Bell's Best Brown Ale - Bell's Brewery Inc.

    Bell's Best Brown Ale is a Brown Ale created by Bell's Brewery Inc. which is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This specific beer was donated to Amulets and Ale by Cale Nearing.

    The beer pours a dark garnet-brown with a large brown head that leaves a good amount of lacing on the glass.

    The Brown Ale smells like toasty malts as well as an almost metallic smell.

    The ale is medium bodied with a medium level of carbonation. The beer is very smooth and creamy.

    The Brown Ale's flavor is mainly sweet. Toasty malts and cocoa flavors predominate, with a slight hops bitterness to balance the sweetness. There is a sweet, almost caramel flavor to the beer as well. There is no alcohol warmth or flavor to the ale, which at 5.8 ABV is not surprising.

    I find the label choice for this beer interesting. Anyone who has ever seen an owl knows that their eyes are open WAY too wide to have consumed any alcohol. From strictly scientific observation of my friends while they drink, I have learned that eyes become more and more squinty as alcohol is consumed. If anything, owls are addicted to coffee. I mean, they're nocturnal, right? Up all night chasing (small woodland creature) tail, eyes wide and extremely alert. You can't tell me that these things aren't hopped up on caffeine. I would also like to comment on the fact that the owl on the bottle is looking at you somewhat condescendingly. He even has one eyebrow raised, as if to say, you're going to drink My beer? I don't know about you, but I don't really like elitist, caffeine addicted owls.

    Bell's Best Brown Ale is not at all a bad beer. In fact, I've never had a Bell's beer that wasn't serviceable. Unfortunately, I find this beer to be a very average Brown Ale, which is fine for a night of drinking, but if I were to look for a tasty treat of a Brown Ale, this would not be it.

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Two Hearted Ale - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

    Two Heated Ale is an American India Pale Ale created by Bell's Brewery, Inc. which is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. American IPAs tend to be more fruity and floral in their hops selections as compared to the classic English IPAs which are usually more on the piney end of things. Two Hearted Ale has the distinguished honor of being my third favorite beer of all time. This is definitely my "go-to" beer when I'm out and nothing else sounds good.

    The beer pours a hazy yellow-orange with a nice two finger head on top. The beer leaves a good amount of lacing on the glass as the liquid level in the glass lowers.

    Common to most IPAs, Two Hearted's aroma is mainly that of citrus fruits with a small bit of pine-like scent as well. While there are notes of grapefruit in the aroma, lemon is the main citrus fruit in the ale's nose. Almost perfectly balanced with the hops scents is a sweet, almost muffin-like malt smell which reminds me of of baked goods.

    Two Hearted ale is a medium bodied beer with a low level of carbonation. The beer has a very creamy and easy-to-drink mouthfeel. After a few sips, an oily feeling begins to coat your mouth from the bitterness, but it never becomes unpleasant. At 7% ABV, Two Hearted Ale can sneak up on you and leaves the slightest alcohol warmth in your throat.

A stained glass window at Bells' showing Amboiju.

    The American IPA is not nearly as bitter as you would expect from the aroma. Bitter citrus notes are definitely present in the beer's flavor, but a sweet caramel malt flavor balances out the floral hops, keeping things pleasant. To me, the beer almost tastes like a sweet, lemon bread. The beer finishes a little more bitterly than it starts, though still not in a bad way.

    The name Two Hearted Ale comes from an ancient Native American story in which a young hunter attempts to feed his family by spear fishing for the great Amboiju, a stream fish said to be hundreds of years old. As these things go, times had become hard for the natives and this fish was their last hope. In his rush to become a hero, the young Indian speared the great fish, only to be carried miles downstream by the seemingly unharmed fish. On his long trek back upstream to his family, the young brave meets an elder fisherman who informs him that Amboiju cannot be killed using a normal spear, as the fish has two hearts. If one heart is wounded, the other heart keeps the fish alive until it can heal completely. At this point in the story, the old man teaches the young man (likely using a montage) to create a two-pronged spear with which to hunt the fish. With his new knowledge the young brave sets off on his journey back home, sticking close to the water in hopes of catching glimpse of his adversary. Sure enough, just as all hope seems to be lost and winter begins to set in, Amboiju is seen by the boy, sitting just a few feet off shore. The boy brandishes his newly crafted weapon and pounces into the water with the grace of a cat, piercing the great fish's side. Again, the fish pulls the boy through the water, though this time upstream. When the boy is able to lift his head from under the current he realizes that he is back in his village, and that the great fish was alive no more. Legend tells that Amboiju fed the boy's entire village for months, and allowed the tribe to regain their greatness among the proud Native American peoples.

    Of course I made up the story of Amboiju, but that sort of thing is why you're here, isn't it? Bell's Two Hearted Ale is my number three beer due to its amazing balance of sweet and bitter. I'll admit, when I first tasted the beer, long before I was a beer fan, I thought that it tasted like lemon dusting spray smelled, so I understand if others do not agree with me that it is a great beer. All I ask is that you give it another chance later on, once you have gotten used to the more bitter flavors in IPAs and might better appreciate the floral, citrusy hops in this great beer!

