Two Hearted Ale - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

PhantomVodoo

Ohio

4.2/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Copper hued golden in color with an off-white head that left lace.
Pleasing floral, piney hop aroma with malt scents buried under the hops.

Big floral, piney hop flavor is well balanced by a nice biscuity, toffee malt profile. Very smooth.

Good mouthfeel.
This is an everyday IPA. Plenty of flavor, but balanced and very drinkable. Left me wanting another.

Overall, a good IPA. Not one that blows me away, but one I'd be happy to drink anytime.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2003 03:54:09 | More by PhantomVodoo

clvand0

Kentucky

3.6/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Had this on tap at the local pub. Pours a hazy orange color with lots of floaties in the beer. Had a moderate head that died off slowly. Wow, this is an odd beer. The aroma was pretty hoppy with citrus and other fruits and spices there as well. The taste was odd because it tasted like it was laden with alcohol, but acutally only has around 5%. Sweet malts were present, but the main part of the flavor had a spicy, orange peel taste with some hints of honey. Very weird. Took a few drinks to get used to it, but turned out to be a very drinkable beer. Extremely orange peel in taste - almost overwhealming at first, but you become accustomed to it and it becomes more likable with time.

Serving type: on-tap

08-27-2003 19:26:08 | More by clvand0

beerguy101

California

3.75/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Gold color. Large white foamy head. Hoppy and fruity aroma. Malty and hoppy. Big and bold flavor. High alcohol taste, unusual because it not that high an alcohol content, but smooth taste. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is dry. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. Nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2003 00:44:25 | More by beerguy101

oberon

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Straight 4's on this one a very solid beer, pours a somehwat hazy orange color with a nice medium sticky head.The aroma is very very hoppy and citriusy and resiny,the taste is pretty biiter with a caramel sweet backbone the hops are the definent taste here very citrius fruit like.A pretty balanced IPA very well done.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2003 16:21:57 | More by oberon

ChappyCubsFan

California

4.22/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Have been hearing about this ale on the Internet for months. Finally made it out to Michigan for the 6th Annual Summer Brew Festival. While in Western Michigan, I found some bottled Two Hearted Ale in Grand Rapids. The taste was like nothing I've ever experienced, especially for a guy accustomed to the rich, cascade-hopped west coast IPA's. Is there molasses in this brew? It definitely has a distinct and complex recipe of hops and malt working here. It was a very good ale, but I can't understand all the hype and why so many BA's rank this as high as they do. Mad Hatter is my favorite Michigan IPA.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2003 06:02:51 | More by ChappyCubsFan

Bierman9

New Hampshire

4.13/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a lovely golden color, with a slight hint of haziness within (the bottle had some sediment, which I swirled in at the very end, giving the bier a definite opaque quality). The head was whipped up into a froth without much effort. Took its time to recede, and stuck well on the sides. Nose had a verrry nice hop aroma, leaning a bit towards the grapefruit, but not overwhelmingly so. Some toastiness also makes some headway here. Body hits medium on the scale, and the carbonation level is fairly low, resulting in a pleasing smoothness across the tongue.

I find a more than abundant level of malty sweetness, with a honey-like aspect present. Hoppiness is a big player on the stage as well, with a citrussy lean, but also with (to me anyway) some slight hints of tropical fruit. A palate-pleaser, to be sure! Thnx to FeloniusMonk for providing me with a couple of bottles of the golden nectar! Zum Wohl!!

overall: 4.15
appearance: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | mouthfeel: 4 | drinkability: 4.5

597

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2003 18:32:47 | More by Bierman9

DrunkenPanther

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Kind of ironic that the 1st Bells Two Hearted I try is cask conditioned. At the time, I wished I had a bottled version of it so there was something to compare it to. Said that, after drinking the cask (adn eventually trying a bottle), I can say that the cask version does not disappoint!
The color was a cloudy deep yellow/orange with a typical cask head that lasts throughout.
The smell was a slap of citrus and hops on the nose. Very refreshing. Since this was on cask, I was expecting more of a low scent.
The taste was remarkable. Creamy big mouthfeel that sits there and hop flavor busting through. Definitely a well balanced cask version of a wonderful ale. Drink one and burp that hop taste all night.

