Bells Cherry Ale

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

Started out nicely with the aroma of tart cherries dominating with some hops and malt singing back-up. Fizzy in the mouth. Medium bodied. The flavor was off. The tart cherry aroma didn’t carry over into a nice cherry taste. To acidic. This seemed to be a cross between a lambic and an amber ale, doing neither justice.

Dusty red-orange. Nose sour and tart. Flavor tart cherry, bit sour, a bit of mild fruity burst. Biscuity at the end.

Tart cherry aroma, tart cherry flavor over a sweet caramel malt body. Barely one-dimensional and a huge disappointment.

I bought a six pack and drank a few last night, and enjoyed them. I looked forward to having more of them tonight. Its not that remarkable, but certainly is very drinkable. I doesn’t have alot of nuances. I can definitely taste some cherry but not that much. This really doesn’t match up to Bell’s Oberon Ale, which the Liquor store clerk told me is thie Bell’s brew their store sells the most of. But to give an idea of its quality, I’d definiitely rate it a notch or two above any Sam Adams brew I’ve had, and it correspondingly costs about a dollar more.

I think Kalamazoo should have either made a bigger commitment to the cherries, or just dropped the idea altogether. It’s drinkable enough, a slightly tart cherry taste over some rich caramel malts. The cherries in the nose are faint. The brownish-red color isn’t all that appealing. Might be more so if it produced a decent head. They’re also charging too much for this mediocrity.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Calumet City, IL<font size=-1>

Looks like apple cider in my glass. Almost no head Tart cherry flavor pretty sour. Overall this isn’t a beer I’d care to drink much of.

On tap at the eccentirc. Amber body, cherry malty aroma. Taste is a sour cherry, caramel ale. A good effort but not one of bells best.

Pours dark red with small tan, creamy head. Aroma is strongly of cherries. Flavor is lots of cherries, very tart and sour. A hint of sweet malt in the end.