Bells Batch 5000 Ale

Formerly brewed at Bells Brewery
Style: Smoked
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Heard that a bar in town had this and went to try. Dark brown body with no head. Aroma was sweet and smoky and spicy. Flavor was, well, delicious. All the aspects of it were subtle. Bought two more bottles to save.

Deep brown in colour. Aroma of wood, smoke, plums, caramel, and alcohol. Flavour had a nice smokiness to it, rather sweet, some alcohol with some bacon thrown in. Finishes with a nice alcohol warmth with a strong bitterness, similar to a barley wine. Thanks PsychProf.

A few bottles of Batch 5000 still occasionally appear on shelves, and I was lucky to find a few that were most likely returned to the shelf to herald the arrival of Batch 6000. This was one smoky beer. Aroma? Smoke. Appearance? Smoke. OK, not really- poured murky red-brown with a thin off-white ring of foam clinging to the glass, and plenty of yeast sediment in the body. Flavor was dominated by the smoke aspect, and I also detected nuttiness, wood, a touch of dark, sweet fruits, and caramel. Alcohol was suprisingly subdued, as I didn't realize how strong this beer was until reading its description here. Complexity exists in the body, but I found the smoke overwhelming. Would best be served in small quantities.

A hazy reddish -brown beer that pours with a thin, slow-forming but dense head. The head gradually fades to a thin layer of tan foam and leaves a nice lace on the glass. The aroma is smoky tobacco and molasses. It really reminds me of some of the smokeless tobacco I used to use. Very weird aroma to say the least. The taste, wow, *cough*, this is powerful stuff. A very strong tobacco note, with a sweet, smoky thickness that singes my throat. I really did not know what to expect from this beer. Whatever my previous thoughts were, this is not it. I am caught so off gaurd by this beer. The alcohol is very noticeable. Taking MUCH smaller sips, some nice nutty chocolate notes shine through, with the smokiness still accenting everything. This beer has smoked tobacco, burnt wood, smoked plums, smoked nuts, and I think some smoked smoke in it. Even with all the smoke, there is still a powerful sweetness. The mouthfeel is very thick and almost syrupy. It sticks to the tongue a gradually oozes down the throat, leaving a trail of smoked sugar and a touch of bitterness lingering behind. This powerful, surprising beer is a wonderful treat and a change of pace. It like a campfire and smores rolled into a beer.

Sampled 9/2003. Pours a ruddy brown/black with some violet and burgundy tinges on the glass. Very little head, typical of bells stronger beers. Highly unfiltered, bottle conditioned, unpasteurised! Smells of sweet ripe red fruit and some caramel, faintly smoky on the nose. Begins with a very full, rich raspberry honey flavor, backed up with lots of fresh caramel malt. Taste has plenty of barley malt as well, and then, the smoke flavor. WOW. this is amazing. Subtle at first and climaxing stronger but still balanced. Tastes like raspberry smoked beef barbecue. It is salty and meaty, yet retains a pleasant flavor and has the texture of moist beef jerky. It then fades into some nice, but light hops and finishes clean and smooth. Alcohol Very well masked, carbonation is minimal. Beer has a wonderfully full complex body. A pleasure to drink this.

Sampled again 6/2005 at RBSG. Still holding up spectacularly well. Smooth, silky, chocolatey and plenty of salty, rich smoke. Awesome beer that has really proved itself to me.

RERATE, nearly 6 year old bottle I got in trade from Kan and shared with Tom. This shows very little oxidization and is still nicely smoked. Notes of marzipan, plum and tobacco along with the smoked wood than run throughout. +1 aroma and +1 flavor.

Hazy orange brown hue with small white head which coats the glass. Nose is smoky for sure with touch of ripe fruit, caramel, and molasses. Vinous, barleywine like qualities. The taste grabs you quickly, major prune/fig flavors with an topping on smoke which is noticeable well after you drink it. A hop twang is available in the aftertaste. Chewy and full-bodied. Soft mouthfeel that has almost no sign of the alcohol level, NICE! Despite all the complex tastes, it was smooth and easy to drink. I enjoyed this more than the person who gave it to me as the RBSG, JSquire. Batch 6,000 is right around the corner, can’t wait.

A dark caramel brown color with thin head. Smoky aroma with a nice mouthfeel. Sourish and sweetish. The smoke is not overpowering. Good.

Bottled. Cloudy nut brown. Stong Bamberg style beechwood smoke aroma. Big chewy stable maltiness. Long, bitter bacon smolkey finish. In no way subtle, but I'm a great fan of heavily smoked beers, and this is just spot on what I like. Thanks hopsrus for sending this and many other unique beers!