Third Coast Old Ale

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

Bottle. Glad I finally got my hands on this brew. Aroma is caramel and fruit. Poured a nice dark burgandy. Flavor is all dark fruit a good touch of brown sugars and nice grapefruity hop. Palate is mouthfilling. Overall, what can I say about Bell’s, it’s hard to find a bad one.

bottle - cloudy/hazy brown beer, pours a bit thicker than water with a smallish head that doesn’t leave much for lacing. It seems like it doesn’t have much for carbonation but a good swirl of the mug brings out more bubbles. Complex aroma with strong caramel, brown sugar, dark fruits and a hint of hops. Goes thick over the tongue, smooth and a bit hot. Mildly bitter but it balances well with the malt. I like this BW and plan to age a few.

Smells of fruit and yeast. Taste of prunes and dark sugars with some hints of possible figs. Has a slight alcohol finish but overall good. A very well balanced barley wine beer.

(bottle) hazy brown, small beige head, aroma of intense longan, hops, bit of alcohol; flavour of hops, fruit; long bitter finish

Reddish brown in color, med/low carbonation, with aromas of plums, figs, and dark sugars. Flavor is medium bodied, toffee, light roast, med alcoholic, cherries, nutty, creamy, and has a long, sweet finish. This should develop nicely for many years.

Bottle, thanks to TheCheeseMan. Pours a dark, hazy copper brown, with a finger of creamy beige head that dissipates slowly to a ring. Aroma is of soft, sweet butterscotch, nuts, vanilla, some spices, perhaps cinnamon or cardamom, raisin and dried apricot. These notes return in the flavour, along with fresh tasting bready malts and brown sugar with a solid earthy and slightly citric semi dry hop finish that makes it surprisingly drinkable. A noticable alcohol sting as well. This bitterness in the finish is actually a bit harsh, would have liked it toned down just a little bit. Guess that will improve with age, but for now, I only have this one bottle. Full bodied, carbonation is smooth, loads of tiny tiny bubbles. Overall a complex and enjoyable brew which probably improves with age.

(Bottle, Monk’s Café, Wallingatan, Stockholm) Reddish brown colour with frothy, beige head. Malty, fruity nose with dried fruit, red berries and caramel. Malty, fruity taste with notes of caramel, orange peel, red berries, black-currant and a slightly vinous finish with generous amounts of earthy hops. Full body, fairly sweet. Lots of taste and brilliant balance between the solid malt and generous hop character. Lovely beer!

12 oz bottle from a long while back, single bottle frm somewhere. Pours a nice copper hue, darker, decent haze, a nice red body underneath almost, with a moderate tannish head, stays at a decent layer with decent lacing. Aromas are a rich caramel and toffee malt base, bringing floral and grapefruit hops underneath, a rich sweetness with a touch of toast, vanilla, and a faint nuttiness. Good fruitiness, almost candied fruit is the theme. Initial is a richer sweet body, still only moderate bodied, with a decent dosing of hoppy bitterness behind. Toffee, caramel, a touch of vanilla, with some candied fruits, or sweeter ones at that, with a decent booziness, dusting of cinnamon. The hoppy elements are pretty good and help balance this malty brew, in fact the hops are really the most prominent part of the finish with some decent trailing malty sweetness. A solid brew.