Bells Batch 5000 Ale

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

reddish amber gleam with a lopsided head of tanness..the aroma had some autumn fireplace smokiness..maybe some sweetness too..flavor was smoked wood..almost meatish..and not very smoked goudaish as other smoked beers ive had..I never get to pairs these with things..which is really a shame..woah..i didnt realize this was 9%..it definitely does not taste or even feel like 9%..maybe i should have aged this for a while but i wanted it now..its still pretty tasty though..

Head is initially small, frothy, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is murky dark orange-brown, dense tiny particles, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (dark bread, molasses), with a strong note of smoke, light note of alcohol. Flavor is heavily sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Medium to full body, syrupy texture, soft carbonation, moderately alcoholic. Quite sour and syrupy with a burning finish, and I’m not a big fan of smoked stuff, so this one was rather disappointing overall.

This beer is not for everyone. In fact, many a friend has said that it is awful beer. But for my palate, the smoky, warm, alcoholy flavor makes it my single favorite all-time beer. Made only once, if you find some, you should try it.

A barleywine with smoke accents. Very pleasureable. The alcohol made its appearance almost immediately but was not overpowering. Rich caramel overtones backed up nicely with a sweet, smokey flavor. One of my favorite barleywines.

Is this a barley wine? Old ale? Scotch ale? I guess it’s a smoked beer, looking at the information, which makes sense. Full bodied, rich, very barleywine-esque. Smoky flavor prevails, but hints of caramel and fruit, as well. It’s too bad I’ll probably never get this again.

Beuatiful mahogany and black wlanut color and a good mouthfeel - not too thin, not overly viscous. But the aroma and serious liquid smoke flavor were too much for me. I’m not a fan of Scots ales to begin with, so ratcheting the smoke up a notch into this style probably wasn’t a good choice for me. My first and last smoked beer unless someone can convince me otherwise ...

This is a very nice smoked beer. I happen to like smoked beers & this is an excellent representation of the style.

October 2002: Bottled, at the Map Room in Chicago. I’m among the yea-sayers on this one; a hugely malty, sweet, unbalanced behemoth of a smoked beer, its up there with the works of Brauerei Heller Trum and bears out the reputation of Kalamazoo. Deep, deep red in color with almost no head; smokey aroma could be a little stronger at first, gets a bit more pronounced as it warms but also just a might too sweet even for me. Flavor is smoke, licorice, caramel, cherries; smokiness thins a bit as it warms and a more barley-wine character takes over. Not quite perfect, it may be a bit too syrupy and doesn’t have much hop kick at all (not entirely sure it needs any though), but this is a worthy 2nd-tier effort from this brewer, which would make it first-rank for just about anyone else! Go Map Room.

January 2006: 12 oz bottle, cellar temperature. Very little fizz when opened, not surprising...murky brown-black with just a tiny lasting dark ring of foam...balsamic vinegar/port wine quality in the nose at first, but this quiets down quickly and smoked meat takes over....still awesomely smooth, sweet, vastly smoky in the body, more chocolaty than before, oxidation is light and to my taste just about perfect...guessing this isn’t going to improve but I don’t think it’s gone much downhill yet. Rating unchanged.