Bells Cherry Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Fruit Beer
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

I used to live in Kalamazoo and I lived for summer afternoons for this beer! Great fruity aroma. A bit more fiz than I would suggest, but not offensive in the least. Tart fruit flavor that tingles the tastebuds while relying on a solid ale base so as to not taste "gimmicky." In my honest opinion, the most unique and rewarding of all the Bell’s brews!

12 oz bottle, via Styles. Pours a slightly murky dark copper with a reddish tinge under a small quick disappearing off-white head. Lots of sediment in bottle. Aroma is fruity and fairly light with some slightly tart cherry. Flavor is tart and crisp up front with syrupy cherry and some sweet malt below. Mouthfeel is slightly cloying with a syrupy texture, especially on the finish, and moderate fizzy carbonation. Overall, this tasted more like a novelty than a quality beer from a excellent brewer. Not sure why they take up valuable tank space with this one, there could be more Expedition in that fermenter.

Bottle. Pours a somewhat deeper red amber with not so much head. Slight cherry scents on the nose or was that cherry? Taste is like lightly breaded sweetened raisins. Sort of a cross between sherry and beer, tipping to the beer side. I was looking to get more cherry, but it just was not there. Not enough to balance the sweet. Could not get any of the citric notes. Thanks to Styles for the bottle.

Bottled. My sample is over a year old, so it’s bound to taste different than most of the other raters. Does indeed show its age, but shows it well. Cherry flavor has resolved to an almost lambic kind of tartness, but surrounding a good base brown ale. Some cherry flavor, true, but this one stands next to the estery fruitiness of an older ale, rather than pushing the malt profile off stage.

Thanks to Illinismitty for this. Pours with a reddish amber colored body that hold up a creamy off-white head. Malt and cherry aroma. The flavor starts with some sweet malt notes and the tart cherry builds quickly and follows through to the finish. Spritzy palate.

12-oz bottle, Batch 6898, via trade with Kevin. Pours ruby to mahagony with a patchy off-white film. Aroma is candied cherries, malt (cookie) and yeast (dough). Tart, sour and bitter cherry flavor, lemon notes, light sweetness comes through as the flavor leaves your tongue. Medium bodied and lightly fizzy palate.

this bottle pours a dark amber gives off a noticeable cherry aroma. not more than one of these tonight as it has a sweet somewhat thick taste. pleasant.

In the bottle. Pours a reddish amber color. head is off white. Bottle conditioned, so, after swirling, the beer is a haze of cloudy yeast. Aroma is high with cherries. Slight earthy aroma, maybe from the yeast. Flavor was pie cherries with a tingly tart mid palate. Can’t drink this all night long, but it was quite good. The best thing about it is that it is not sickeningly sweet.