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Oberon Ale - Bell's Brewery Inc.

    Oberon Ale is a Wheat Beer created by Bell's Brewery Inc. which is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Oberon is Bells' Summer seasonal beer. This beer, like a few other beers appearing on the blog, was donated by Emily Hohman. I held one back for a day just like today when I am officially tired of Winter and ready to usher in warmer weather. Lets see if this beer can do the trick!

    Oberon ale pours a bright golden color with a thin, white head on top which doesn't linger for long. The ale is quite bubbly, giving it an energetic appearance. There are tiny flecks of wheat in the beer.

    The ale smells sweetly of wheat malts. There is also a slight scent of orange peel and lemon from the hops.

    The Wheat Beer is medium bodied with a medium level of carbonation. Oberon has an alcohol content of 5.8% ABV.

It's like the sun in liquid form!

    Bells' Summer ale features a full wheat flavor which is very refreshing. Sweet malts back the wheat flavor up with their sweetness. Similar to the nose of the beer, slight lemon and orange fruitiness can be tasted. Oberon also has a slight hint of a coriander-like spiciness. There is an almost grassy flavor to the ale, which I assume comes from the hops as well. This isn't an unpleasant taste, but instead makes me imagine being in a flowered meadow with the sun high in the sky.

    I made it farther through this Winter without getting sick of the cold than in past years, though the chill has finally worn out its welcome. Oberon definitely conjures up feelings of Summer and the warmer months. While I doubt a beer could ever change the seasons, Oberon has definitely taken my mind to a warmer clime.

    I am not usually a fan of Wheat Beers, though I have to say that Oberon is my favorite of the Wheats that I have tried. I very much enjoy the light citrus flavor in the ale, but most of all I appreciate the massive amount of wheat flavor packed into the beer. I think one of my main gripes with other Wheat Beers is that brewers tend to focus too much on the fruitiness instead of putting out a strong wheat flavored beer.

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Special Thanks to Emily Hohman!

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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Hopslam Ale - Bell's Brewing, Inc.

    Hopslam Ale is an American Double IPA created by Bell's Brewery, Inc. which is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This special brew is released only once a year and in quite limited quantities. The ale also has the special honor of being my second favorite beer that I have ever tried. Every year in January I start searching the internet to see if Bell's has announced release dates for that year's batch of Hopslam. Once I find the release date, I anxiously await the two to three weeks that Hopslam will be on shelves. When the time finally comes, I book it into stores in order to claim my one six-pack-per-visit limit and rush back home with my prize like a squirrel with a nut.

    Hopslam pours a golden-orange color with an off-white foamy head.

    Upon first opening the bottle, an aroma of citrus fruits (mainly grapefruit) and what can only be described as a flowery scent burst outwards from under the cap. Upon pouring, the slight sweet scent of honey can be detected.

    Bell's Hopslam Ale is medium bodied and features a light carbonation level which causes the beer to feel extremely smooth. There is a pleasant warmth to the beer which causes the mouth to tingle nicely. At 10% ABV, this warmth is not at all surprising.

    Just as you might expect from its name, Hopslam is packed full of hops flavor. A bitter piney flavor starts out the ale's bouquet with a very nice grapefruit flavor following. One would expect an ale that is so full of hops to be overly bitter, but such is not the case with Hopslam. A great malt backbone works to edge out this bitterness allowing the pleasant flowery flavors to come through without the unpleasant bitter flavors. The sweet, smooth flavor of honey holds up the back end of the bouquet leaving a pleasant sweetness as an aftertaste.

Looks like someone wasn't aware of the one six-pack limit, so I stocked up! Lucky me!

    There is a large amount of hype surrounding Hopslam lately as the seasonal release has become quite popular since its release in 2004. As such, the beer can be quite hard to come across unless you plan ahead and look for release dates online. When I first tasted Hopslam, I was able to purchase a pitcher of the ale for normal price. In the years since, having Hopslam on tap has been reduced to an expensive half-pint that leaves you only wanting more. Interestingly, the first time I ever tasted the ale was in a period of time that I very much disliked strong, hoppy beers. The amazing balance presented by Hopslam just blew me away even though I knew little about beer or what different styles of ale could offer. It wasn't until a couple of years later when I found hopslam by chance at a local store and decided to give it another try that the ale was cemented as my favorite beer.

    Whether or not the hype surrounding Bell's Hopslam is warranted, it remains my second favorite brew even after trying many, many others. To this day, I am still amazed by the balance struck between the hops' bitterness and the honey and malts sweetness. The high alcohol content makes this beer a definite sipper, though it also lends an incredibly pleasant warmth to the ale. This is definitely a beer worth tracking down!

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