Bells Cherry Ale

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

Pours a deep reddish brown with a great cherry aroma. Somewhat tart with a juicy and somewhat sour finish. In the end, a bit too thin and one-dimensional.

Bottle: Dark caramel, reddish tones, hazy, moderate to small frothy off-white head, spotty lacing.   Nose of cherries, fairly similar to cherry tootsie roll pop.   Quite tart on first sip, at least moreso than I expected.   Slight dryness, immature cherries reside on the sides and tip of the tongue, remains tart through to the finish.   Moderate body and mouthfeel.   Does have a bit of cherry tootsie roll tinge.   Not bad, but tastes a bit artificial.   I liked the fact that it was tart rather than sweet.   Thanks kramer17801 for this one!

Bottle: Deep red pour. cherries on the aroma. Flavor was cherries with a pleasent tartness. Light carbonation, a little thin, but enjoyable.

Batch # 6898. Poured a dark amber. Tart cherry aroma and flavor. Not bad, but not great, either.

Very red coloured with some hints of brown. Fine thin head that dissapeared nearly after I finsihed pouring, leaving behind a almost complete layer of lace and a immesurably thicker ring. I can’t really smell a whole lot from this one, only thin hints of cherry. The initial sip is almost overwhelmingly tart but smoothes out to a sweet cherry finish. As I get farther into my glass, the almost fruit juice flavours come out, transitioning to tart cherries and going down like a fine wine. At first, I was glad that I had only bought one bottle, but now I almost feel as though I should have got more. It’s quite refreshing, with a good flavour profile, and doesn’t attempt to overwhelm.

There was a melon-colored hint to a hazed, rusty body under a fizzy head that didn’t last much beyond the pour. I can’t say the aroma was very appealing with sour fruit and light vinegar. Flavor is tart cherry and highly astringent (I felt astringence in my esophagus, if that’s even possible). It came off like a nice, buttery kriek and should appeal to lambic-lovers (and the multitude of Bell’s loyalists).

<font size=-4>Single bottle from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=1 cellar.<font size=-1>

Courtsey of Illinismitty

Bottle, Aroma had a grass and decent cherry aroma. Murky orange color and next to no head. Flavor has some cherry flavor but could use more. Boy this is tart to start off with. Did I say tart whew. Mellows out by end. Dry on the palate with some cherry taste also. Man little too tart for me.

Bottle, batch #6898, thanks to Mr. Styles! Beautiful, hazy peach pour with a short cap of whitish head. Nose was primarily of cherries, artificial sweetener, and some grassy wheat-ness. Tart cherries were persistent throughout the flavor... wheaty backbone and some Jolly Rancher sweetness were also in there. Rather long cherry finish. Effervescent on the palate, which worked well for the style. Well-crafted, but really didn’t do it for me.