Third Coast Old Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Pours a gorgeous murkified dark-clustered brown-ish opaque brown-on-brown color with no head and a 1cm. tan rim. Nose is oak barrel and caramel. The lacing is spotted and numerous. Flavors are enormous here: robust caramel, BIG caramel, strong oak, a bit overpowering, but redeemable after a few sips. Soft carbonation, huge body. Rich and warming. This beer is quite a mouthful and alcohol is hidden well despite the mouthiness of the body. A roaring fire and snowy night would seem appropriate. It’s too bad that 60 degrees is the lowest temperature it gets here every year.

Bottle: Pours amber with very little head. Strong flavor. Very thick. Nice beer, but not something that I would drink often.

Has a very subtle aroma. The smell definitely doesn’t overwhelm. Love the appearance. Great murky dark color, light on the bottom, dark on top. A bit of caramel flavor in there. Starts smooth with a bitter middle and finish. The palate starts very smooth with a decent bite to finish. Overall a decent seasonal.

12-oz. Thanks, MrFacto! Pours murky deep brown with a slim rim of dirty white foam for a head. Very little lace. Huge sweet toffee and caramel nose. Thick but very drinkable body on the attack, very little carb. Toffee, caramel, some vanilla, lots of grainy sugars all over the attack and mid-palate--they last through the finish and cling to the tongue for a while. This is a lovely little BW but it could probably use some time for these sugars to mellow out; it’s a bit of a candy bar right now (not sure the vintage). No detectable twang though--very well-made.

Bottled sample shared with oakbluff. Amber in colour with medium carbonation. Aromas of rich caramel malts, earthy and spicy hops, crusty bread, mild citrus, and vanilla. In the mouth, the malts are both rich and well focused. There are hints of toast and a whole lot of caramel that is balanced out nicely by a large dose of earthy hops. The palate strikes a perfect balance between fullness and drinkability. Well done indeed. Huge thanks to oakbluff for introducing me to this beer.

Bottle 7695 from _____.Small to no head, but consistent small bubble ring around the edge of the glass. Deep amber color approaching black. Low hop, malty aroma with some carmelization. Possibly a bit of cloves. Taste is a bit hot initially, but becomes more mellow as it sits. Sweet, brown sugar, molasses, and hop bitterness hiding under it all. Pretty good, better with cheese. I probably won’t try it again.

Clear very red brown body with a huge beige head; Very caramel malt sugary sweet nose; Big soft body, soft texture and soft carbonation, slightly bitter and slightly sweet, balanced; Long finish with an initial alcohol burn, sweet without being sticky, slightly bitter, more malt sugar aromas then caramel. Good but not all that interesting.

Draft. Pours dark ruby red with a fluffy off-white head. Quintessential malt-forward barley wine smell. Caramel, toffee, strong maple syrup, dark fruits, candy, raisin, brown sugar, with a lot of hops still noticeable underneath all that and after all this time. Tastes the same as it smells. Full, smooth, thick creamy body. Some vanilla taste too. This is sweet, no doubt, but is not cloying, which is great and something I’m very picky about in high ABV barley wines. The hops come through in the taste as well, providing mostly bitterness but some other hop flavors as well. This is certainly one of the better barleywines I’ve ever had. A nice surprise and a great beer.