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Bells Wheat Love Ale 3.6 270

Bells Wheat Love Ale

 (RETIRED)
Percentile
92
overall
Formerly brewed at Bells Brewery
Style: Barley Wine

Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

bottling
unknown

on tap
unknown

distribution
unknown

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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
2703.62/5.03.6/5.0Special8%63.8Snifter
Commercial Description:
Bell’s Wheat Project (2005) is an experimental foray into the development of complex flavors in beer. The Project comprises five new ales, four in series and one specialty strong product. The first four, Wheat 2, Wheat 4, Wheat 6 and Wheat eight are all made using 55% Wheat (either wholly or mostly malted) and 45% Barley malt. The barley malt makeup is exactly the same in each of the four and consists of three different malts. The total amount of grain in each of the four is also exactly the same, so each of them should have a virtually identical original gravity. The type and amount of hops in each of the four is exactly the same. And the processing through the brewhouse and fermentation is also exactly the same. The changing factors between the ales are the composition of the 55% of wheat used and the type and number of yeast strains used. In Wheat 2 the 55% of wheat is made up of two different kinds of wheat malt, and this ale is made with two different yeasts. Wheat 4 is made with four different wheats and four yeasts. Wheat six and eight made with six and eight wheats and yeasts respectively. The final product, Bell’s Wheat Love Ale, is made with the eight yeasts of Wheat eight and is a strong, but relatively light colored, “wheatwine.” 2. Basic Content List for the Wheat Series Wheat Two Wheats: White, Dark Yeast: Bell’s house ale strain, WLP410 Belgian Wit II Wheat Four Wheats: White, Victory, Toasted sprouts, Torrefied Yeast: WLP550 Belgian, WLP570 Golden, Wheat Two blend Wheat Six Wheats: White, Dark, Toasted sprouts, Torrefied, Red, Caramel Yeast: WLP500 Trappist, WLP530 Abbey, Wheat Four blend Wheat Eight Wheats: White, Dark, Victory, Toasted sprouts, Torrefied, Red, Caramel, Chocolate Yeast: WLP4000 Belgian Wit I, WLP565 Saison, Wheat Six blend
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 badgerben (3610), Blaine, Minnesota, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/103/515/20
Dec 27, 2005  
Hazy gold with an ever so fading head. Distinct apricot aroma with some banana, cloves and wheat tagging along. The taste is odd... I get the wheat, but it’s lighter than I would expect for the last one in the series. A very small pinch of corriander; it’s so light that a corriander-hater like myself can actually enjoy it. Bitter and almost a bit sour. A touch spicy. Doesn’t strike me as too ’clear’ in the flavors, but maybe a little time will let it shine out.


 JasonG (701), Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/515/20
May 11, 2006  
Slightly hazy golden orange color with Smallish white head. Aroma is slightly estery, peppery, bit of citrus, vague hint of corn. Flavor is slightly sweet, touch of honey and oak, slightly grainy. Finish is acidic, slightly sweet.


 LilKem (1210), Marietta, Ohio, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/104/514/20
Jun 15, 2006  
Aroma is citrus and grapefruit with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of licorice. The flavor is licorice with some grapefruit, pear, apple, lemon, and a smidge of orange. Mouthfeel is light and crisp and creamy almost IPA like. appearance is cloudy but not opaque orange with quick to rouse but also quick diminishing head.


ihopgod (12), Roseville, Minnesota, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
3/105/58/104/517/20
Jan 19, 2006  
Yum, absolutely great for an innovative wheat beer. I think this and the "8" are wonderful. Thick cloudy yellow with loads of yeasties, aroma is somewhat disappointing considering the flavor. Thick with notes of spice, banana, heavy wheat, alcohol, sweetness, maybe some syrup as mentioned by others. Bell’s, I love you... your beers are for the most part great and tasty. Keep up the good work.


 gearbike (421), West Bloomfield, Michigan, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/58/104/515/20
Dec 23, 2005  
Cloudy orange color. Small tight carbonation that tingles at taste. Sweet but not overly. Some banana flavor but mixed with a belgium alcahol.


 Illini08 (528), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/514/20
Jan 11, 2006  
A nice way to cap the wheat series from Bell’s. Poured a very cloudy dark orange color, slight head to it. Typical estery aroma of a wheat beer, but tons of yeast as well. Tasted the same, tons of yeast and wheat flavor, with some slight sweet banana and citrus notes as well. This is like a stronger, thicker version of a hefeweizen. good beer, but this was a much slower drink for me than the other beers from this series. Good work, Bell’s!


 OhioDad (2491), Hilliard, Ohio, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/515/20
Dec 17, 2005  
12oz bottle pours bright orange with a short white bubbly head that stays fairly well and laces down the glass. Aroma is some bananna, some peppery spice, wheat, and a bit of yeast. Flavor is wheat, yeast, a bit of vanilla, clove, bannana.. Odd that this has evolved so much yet has come back to almost tasting like a hefeweizen. Palate is thick and earthy. This has been an interesting series. One definitely worth trying..


 stoutchap (297), Chicago, Illinois, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/514/20
Jun 6, 2006  
Nice crown on the wheat ale experiment. Sounds like they had a lot of fun putting this lineup together and I enjoyed sampling them. Poured a hazy orange gold with a bubbly off-white head. Alcohol, yeast, and spice in the nose. Nice flavor profile, strong flavor (for a wheat), with notes of alcohol, malt, fruit, and flowers. a little bitterness at the end. Not as heavy as a barleywine perhaps, but seems similar to a belgian strong. Maybe it’s just me.



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