Third Coast Old Ale

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

bottle. small fizzy tan head that quickly dissapated leaving a ring of head on the glass. burnt orange (almost brown) body. minimal lacing. aromas of strong toffee, ripe fruits and light hops. flavors are moderately bitter with a light sweet just under the radar. dry texture, average carbonation, finish is moderate to long in legnth. alcohol is well hidden (but definately present as noticed from the difference in the state I started the barley to the state I finished it). surprisingly drinkable and damn fine barley!

Bottle at home with TOm and Royce ... Copper ... sweet barly wine nose ... toffee and sweet malts ... bit over strong alcohol wise but im a bit over tipsy. (i just cant keep up wit tom even if it is my tasting) Like a lot of bartleys could do with another year or two.

Bottle at cgarvieuk’s sunday sojourn. Clear golden copper with no head. Lots of wood and fruit tones, some vanilla tones. Mouth is some chocolate and spirit burn. OK.

Dark, yet smooth with a bit of a bitter aftertaste on the way down. Good when in the mood for a dark beer.

The black licoriche tint of this beer seems to exuberent for what is an otherwise rich cloying malty beer which I feel is more true to the Old Ale style than a barley wine, especially with the raisin, cherry and mahogany fruit tones. The abv is not well hidden and it cries out at me for attention. There is a creaminess here which feels smooth to the tongue. It just could be a bit better balanced.

12oz brown bottle served in a brandy snifter. Batch 7695. Bottle conditioned with plenty of sediment. Pours a deep mahogany with a quickly dissipating off white head. Rich caramel malt aroma with butterscotch and molasses. Massive chewy body. This thing is a malt bomb. Some fruity flavors. There are a pretty good amount of hops that keep it from being cloying. I don’t know why it took me so long to try this beer, but I’m kicking myself, because it’s fantastic.

I have poured this into a tulip. Where the batch number should be listed, there is only a blank space. Not like it matters anyway, since every time I enter a batch number on the Bell’s website, it gives me the wrong beer. There is a slight head which quickly dissipates to a light swirl. The body is a deep amber color. Pour this carefully, as I was unable to keep some of the chunky yeast out of my glass. The nose is vinous, with the hops and the alcohol making their presence known. I detect some cherries, too. The taste is of cherries and raisins, with a nice citric hop character. Caramel malt appears, and I taste every bit of that 9%ABV. I don’t ever mind tasting the alcohol. After all, that is a small part of why we drink beer. The mouthfeel is is like thick silk. The low carbonation is in keeping with the style. This is one of my favorite beers, as it is readily available to me pretty much year round. The drinkability rocks. This batch tastes quite fresh to me, but I cannot be certain, because of the problems I listed in the first paragraph. Assuming that this is a fresh sample, it is great now. I will, however, age the four samples remaining from this six-pack until the winter. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 08-26-2005 06:50:58

Flavourful ale with a thick head, Smells and tastes of caramel, malt, coffee. Touch of alcohol for the greater than average beer kick.