Bells The Oracle DIPA Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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This poured a hazy orange color with an off white head. Aroma was loads of resinous hops, mainy citrus and pine, and alcohol. Flavor was very biting bitter hops up front, citrus and piney notes, mouth puckering really, with a bready not so sweet finish. The only thing detracting from this one is the alcohol is not hidden very well at all.

Draft @ Aromas in Athens during Bells Bowl. poured a hazy amber with a smaller, but lingering off white head. Aromas of caramel, candied orange, light pine and earthiness. Flavors of orange zest, carmel, earthiness, and light pine with a smooth dry lingering moderatly bitter finish. Great IIPA and when compared directly to Hopslam (a personal favorite) is still holds up very nicely.

Nice aroma of flowers, grass, hay, almost a Riesling wine, and sweet prunes with some yeast. Nice bitter wet hopping balances with a sweet plum/raisin fruitiness and a touch of yeasty dough. Orange/amber in color. Texture feels a bit oily, but this beer is great! I would consider it to be very close to Sierra Nevada Bigfoot.

Tap flight at Bavarian Lodge. Clear apricot color with a sticky white head. Nearly full lace on the glass. Aroma of tropical fruits and citrus. OMG hoppy deliciousness without being astringent or stinky. Full, robust, flowery and sudsy hops in the mouth. Very complex (even for this West Coaster). Piney and subtly Earthy hops follow the initial floral "bouquet". Very hoppy but malty enough to hold it all together. In fact, the malt serves as a bright, slightly sweet platform which enables the hops to shine. A little alcohol heat stays on the gum line but goes completely undetected while the brew is in your mouth. A Top 5 DIPA for me, almost certainly above both Plinys.

Pours an amber orange with off white head. At this point the hops are starting to fade. That said the nose and taste are malty sweet, fruity, citric, and a bit piney. Another very well done offering from Bells.

12oz bottle, bottled 8/12/11. Nice, thin off-white head. Mildly hazy amber color. Decent lace. This DIPA is pretty firmly on the malty side but not in an overly sweet way that can ruin a lot of DIPAs for me. Still has a solid dry texture to it, and strikes a decent balance between sweet and malty. Nice, resiny but complex fruity hop aroma, with the malt layer over it. I’m curious what this is like fresh.. But I have to say, it’s still satisfyingly complex despite the malt factor. A lot of flavor.

Drank this fairly fresh. Really big, tons of citrus, resiny pine, a bit of alcohol but not too hot. Surprisingly well hidden for 10%. Loved the big body and tons of juicy hops. Aroma was real huge too, just the way I like it.

2009 vintage courtesy of FlandersNed. Deep hazy copper with white that fades quickly, but leaves heavy lacing. Aroma of skunked out aged hops, fruit-covered caramel and some booze. Flavor of moderately sticky fruit, caramel and toasted malt followed by a solid pine bitterness that lingers. Some lingering caramel as well. Decent alcohol burn. Presents nicely as a slightly thinner, still hoppy, barley wine. Nice.

Pours a dark copper from a bottle or tap. Big smell of wants about to come in the taste. This beer is very bitter but not in an earthy manner. I think it would be crisper as you do get the usual grapefruit and pine taste but I think a strong off alcohol flavor mutes everything. The body is medium but very stick to your mouth. My favorite brewer and a great style but this one is just fair.

From notes. First reviewed 1/21/2011. Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a tulip. With an aggressive pour, a large, rocky, eggshell head forms, eventually fading while retaining its rocky quality and leaving webs of lace on the glass. The color itself is a full copper amber color, without a ton of brightness. Lots of citrus and tropical fruits in the nose - grapefruit, pineapple, apricot, and tangerine. The fruits smell candied and sweet. Some booze and some light sweet malts as well. The taste definitely starts out sweet, but it turns to candy and then grapefruit and pineapple hops. It reminds me of sliced grapefruit and pineapple coated in sugar and baked until it caramelized. A little booze, and then more citrus hops. Tangerine and apricot fills out the profile. A little bit of piney hops at the end. The finish is lightly bitter but also pretty clean. This drinks about 10%, and I mean that in a good way. Rich, IPA-creamy feel, with medium carbonation. Light hop residue and lightly sticky, but overall very smooth. I really just can’t put this down.

The Oracle pours a nice deep amber color. A big fluffy white head appears. Great retention and a ton of lacing throughout. My first smell of this beer presented a ton of fruit. Fruity and hoppy. Grapefruit and pine. Very fresh hops. As I pulled the glass away and took another whiff I picked up more of a malty smell. Like the damn hops had rendered my nostrils useless. Taste is full of bitter grapefruit and piney hops. There is a ton of hops but there is also a hearty malt backbone that balances out the hops nicely. There was also a decent amount of alcohol that would peer through. It’s a fantastic tasting double IPA but with the alcohol showing it’s also letting you know that this is a big beer. I can’t find the ABV on this beer but if I had to guess I would think it’s sitting between 8 – 10% abv. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and chewy.