Serving type: cask

08-06-2003 15:27:01 | More by DrunkenPanther

bobinverted

Michigan

2.17/5  rDev -49.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Bell's makes some great Stouts. Their Oatmeal Stout is amazing, but I haven't been too impressed with their other offerings. I'm going to have to go against the grain here and say that Bell's Two Hearted Ale is just another horribly over hopped American ale. I know it's an IPA and hoppiness is a characteristic of the style, but I just don't think there is enough maltiness and body in this brew to support all the hops. All I can taste is a sickening amount of floral and citrus hops. To me it seems very unbalanced and astringent. In my opinion it certainly doesn't belong in the BA top 50.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2003 21:49:59 | More by bobinverted

ipogios

Cyprus

4.72/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

What an EXCELLENT beer. A very big thank you flies out to feloniousmonk for sending me a fresh sample of this beer.

Pours a cloudy orangy colour topped by a big head. Took the glass and raised it to the level of my head and enjoyed the looks of the beer. This beer has an apperance that FORCES you to drink it. Aroma consists of hops, citrus and grapefruit. Quite complex aroma. A very hoppy yet caramelly flavour. Very drinkable beer also.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2003 09:14:06 | More by ipogios

drewbage

California

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Sampled on draft in the 2003 AHA NHC Hospitality Room (courtesy of the Prison City Brewers of Jackson, MI.) (in a clean 10oz Sample Glass)

Aroma is spicy hops with a light phenol. A soft malic tinged fruitiness wraps around a gentle malt nose.

The beer itself pours hazy orange with a fluffy white head on that holds through the glass.

The flavor is briefly sweet with malt sugars that are surplannted by a growing piney resin bitterness.

As the beer warms and opens up in the glass, the beer evolves to showcase a larger sweet navel orange flavor.

Serving type: on-tap

07-06-2003 02:21:00 | More by drewbage

Indybeer

Indiana

3.85/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle. Poured a golden yellow, with a massive cratered head that really lasted. Lots of sticky laceing on the glass. Aroma is all hops! Taste is a touch of citrus with a good hop flavor and a finish of hop bitterness. I'm not a real big fan of IPA's but this was suprisingly good. I couldn't sit and drink alot of these but this would be a good kick back sipping beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2003 23:12:10 | More by Indybeer

GeoffRizzo

Texas

4.88/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Pours a bright beauty of an orange. A rather delicate, but inviting aroma of mild citrus and hops. She will maintain beautiful lacing throughout. Complex off the cuff, fresh fruit, grapefruit, orange peel, and some inviting light peach notes combined with the floral hops are there, masterfully blended in. The body is medium, it is crisp, creamy and fresh all packaged up together. Slight warming effect, absolutely delicious. Everything you'd expect and more from an IPA, hop heads will be at the pearly gates, non-hop heads will be right behind, this is an anytime, anyplace, session, etc. beer. Mah-velous!

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2003 18:42:34 | More by GeoffRizzo

jcalabre

California

4.38/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Originally sampled 1 November 2002. This is a monsterous India Pale Ale. It has a great citrus flavor with a grapefruit finish. The nose is chokked full of hops. It is a hazy copper delight. In my opinion, it is one of the best India Pale Ales around.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2003 18:41:34 | More by jcalabre

BierReise

Florida

4.43/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

One of the best IPA's I've had in recent memory. Cloudy copper ale with nice fluffy head, which is the sign of great quality ales. Aroma is superb, piney and citrusy. Has it's own uniqueness to it and different from other great IPA's. I smell a little cedar as another reviewer points out. Nice lacing. Very crisp and carbonation is solid. I only wish I could buy these locally. Would be a regular for me. Thanks JohnnyDuvel!!!

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2003 12:45:52 | More by BierReise

dwarbi

New York

4.68/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Whoa! What an amazing looking beer. Foamy white head that leaves large patches on the sides of the glass as I drain it. Hippity hoppity hop-hops! Helluvan aroma. Bursting in my nasal cavity. Creamy and smooth IPA?! Don't get me wrong, it's crisp and pops on your tongue, but very clean. Fantastic IPA. Supremely drinkable. I am not a hophead, but this is a great IPA choice.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2003 19:59:27 | More by dwarbi

rastaman

United Kingdom (England)

