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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Enticing aroma and attractive amber pour with a complex taste and lingering, warming aftertaste. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Pours clean auburn w/ foamy beige head. Tons of lacing that lasts. Aroma is big blast of resiny dank hops w/ some papaya in there. Rich and buttery malt profile, really interesting and refreshing relative to the typical sticky caramel messes of many DIPA’s. Diverse hop profile of equal parts resin, dank, and pine. Nice residual bitterness without being too oppressive. Really enjoyed this one.

A buddy of mine lucked into this beer at a Hy-Vee in Cedar Rapids. He saw it behind the counter and luckily the woman working had no clue that she wasn’t suppose to sell it and let him purchase a six pack of this beer and he was nice enough to share a bottle with me. Categorized as an American Strong Ale or an Imperial Red This One Goes to 11 was rather obscure on the market this year. I know this beer comes with a hefty price tag but I do think a wider release of this beer would be great because this beer packed a ton of flavor and would be a definite buy again. Nice thick head with tons of lacing, the aroma of the centennial, simcoe, and mosiac hops stand out with grapefruit and citrus, followed nicely by the caramel and toasted aromas of the malts. Flavor resembles the aroma with a deceptively smooth finish. Bells really brings their A game with this beer and they continue to impress with their limited release beers. Not as talked about as Hopslam is when it comes out, this beer should be on your list of beers to try, especially if you are into reds, ambers, or Belgian strongs, but watch out for that ABV, it can sneak up on you. From the brewery: “This One Goes to 11 Ale opens with bright, juicy aromas such as tropical fruits & ripe cherries, largely derived from massive kettle & dry-hop additions of Southern Hemisphere hop varieties such as Galaxy, Motueka, and Summer. The citrus & resinous pine notes of the Pacific Northwest hop family are also well represented, making their presence known through Simcoe, Citra, and the newly released Mosaic varietal, just to name a few. A wide range of specialty malts anchor the hops to this IMPERIAL RED ALE, contrasting the assertive bitterness & juicy aromatics with a robust, toasty depth of flavor. Fermented with Bell’s signature house ale yeast, This One Goes to 11 Ale finishes with a lingering warmth.” REVIEW STYLE: American Strong/Imperial Red ABV:11% PURCHASED AT: A Hy-Vee in Cedar Rapids. Pour: Amber pour with a thick white head; great lacing on the glass. Aroma: Grapefruit, caramel, toffee. Taste: Very well balanced between the hops and malts, very drinkable for 11% beer. Overall: B+ My Recommendation: Find it, try it. A great beer to try and if you are new to this style this is a good place to start.

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.

UPDATED: NOV 18, 2012 Great beer. Not worth $18 a sixer. Aromatics start with piney, resinous hops and a mild alcohol smell. Appearance is deep burnt red with small wispy off white head. Taste starts with caramel malt and finishes with piney resin bitterness. Palate is medium in body and quite pleasant. Overall, I nice but too pricey.

This beer is awesome. Clear ruby red in color with a whispy kakki head that lingers to the end. Deep cherry in the aroma, grape, passion fruit, caramel. Medium-bodied, lightly carbonated with a lingering finish. Starts out malty and sweet, but not cloying. Balanced well with an assertive, but soft bitterness. Fantastic brew. A real treat.

Strong scent of grapefruit, strong taste which is slightly disappointing from the good smell, too bitter :-(

Bottle pour into pint. Clean red/gold color; small, quickly fading head. Big nose: fresh cherry and tropical fruit. Taste: tangy cherry, orange. This is quite a sipper. Drinking from a fresh 6-pack; not sure that I will have any to save to see if the flavor mellows with time.

Poured into snifter, a dark amber with one finger beige head a decent amount of lacing with some alcohol legs. Up front the aroma is citrus hops im getting strong grapefruit and also some pine followed by a sugary sweetness. The taste is very well balanced a very nice hop profile im picking up mostly those piney hops and some honey type sweetness towards the middle of the tongue and the back end is slightly bitter. The alcohol is noticeable but very mellow and fits in perfectly. Very nice sipper here.

(Not a hop lover) 12oz to snifter. 2 month old bottle. I cannot discern hop aromas, but it is very much all hops in the aroma. it is a beautiful deep copper color. The flavor is much like a malty red ale, but with a hop kick in the pants. I actually enjoyed this.