Bells Sparkling Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Abbey Tripel
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

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Sampled ice cold out of the fridge. Immensely thick cloudy amber/yellow (even before the yeast pour). Thick pocky 1/2’ off white head. Intense carbonation, struggling thru the thick liquid. Doughy aroma, some seltzer, coriander, lemon/orange peel and spicy hops. Whoa! I mean Whoa! The first sip attacks you. Thick and rich and loaded with yeast, spicy alcohol (10%+), which is evident but not intrusive, at first. Tons of pale Belgian maltiness with a sugary smack to it. Such a thick body. Chewy. Head remains thick and leaves a swath of lace. A beauty of a brew to look at. A savory spiciness emerges as does the alcohol taste. Very vodka like. As it warms I found this less drinkable. The alcohol started to assert itself more, a salty taste swayed in and out (along with some tropical fruitiness) and that aftertaste is disgusting. A savory herb flavor, which could be from reverse hopping? I’ve tasted this in brews that have been bittered with aroma hops and vice versa. Very unappetizing lingering flavor. This is truly a strange brew. A love/hate brew for me. It tastes great one minute and then the next sip I want to wretch from the aftertaste and alcohol surge. Very weird. Try at your own risk. Thanks Trap.

I had this at the end of a disapointing session with some beers I hadn’t yet tried, in Clarkston, Mich. This one was similarly lacking - suprising to find such a barely flavored brew from Bell’s. It’s mostly texture, as in the interesting rise of champagne like mirth in the mouth. What flavour there is is sweetish and pallid, a wisp of hops perhaps, and not augmented by much body.

Bells has done better!

UPDATED: FEB 3, 2008 Original was Jan 2002. Several more samples later, aged in the bottle, reveal a muted hop presence that really bumps up the malt, alcohol. Didn;t like quite so much after a couple tries Jan - March 2005. Original -- Ummm...wow! I’ve been sick all week, and bought this for purely medicinal reasons. Even through the head cold I could smell this amazing crispness, and Trap must be right in thinking Saaz...it’s tart crisp stinging aroma rivalled the excellent pilsners. Very effervescent, cloudy, wonderfully gold. The alcohol is very well hidden, and it almost as chewy malty as Bell’s Pale Ale. Whatever this thing is, I truly love it.

UPDATED: FEB 23, 2006 Wow! Pours with the traditional Bell’s rocky, froth white sticky head that stays til the last drop. Aroma of (Saaz?), biscuit malt and some floral tones. A fuller aroma, similar to Duvel. This beer is medium full bodied with explosion of CO2, but not too much; tingly mouthfeel. Followed by hops, subtle white wine, hint of barnyard, oranges and slightly medicinal phenols. Hop bitterness and biscuit malts battle each other for the finish. Pretty good.

What could be a better Christmas present than the final piece to my Bell’s bottle collection?

Fruity quite a bit of hops. Reminded me of a stronger Oberon. You can taste the alcohol.

UPDATED: MAR 11, 2005 A clever balance of taste, carbonation, mouthfeel, and of course, alcohol percentage. Not too heavy, and refreshing enough to mask the potency. Good beer.

Good brew, somewhat suprising in the strength dept. You can feel the warmth and taste a bit of the high alcohol content but, it’s stronger than it appears. For those of you who enjoy Bell’s Oberon you’ll taste a little note of it in this beer.