Smitten Golden Rye Ale - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

    Smitten Golden Rye Ale is a take on the American Pale Ale created by Bell's Brewery, Inc which is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

    The Pale Ale pours a hazy golden color with a decent amount of sediment floating throughout the glass. A nice inch or so of foamy head tops the beer and leaves a decent amount of lacing on the glass as it fades.

    The ale has a very malty smell with some slight spicy notes from the rye. A strong, flowery hops smell is present at pouring, but quickly gives way to the earthier malt scents.

     Smitten is medium-light bodied with a crisp amount of carbonation which keeps the beer tasting fresh. Luckily the sediment is not noticeable.

Will you be smitten with Smitten?

    The APA is considerably less hoppy than the scent might lead one to believe. While there is definitely a presence of citrusy hops and their resiny oils, the malts are definitely more noticeable in the ale's flavor. The earthiness of the malts together with the light hops flavor creates an almost lemon-grass like flavor which is quite refreshing. A very slight rye spiciness can be tasted, though just barely. The malts have an almost bready quality to them which help to balance out the hops and rye flavors. The ale leaves a slight oily bitterness in the mouth which is somewhat unpleasant. Even with the higher alcohol content of 6% ABV, Smitten presents no alcohol flavor nor warmth.

    Smitten Golden Rye Ale definitely has a floweriness about it. From the "he loves me, he loves me not" label to the hoppy aroma released by popping open the bottle. Personally, when it comes to gifts, I'd much rather receive a beer bouquet than flowers. I wouldn't recommend playing the loves me, loves me not game with a six-pack though or it might end up something like "she lovvesh meh naht."

    Overall Smitten Golden Rye Ale is a very decent tasting beer. The rye flavors are a bit milder than I would expect with rye in the name of the ale, but the overall earthiness and hops balance is quite nice in the ale. The aftertaste and oily mouthfeel can be somewhat off putting, but this APA is definitely a refreshing choice.

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