3.15/5  rDev -26.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Strong cedary, piney, grapefruity, citrusy nose, no doubt due to the hops. Smooth sweetish maltyness. Sharp bitterness at the end, with some saltyness and some alcohol noticed, lingering bitterness. Grapefruity and a bit woody?. I don't know, to me this wasn't very exciting, a bit one dimensional, It had a lot of flavour, but maybe it was a bit too sharp for me?. Still, quite alright. Another gift from feloniousmonk.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2003 07:04:53 | More by rastaman

frank4sail

New Jersey

5/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Flower hop/orange rind beautiful fresh nose. Rose colored with lots of little bubbles and a thick sturdy 2 inch creamy pale head. Sticky white peaks settle to a rich sticky lace on the glass. I love the fragrant smell of this brew. Bitter hop citrus grapefruit taste with a sturdy pale malt backbone. Medium mouth thet coats the tongue and throat with a wonderful hop flower film. The bitterness mellows and leaves the back of the tongue dry. The front of the tongue is left with jellybean sweetness. WOW balenced even on both ends of your tongue. I love this brew... and I think it also loves me... This brew is so rounded it is the only IPA that I have tasted that has truly measured up to the Hopdevil. The citrus flavors evolve in your mouth into a "big daddy" of hop satisfaction.
Seek out this brew and destroy a few for me!

Cheers to inebrius .. I am in major debt to you for sending me this one!!!!!!!

Did I say WOW...

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2003 13:12:28 | More by frank4sail

SheepNutz

Kentucky

4.15/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this beer in a 12oz. bottle poured into a pint glass. The pour yielded 2 good fingers of foam above a cloudy deep orange yeasty liquid. One thing I really love about this brew is the head. It really stays around, leaving a good bit of lacing on the glass. A little bit of citrus in the smell, very pleasant. The taste is a good bite of hops with a bit of frutiness in the front of the tongue. Almost a flavor of clover and pine really. The mouthfeel is pretty heavy and smooth. The drinkability is average for an IPA. One thing I really love about this brew is the head. It really stays around, leaving a good bit of lacing on the glass.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2003 20:36:10 | More by SheepNutz

Loki

North Carolina

4.95/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Sampled in a 12oz bottle with a very unique label with an almost homemade look that left me truly wondering what the bottle contained and what was in store for me with this tasting.

This fine Kalamazoo product poured a slightly hazy amber color with a ¼ - ½ inch thick ivory head that faded fairly quickly. Yet while most of the head faded quickly, the beer maintained a 1/8 inch head nearly through out my sampling. This beer also produced beautiful lacing during the entire drinking experience.

The nose on the Two-Hearted Ale was both prominent and pleasant. A very floral and fruity nose revealed scents of wild flowers, peaches, grapefruit, and malt. Beautiful, yet delicate scents and a promise great of taste flowed from the glass.

The taste did not disappoint me. With a sweet start of fruit and fine malt that lead into bevy of hop flavor. This beer possessed a medium body and a clean, crisp smoothness that went down incredibly easy and very fast. The flavors were smooth and even through out and transitioned without any jump, wholes, or gaps between them.

I am very impressed by this Kalamazoo product; it certainly lived up hype that I had read about all of the Kalamazoo beers. Thank you taverjeff for sending me the so I have at least two more. Yet I know two will not be enough.

Note: Upon searching for the Two-Hearted Ale to review I can to the astonishing revelation that it is an IPA! What? But I hate IPA?s. In fact I?ve only had one before that I even really liked. Are my taste buds changing, or is this beer just that damn good?

I think it is just that damn good, and I also think I?ll have another. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2003 20:44:07 | More by Loki

blkknight02

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

My first chance to sample this highly rated brew since Bell's has just begun to be distributed in our area.
The beer poured a light copper to dark amber hue with an adequate amount of head. The lacework stayed on the glass the entire pint.
Aroma of piney/citrusy hops (chinook and cascades?) with a hint of sweetness in the background. Somewhat fruity as well.
Hops overwhelm the malt but there is a finish of sweetness followed by a lingering bitterness. Very biting mouthfeel due top the carbonation level and the IBU's involved.
Overall, it a good beer but too much pine for my tastes.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2003 06:32:14 | More by blkknight02

AtLagerHeads

Ohio

4.08/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Not a bad choice for numero 300. The cask pour came up quite nicely with a thick pillowy white head that dissipated rather slowly to a thin lace blanket that coated the sides of the glass thoroughly. The body was dark gold to light amber and somewhat hazy. Nose was full and gave off piney, herbal hop aromas that carried through to the taste. A flowery sense was included in both nose and taste. This is a hophead ale to be sure, but creamy and full bodied to boot. Very little malt sense, but, of course, that is what carries the hops forward. Not overly bitter at any point, the brew finishes with a hint of lip-licking sweetness that balances the overall experience. This would not be the top IPA on my list, and I've probably rated it higher than I'd otherwise rate it because of the cask influence. IMNSHO, it is very good beer, but a bit too highly rated.

