Third Coast Old Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Picked up this beer at Bruisin Ales in North Carolina. Glad they had Bells brewery beer there. Wow, this beer has a huge MALT aroma. Very nice. Almost chocolate like. Just a nice malt aroma that is pouring out of this beer. Not much of a head, but a thin head around the edge of the beer. Deep dark translucent brown with some crap floating around that eventually settles to the bottom of your glass. Wow, very creamy beer that has a heavy malt taste. The malt/chocolate malt aroma matches the flavor almost perfectly. Slight bitter hop at the end, not very bitter though. A nice barley wine, that if aged for a few years would be most amazing. Alcohol is WELL hidden. Overall, just a nice malty barley wine with great flavors. Sweet malts and a damn good barley wine with a nice subtle bitter finish.

Amber color with a decent head. Very good nose. Taste is of figs, chocolate, and malt. Maybe a touch of nutmeg. Creamy feel in the mouth. Brown with a medium head. No big alcohol aftertaste. A very good barley wine.

huge nose of cereal malts, wet and sloppy. appearance is very light, nearly blonde. flavor is of sticky malt and alcohol. one of very few disappointments from bell’s, this is a sloppy beer that is far too strong for its own good, wasteful.

(bottle) A deep, murky red body with a fine head. Aroma of yeast, fruit (grape/raisins, strawberries, some orange), and bread crust. Flavor is sweet and malty up front, but hops slowly arise on the way back along with alcohol and bitterness lingers and is most apparent in the after taste. Alcohol peaks just as it goes down, but doesn’t linger afterward - overall it is well balanced and even hidden for a beer of this strength. Full bodied and creamy-smooth. Lots of good things going on here.

Bottle...WOW Redish brown and hazy. Big roasty smell and flavor. Lots of bittersweet fruits and dark malts in the smell. Molasses is what I mostly get from it. Alcohol is present and warming. Another badass beer from Bells Brewery....alliteration.

Bottle @ Cock & Bull. Nice red color with thick three-fingers of foamy frothy lasting head. Burly warming aroma gets chewier and hotter as it warms. Aromas of rum cake, dates, figs, loads of malt. Low carbonation, smooth mouthfeel, and not chewy at all. Very sweet malty body but finishes on a spicy, dry note from the alcohol and has a nutmeg-like astringency. Cakey, whiskey-like. Interesting and a real winter warmer but heavy and hard to get through a whole one.

Bottle batch 8727. Pours a dark brown color with some reddish tint a good sized, foamy tan head that slowly settles to a thin layer of foam. Sheets of lacing are elft behind in the glass. The aroma is really nice showing good depth with notes of caramel, dark fruits, chocolate, oaky vanilla, cherries, all seeped in alcohol. The flavors follow suit with the caramel, bourbon, oaky vanilla, and alcohol soaked dark fruits. Some earthy hops are noticeable in the backend and add balance. Full bodied and a smooth mouthfeel which is perfect for a slow sipper. A long, sweet finish with some warming from the alcohol. A really great tasting barleywine from a great brewery.

12 oz bottle, batch 8863 i think. Pours a dark brown with a thick biege head. Aroma is of spice, hops, caramel, and wood. Nice full mouthfeel. Earth, caramel, hops, and justa bit of alcohol on the tongue. A really nice barley wine.