Bells Amber Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

I’m not usually too impressed by a standard Amber Ale, but this hit the spot. The aroma is fresh, pretty hoppy, with a touch of sweetness. The taste is a great balance of sweet caramel malt and some bitter hops. Overall, well done.

12oz bottle, purchased sometime back in March. Batch 7789, packaged on 01/09/07. Served in an imperial pint glass. Pours a gorgeous reddish orange body, tons of carbonation coming up from the bottom, with a slightly larger than one finger thick bubbly off-white head. Aroma is a bit stilted, but I get some dishwater, fresh cut grass, toffee, floral hops, malt and pine. Hops and malt sweetness dominate the fore, a bit watery tasting as it goes to the back of the tongue but picks up again in intensity throughout the swallow and finish. Palate is medium bodied, high astringency, sitcky mouthfeel. Finish is sweet malts, some hop bite, and short in length. Fades to a bit of a watery ending. Good amber.

Bottle. 12 fl. oz. An unclear, copper beer. Malty, caramel aroma. Very smooth mouthfeel that goes down very easily. Flavor is sweet, similar to the aroma with with minimal hops and citrusy tartness near the finish. A very solid beer that I could drink daily if I was so inclined.

This is from memory so it’ll be short. Very nice beer. A good, malty beer that has enough hops to balance it out nicely and keep it from getting too sweet. Definitely worth trying if you see it.

Caramel malts are the dominating flavor and scent, along with sugary fruits, figs, plums and quiet smoked notes. A bouncy body with good drinkability, solid, but not outstanding.

Appearance: Slightly hazy medium brown body, coarse tan head. Smell: Sweet malt with some citrusy hop aroma and a bit of caramel. Taste: Starts out sweet, toasted malt; some earthy and yeasty notes in the background along with just a hint of diacetyl; nice medium hop bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, medium-high carbonation. Drinkability: Excellent example of the style. Full of flavour and well-balanced, easy to drink quite a few.

Bottle - Batch 7896 Very cloudy with a thin head that is dropping pretty quick. I find it to be overly bitter and boring. There isn’t a great aftertaste either.

Poured a hazy amber color with a broken off-white head. Mild bready aroma with a very slight hint of sweetness. Pretty much all malt throughout, but that being said it’s pretty satistying for an amber. Very drinlkable and the malt character prevents it for being boring, so I’d call it a success.