Bells Batch 8000 Ale

Formerly brewed at Bells Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

12 oz. bottle. Classic Belgian witbier aroma except stronger. Orange-cream sucking candy, orange peel, curacao, orange creamsicle, and fruit juice scents. Very strong and tangy smell. The liquid is cloudy to the point of opacity with an orange/tan color. Bubbles form at the bottom of the glass, some of which rise to the top. Moderate amount of sediment in the glass. Small to moderate amount of short-lasting beige head. Looks like a carbonated cross between apricot nectar and apple cider. Sharp artificial orange taste combined with an overpowering sugary sweetness, like an orange Jolly Rancher. There’s an off bitterness that doesn’t seem to derive from any hops. Tastes like a bitter version of an orange soda. Lemon and vinegar sourness. Cardboard flavor. Alcohol taste is strong and unpleasant. Borderline gross. Perhaps I’m being generous by giving this a 3 for flavor. Not much aftertaste, which is a good thing given the bad primary taste. Very fizzy, lively, and fluffy in the palate. Some oiliness from the yeast. Soda-like level of carbonation (or so it seems). Surprisingly light body given the high alcohol content. Bell’s Batch 8000 is far over the top. It looks and smells good, but it goes steeply downhill from there. Still, the appearance and, especially, the aroma save this from receiving a terrible overall score. Maybe this would have been better if it were more fresh, but it seems like a fundamentally flawed brew. Bell’s is a hit-or-miss brewery for me, and this one is a big miss. That said, I always applaud breweries for taking risks, even when they don’t turn out well. A double Belgian witbier is a good concept, but this one happened not to work out. Better luck next time, Larry!

Pours a hazy orange gold with amber high lights, a white head, effervescent, aroma is initially sweet with citrus fruit and yeast, coriander, spices, honey and wheat, faint alcohol aroma in the background, I noticed a few of the bottles had some smoke phenol aroma as the beer aged over a few months, flavors of wheat , malt, sweet, citrus fruit and pepper, alcohol warmth in the mouth, some carbonation in the sip and has a medium to full mouth feel, initial sip has a syrupy oily mouth feel that goes dry on the palate as some alcohol shows up at the finish, this reminds me of a Belgian Wit but is not light on the palate but heavy, this does not come off as refreshing as a Wit but interesting to try never the less, if you wondered what a super recipe of a Belgian Wit Beer would turn out like this would be it.

GABF 2007. Thick head and hazy. Melon citrus smell but weak, accented by cottony yeast. Mostly: weird. Spicy, with cardamom and ginger, over a strong malt presence, this is also almost sour. The malts in the finish take on a mealy aspect that does not go well with the spiciness (in addition to sucking on its own). Lactic sweetness and some noble-hops-esque bitterness on the finish. A rare misstep by Bells that is an incomprehensible and unintegrated jumble of incompatible characteristics. Maybe it gets a lot better with age.

Light head on dirty orange.Lightly sour partly buttery aroma. Dusty buttery flavour. Some spices but does not even measure up to a normal Hoegaarden. Perhaps not as fresh as it should be.

Bottle. Rich, slightly opaque amber color. Very light bubbly head that dissipates quickly. Aroma of hops, oranges, and spices. Intensely wheaty flavor with strong citrus notes and coriander. A hint of banana. Bit of an alcohol bite and lingering spices and fruit. Powerful and tasty.

Definitely a lot of spices going on here. Oranges, whole, coriander and some earthy sweetness. Dark orange brown w/ not much head. Balnced taste of bitterness and sweetness and spices.

Bottle. Cloudy amber with a large white head. Sweet alcohol in the nose, with peach and other fruit. Flavor is alcohol, banana, and other fruit.

(Bottle) Pours a cloudy orange body with a spare white head. Aroma of orange peel, coriander, florals, banana, clove, and paradise seed. Flavor of wheat, honey, orange peel, banana, coriander, and more citrus.