Serving type: cask

05-08-2003 19:27:30 | More by AtLagerHeads

daledeee

Iowa

4.72/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

If you want hoppy, this is it! The finest pale ale I have had.

When I first drink it, it seems strong. But as the glass goes down the enjoyment goes up.

Pours a beautiful head. Golden colored. Floral or piny aroma.

Hops all over the place. Some malt creeps through. Well balanced. What a joy to drink!

Why do I live in Iowa? I have to drive to Wisconsin to get this. But that makes it a special treat. This is a top beer. Possibly the best American beer. Two in the top 10 not bad for an American brewery!

Edit: Since this review, I have tried many other beers. This is still a great beer but there is strong competition from American Brewers that I found as I traveled around the country.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2003 15:32:00 | More by daledeee

TXHops

Texas

2.7/5  rDev -36.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

-Original Gravity: 1.062
-Final Gravity: 1.01
-ABV:7%
-ABW: 5.5%
-Attenuation: 84%
-Real Extract: 7.47 P
-Calories: 202
-IBU’s:
-Malts:
-Hops:
-Color:

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale pours a shockingly pale yellow color, looking more like SNPA than most American IPA’s (when decanted off the yeast—a full pour left a vesry cloudy body). The nose has a big, vegetal hop aroma, smelling strongly of coriander, though I’d be beyond beside myself to learn that any adjuncts or spices were used in this beer. The very slight haziness lends credibility to an over-crystal malted style. The just-less-than-white head is pretty fluffy after the yeast has been added from the bottle, but is mediocre otherwise.

The flavor is odd, to say the least. Sweet, pineapples mix with cooked vegetables to leave a very unusual sensation in the mouth. Then there’s that damned coriander flavor! Is this an Imperian Wit or an IPA??? OK, we’re gonna stop right here and assume the worst—I got a funky bottle. I stopped and read about 30-40 reviews of this stuff and everyone loved it. There were several telling mentions of an “odd sweetness” or a “pleasant funkiness from the Bell’s yeast” that’s just killing me here! The ambient flavors created by the fermentation with the “famous” Bell’s yeast is wreaking havoc on my buds. In my doubt, I had my wife taste it and she thought it tasted and smelled like ash (not ass, ash). This stuff is as close to horrid as a beer can get without being dumped. Let’s hops for a bad bottle and a shot at redemption in the future. I’m rating what I taste based on the fact that with something like 60+ IBU’s and 7$ ABV, this stuff oughtta be impervious to bugs.

Updated early April 2003: I retasted and although this second bottle was MUCH better than the first, it still had subtle hints of that vegetal, coriander flavor. I'm upping my score, but not by much. I'd love to taste this stuff fermented without the Bell's yeast...

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2003 10:34:37 | More by TXHops

StevieW

Florida

4.83/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

12 oz bottle. What the hell are those things on the label. They don't look like hearts to me. I'll call MikeyW, he'll know.
This Bell's beer opened with more of "pffft" than the other ones I 've had. That's a good sign I think. Poured a more golden yellow color than a rich copper that I expected. I guess I expected a darker color, but that's ok. Rich bubbly, creamy, biege head. Full and strong, laced the glass on the way down.
Aromas spot on of striking Cascade hop goodness. Full on, very good. Full flowery hop aromas. First taste is equally striking, stand up and take notice hop bitterness. Combined with the tangy, bitter citrus taste. Subtle malt body. Balanced. Sticky, whole hop flowers, much like a Celebration Ale. Leaves a hole in your mouth, with bitterness lingering on your tongue. Medium bodied, perfectly charged. This one is the ultimate summer thirst quencher or bbq beer. And 7% abv is not felt. A beer I could drink again and again and not tire of it. I had this with grilled bbq chicken and corn on the cob. Perfect !

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2003 05:07:46 | More by StevieW

tavernjef

Minnesota

4.63/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Ohh, my...this is one complex, super good IPA!

Color was a solid goldish yellow, small bubbly head that faded fast but left nice tight lace in patches around the glass. Aroma is very grapefruit/orangey/lemony peel-like with lots of fresh floral hops and a bit of spice and slight dry malt. Straight up taste is very fresh hops, citrusy with some spice notes and grain, nothing overbearing, very mellow, its perfectly balanced and is very crisp and clean with a great, light dry finish lingering with dry malts and left over hop bits. Hard and very bold, medium body feel, somewhat creamy with lots of fruity sweetness and a nice, light dry finish. This is some fantastic stuff. A favorite of mine for any occasion.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2003 09:35:45 | More by tavernjef