium-orange with a short, dense khaki head. The aroma picked up bready and pale malts with touches of orange zest and earth around.. very soft, and not all that interesting. The flavor found bready and a little honey at the core, with light earthy bitterness surrounding.. a little tangy toward the back.. finished dry. Light-medium bodied with low carbonation on the palate.. this grew on me as the drink progressed.

Served on draft at Maduro in Madison, WI at the GTMW pre-party. Pours a hazy copper color with a medium sized tan head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of earthy, bitter hops, butter notes, toffee, wet dog. Weird. The taste is earthy, tinny hops, pale malts, butter, spice. Medium-full bodied.

On tap at Bell’s.Aroma: Lots of apricots along with some cereal, very fruity for a BdG. Appearance: Hazy copper pour, no head. Taste: Fruity, lots of apricots again, light barley notes. Palate: Light, smooth carbonation. Overall: Would have liked a bit more bite, but this is good.