Bells Eccentric Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Date: 02/21/2004
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, RateBeer SE Gathering, 2004

Appearance: muddy brown,
Aroma: strong malt aroma,
Body: big body,
Flavor: rich complex malt flavor, touch of carmel, lightly hopped,
-------- /> Date: 05/24/2008
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2005
Score: 3.4 to 3.7
Words: cellar party

Appearance: clear brown, wispy beige head,
Aroma: sweet dark caramel malt aroma with a light spicyness,
Flavor: sweet dark caramel candy flavor, just a touch of spicyness for balance, hint of peppery alcohol,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

2005 courtesy of Silphium, thanks (and bring back the fat man).
Appearance: pours with no head and a very dark brown color.
Aroma: strong "up your nose with a rubber hose." Barleywine raison/alcohol + dark sweet, sweet bread + winter time spices (think light Anchor OSA) in the back.
Taste: subdued compared to the taste. Spices really shine through in the flavor full of pine, earth, and others. Long sweet cereal aftertaste. A sipping beer.
Other: a Bells stout-esque feel throughout, low bitterness, medium body with just enough carbonation. Not what I expected and wonderful. 12oz, batch # 7199, Rodenbach Grand Cru smaller tulip glass. 9/3/8/4/17

2004 and 1997 graciously provided by jtw.
The 2004 still smelled very strong with barleywine raison alcohol but with some very nice chocolate in there as well. Sweet chocolate and strong. Taste agina was a subdued version of that, very drinkable for its strength. The biggest difference is the complete lack of spices in this, I got nothing. 9/4/7/3/16

The 1997 was EXTREMELY strong on the nose, much more than any other vintage. Lots of oxidation but a whole lot of alcohol and lots of sherry/raison. The flavor however has gone way downhill. At 10 years, the flavors are starting to seep out, basically it’s starting to lose flavor. Still lots of cardboard, paper, and very bitter alcohol left over. But its really not worth drinking at this age. 8/3/5/3/10

GTMW 2007. 2004 Vintage. Poured a cloudy brown color with a light tan head. Smelled of malty caramel and alcohol. Thick and oily on the tongue with moderate hop bitterness. There was even more alcohol flavor and warmth. Perfect for a hot summer day in Wisconsin. Sweet with molasses, nondescript spices, and dried fruit. So boozy. Pretty good.

Bottle shared by sliffy. Dirty brown pour with no head to speak of. Aroma was super-sweet..caramel malt, light ginger...some cinnamon. Flavors of ginger cinnamon, booze and sweet caramel malt. Thick body with no carbonation...syrupy sweet and spicy with a swee finish. Pretty good, but certainly past it’s prime.

2004 keg at 2007 GTMW. LtJudge and I were surprised to see this. Golden brown color. Smell of ginger, clove, honey, hops and sugar. Taste the same but the hops were a little weaker and the spice was more flavorful. Nithing wrong with that. Alcohol taste was there but this was a very nice beer. I have to get some bottles of this. Nice!

June 2005 bottle from Silphium (batch 7199). For some reason I always thought this was a belgian. Very wrong, that. Why else would I be drinking it out of a Duvel tulip?

Anyway, this pours a very deep brown with a tiny head. Aroma is raisiny and malty but there isn’t much going on. Big, rich, sweet flavor though, deep and complex. Lots of plummy type notes, light spices. A bit of residual bitterness from the long-faded hops. Very sticky but extremely drinkable. Hardly even comes close to feeling like 11%. This is an incredibly well crafted beer.

Bottle. Reminds me of DFH Raison de Etre, but a little better. Spicey, very sweet, modest alcohol. Too sweet. Probably needs another year of aging. Okay.

Big thanks to BBB63 for the bottle. Batch 7199, 2005 vintage. Hazy red/copper with a thin wisp of a head. Aroma of molasses, dark fruits and ginger. Very sweet taste; molasses, toffee and liquorice with plums and spices. Ginger for sure, and maybe nutmeg and/or clove? Can feel the alcohol, if not directly taste it. I can’t figure out where all the hops are in the commercial description; perfumy taste is what I’d say about them. This is an amazingly complex beer, and worth a try if you ever get the chance.