Bells Beer

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Pilsener
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Name: Lager of the Lakes
Date: 08/08/2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Maduro

Appearance: pale gold, fine white head with frothy edges,
Aroma: sweet corn and cereal aroma,
Flavor: sweet grain flavor, light floral hops, touch of bitterness for balance,

Aroma: 3/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 4/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 6/20
Rating: 1.9/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: 4

(bottle) Crystal clear apple juice body topped by a white head. Aroma is medium sweet, floral, some bread, grassy. Taste is medium sweet, grassy, floral, bread, light lemon. Watery light-medium body, some crispness.

12oz bottle acquired in trade with Styles (thanks!). Poured a light straw and see through straw color with an averaged sized white head. Aromas of grass, light grain and honey. Tastes of grass, honey, and light citrus. Thin body.

12oz bottle-pours a thin retaining creamy white head and yellow color. Aroma is sweet grain/malt, funky, grass. Taste is right in line with aroma and caramel, light spicy-(halletaur and saaz?) hops. [Alright, their description only says Saaz] Light medium body. Good sessionable beer. OK carbonation.

Pours a transparent pale golden with a thin ring of fizzy white head. Aroma of grainy pale malts with a decent balance of fresh noble hops, and a hint of light fruity esters. Body has a mild pale malty sweetness and earthy bittering hoppy presence toward a crisp, clean and fairly flavorful bittersweet finish. Would make a nice session beer.

Sampled from a bottle. Nose is doughy, sugary and buttery sweet, with sugar cookie dough and butter notes dominant. Crisp and fres saaz hops are done very well, and it tastes like a big buttered biscuit or buttered croisant. Lightly peppery, light to medium crisp bitterness, sharp I would say, then more oily and a bit syrupy in the finish. A decent beer to drink, but the butter notes can go.

Drinking from a bottle of Lager of the Lakes, which seems to be its current name: To look at it, you would think you just poured yourself a BMC American standard, it’s such a pale yellow with a small fizzy head. But the aroma has nice bready malts - no corn or rice - with a light grassy bitterness. The latter picks up slightly in the flavor, imparting a snappy crispness. This is a good brew for the himd, warm Chicago Summertime.

<font size=-4>From my esteemed The LoSBD colleague <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=1 size=-1>

Clear straw color with a fluffy white head. Decent lace. Pale malts, with just a hint of toastiness. Fresh nose, with citrus and mild fresh bread dough. First sip brings thoughts of a old style lager, not "Old Style", rather a more traditionally brewed lager. Pale malts, mix with sweet fresh bread and the mild yeast. Light hops flavors of mild herbs and citrus, a full backdrop of bitterness to quench any thoughts of this becoming thick, sweet and chewy. A very traditional czech pils.