Bells This One Goes to 11 Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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In short: A sweet (caramelized-fruity) and bitter (resinous-citrusy) and boozy copper ale. Decent beer. Just another face in the crowd.
How: Bottle 12oz, consumed 5 months after the beer release. Bottle sent to me by tyler_mn, thanks a lot Tyler.
The look: Clear redish-copper body topped by a medium off-white head leaving good lacings on the glass.
In long: This American Strong Ale smells like a Imperial Red Ale with a nose that is bursting with hops resin, baked red berries pie, a bit of booze. Taste is thick creamy caramelized malts, a bit in a sweet pastry, baked red berries, sweet fruits, surprising yeast presence, bitter citrus fruits, green plants/vegetables, sticky hops resin, alcohol heat. Very full body that doesn’t. A pleasant generous but very soft carbonation. Obviously quite sweet although not cloying. Some alcohol heat but less than expected for an 11%. Assertive bitterness that stands up to the malt sweetness, surprisingly well balanced monster beer. I can’t find anything wrong with it, it’s not very aggressive, it is relatively easy to drink, but the whole thing didn’t win me over. Lacked a je-ne-sais-quoi to be more than just another sweet-hoppy-boozy monster beer. Quite a few good ratings for this beer, and you would be amazed at the amount of time I have spent on ratebeer trying to find a way to delete other people’s ratings.

Had this at the 2013 World Expo of Beer and this was my personal "Best of Show." A huge and richly complex brew of a beautiful orange color, Bell’s knocked this one out of the park. I’ll be looking for more of this in bottles. Awesome.

12 ounce bottle. Thanks Tim! Pours reddish brown with a small off-white head. Aroma of pine, fruit, grass, caramel, and malt. Taste is grapefruit, pine, caramel, dark fruits, malt, and grass. Big taste!

Bottle. Hazy amber body. Frothy off-white head. Aroma of paint, raw grain, alcohol, pine, floral hops. The flavor is moderately sweet and lightly to moderately bitter. It finishes lightly to moderately sweet and moderately bitter. Medium body, watery/sticky body, moderate carbonation. Lingering bitterness in the finish along with hot, peppery alcohol. Resiny, pine tar astringency.

Clear, dark reddish amber. Medium creamy white head, lasting, full lace. Aroma is big, sweet, fruity, citrus, peach, tropical. Medium to full body. Smooth full hop, not dry or super bitter. Creamy. Hop candy. Clean and so drinkable. ABV dangerously undetectable. Deliciousness.

Clearing backlog. No comments. Apologies, future ratings will have detail. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle tasted at Oxford Tasting Nov 2012. Pours a deep red, with a nice sticky head. Big hop grapefruit aroma. Caramel and citrus hop flavors play nice together, bitterness up front, finishes long with a thick mouthfeel,. Should age nicely.

Bottle. Pours a murky deep copper with think tan head that quickly dissipates and some solid lacing. Notes of sweet caramel, burnt toffee, vanilla, citrus, pine, nail polish remover, grain alcohol. Too boozy and slightly astringent for my taste.

12 oz bottle pours amber with a off white head. Aroma of caramel malts, fruit, citrus and grain. Taste is sweet fruit, malts, and a nice bitterness.

On tap at Sam’s, Durham, at a recent takeover. Surprisingly light and elegant when sipped alongside the goliath BA 9000, this brew had a massive, bright fruitiness to it that is often obscured in the face-shredding ASA category. Certainly as a red there were substantial sweet malts in there, but the tropical notes and occasional bitter ones were more assertive, to the beer’s benefit. Enjoyed it.