Bells Batch 6000 Ale

Formerly brewed at Bells Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

From my notes, based on a serving from the tap at Crane Alley, Urbana, IL, in late April 2005. Amazing the manager was able to procure this one. Onto the beer...Batch600 has to rank among the finest barleywines ever made. This richness, caramel, toffee, vanilla, rum, raisan, (I could keep going) make for an incredibly complex beer. I wish I had bottles to age for 10-15 years -- my unborn children shouldn’t be denied this pleasure. Rerate based on the lastest (and last) tapping at Crane Alley yesterday. Enjoyed in the company of many good people from the Champaign Beer Club. The color of the pour is darker than I remember earlier, a deep mahogany. The notes of orange peel and Grand Marnier are a a bit stronger. Given that this was poured out of the keg, its appears to have aged slower than the bottle. The hops notes are still strong, and it may be at or near its peak drinkablity right now (again, based on the keg). Great stuff. Overall is going up 1 as is appearance.

Bottle. Pours a terrific dark red color with a pinkish white fizzy head. Nose is yeasty and has a sour cherry scent to it. Lots of heavy sediment flows through a nice thick beer. Taste is doughy and yeasty with lots of berry flavors. Some hints of cherrys and a great full mouthfeel.

Bottle. I think this came to me from Gunny but I am not 100% sure. Thanks very much! Dark ruby brown, with a cream tan head. Sweet sugary malt aroma with glimpses of rooty sweetnss. Sweet malty flavour finishes with sugar swept up in a wave of alcoholic warmth. Dry alcohol starts to become more prominent, making it less drinkable as the glass goes on and makes me think I am glad not to have the bottle to myself. Smooth medium-full body. Very nice beer that is brought down a peg by the incorrigible alcohol.

Bottle shared with jerc and tupalev - courtesy of jerc. Murky mahogany colour with a small tan head. Aroma is very malty & nutty, with some dark sugar and fruit. Flavour has strong brown sugar and spice notes, with the alcohol coming through in the finish, and getting stronger as the beer warms. I suspect I would’ve enjoyed this more in a cold winter night, but even on a warn summer afternoon, it was a nice treat.

Deep, rich, red color with a thin, tan head that does not dissapate. Aroma of rich strawberry esters, chocolate, cream, alcohol and fresh-cut pineapple. Flavor of pineapple, passionfruit, cotton candy, malt sugar, strong hopping, toffee extreme, alcohol and richness. This is almost perfect. I find I have a very sensitive palate to alcohol and I find the alcohol to almost have a rubbing alcohol taste.

Bottle. Poured a dark orange-brown with a medium sized tannish head. Nose is caramel malts, floral hops, with notes of alcohol, cask wood, plum, brown sugar, toffee malts, and alcohol. Flavor is heavily bitterweet, spicy, some malty fruitiness too. Interesting barley wine. Finish is sweet and ends with a nice bitterness. Full bodied, velvety/creamy texture with a considerable amount of carbonation. Tasty!

Pours and opaque red brown, lots of chunks floating in it. Minimal white head dissapates quickly. Pungent fermented fruit aromatics, with sticky malt and alcohol undertones. Deep caramel and roast malt flavors, with a rich fruit character. Some earthen mustiness and woodiness. Finish is slightly sweet with residual brandy and plum/apricot flavors. Mouthfeel is thick and sticky.

Re-rate 12/21/07: Toffee pour with ruby highlights, soap bubble head. Big, ethery nose with loads of molasses, honey, treacle, syrupy cherries, oxidation is a bit overpowering. Great mouthfeel, rich and full velvety smooth. Softly carbed adds to the experience. A wall of caramel sweetness starts off, layers of sugary sweetness build - toffee, butterscotch, cane sugar. Bitterness is subtle but does back the sweet along with a rush of plum, raisan. cherry. Oxidation compliments nicely. Long finish with a great belly warming alc. 7, 3, 8, 5, 15 = 3.8

Deep blood red with minimal head. Aroma of coffee, toffee, caramel, nutty, wood. Warmth of alcohol enuses to nose. Medium thick, slick mouthfeel. The body is bitter, with strong malts and a real roasty overtone. 10, 4, 7, 3, 16 = 4