Bell's Wheat Love - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

philberinghele

Illinois

4.47/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Michigan Escapes
To Kalamazoo In Spring
Treats Will Be Savored

Finding Bell's in Chicago these days requires a divining rod. I've got a couple wells that haven't run dry but I won't disclose them at this time. Needless to say, I was glad that I had brought my 1993 Dodge Dakota with me the other night when I spied several cases casually displayed at a local retailer. As I sped away, I felt invigorated by the discovery.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2007 02:06:28 | More by philberinghele

Johnd8

Michigan

5/5  rDev +24.4%

08-14-2012 12:12:53 | More by Johnd8

HungarianCount

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -12.9%

08-07-2012 06:40:25 | More by HungarianCount

beagle75

Iowa

3.38/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a half-pint chalice.
2005 vintage

A: Slightly hazy, honey-golden color with a peripheral ring of loose white bubbles. Light lacing remains on the glass and a few bubbles rise in the column.

S: Rustic grain is detectable, but honey notes really dominate the smell. Very clean overall, not especially complex. No alcohol is detected.

T: Begins off-dry, with concentrated wheat and a fine thread of dish soap early. Acidity is surprisingly strong and lively into the middle, where honey serves as an ensemble member rather than the lone attraction like the smell suggested. Husky grain is mild into the finish, slightly citric, with a whiff of diacetyl detected. No alcohol is detected.

M: Medium viscosity, acidic on the palate, with moderate carbonation.

D/O: I'm told that it was better when it was young, and I'm inclined to believe it. Nevertheless, it is a great pleasure to get to taste this long-departed member of the Bell's family for the first time in 2012. Honey seems to be the defining feature here, although its presence in the flavor profile is found to be in balance with other qualities. Overall, it just struggles to be compelling, seeming more forgettable instead. Perhaps there is a reason Bell's treated this recipe as a one-and-done.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2012 23:37:14 | More by beagle75

Tyrawlings

Ohio

4/5  rDev -0.5%

02-16-2012 20:16:26 | More by Tyrawlings

TCgoalie

Michigan

4/5  rDev -0.5%

12-29-2011 21:04:58 | More by TCgoalie

Goldfoot

Michigan

4/5  rDev -0.5%

12-16-2011 16:37:39 | More by Goldfoot

LilBeerDoctor

New York

2.8/5  rDev -30.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Reviewed on 6/24/2010. On tap at Eccentric Cafe. Pours a cloudy orange with a small white head. Aroma of Belgian yeast and sweet wheat malt. Flavor is sweet upfront, almost sugary, with a wheaty finish. Plenty of melon rind, spices, and yeast. This was just too sugary and sweet and very difficult to drink. Not a fan.

Serving type: on-tap

12-23-2010 23:58:44 | More by LilBeerDoctor

bamadog

Kentucky

4/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Got to try this beer at the Eccentric Cafe on a recent beer tour of Michigan. The review is from notes taken on 6/19/2010 and poured from the tap to a tulip.

Appearance: Pour is an orange/apricot color and starts with a 1/2 finger white head that fades almost immediately to a faint thin skim on the surface; body is very cloudy and I'm unsure as to what the carbonation looks like at this point; no lacing is left behind at all.

Smell: Nice Belgian yeastiness and a sweet banana and clove-like scent emanate up from the glass that spices things up; a very faint hop bitterness is present lurks around in the back.

Taste: Really nice and matches the nose to a "T" -- a nice smooth and sweet yeastiness and a mellow fruit (banana?) presence that is tropical and a little citric in nature and then a peppery and clove like presence comes in; I feel the hops actually make an appearance at the end and leave a bit of a bitter aftertaste lingering with a slightly toasted wheatiness.

Mouthfeel: Body is of medium weight and the carbonation is prickly and a little sharp; a fairly dry and sticky coating is left behind; a nice smooth, yet lively drink -- great for the summer in this heat.

Drinkability: Not too bad of a sipper at 8.2%, but the flavors are nice with solid balance between the sweet and bitter at the end; body is nice and sits a tad heavy, but I could live with that for the solid nature of this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

06-22-2010 02:42:54 | More by bamadog

mrmanning

Ontario (Canada)

3.48/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz Bottle- Rating taken from notes dated January 08- Deep amber/copper, slightly hazed with a half inch of off white froth. Leaves some lace as well. A fruit dominated nose with pear, peach, other tropical fruits, yeasty with hints of oak, caramel, some spicing. Tastes sweet, of apricots, some citrus, quite yeasty, some caramel and earthy malts. A bit heated on the finish, in what is an otherwise flavour attempt. I believe this is my first "wheat wine". I'm not sure, but Ibelieve I got this bottle from Styles, so thanks for the bottle Chris!

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2010 17:45:10 | More by mrmanning

ClockworkOrange

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A 12 ounce bottle poured into my Maredsous chalice. Appears a cloudy particulate filled orange color with about a finger or so of off white head. Nose and flavors are of wheat, spicy yeast, coriander, lemons, mild sweet caramel, fruity, banana, and a touch of honey. Pretty tasty stuff. Nice medium body and ample carbonation for the style. Out of the handful of wheatwines I've had so far, this one is tops.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2009 12:37:57 | More by ClockworkOrange

badbeer

Iowa

3.9/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Golden color with an orange hue to it. Wheat head that leaves bits of lacing. Smells of apricot, straw, bubble gum, and coriander. Taste has some lemon, clove, coriander, and honey. Carbonation is bordering high, with a medium body. This was an interesting beer, wish I had a little more of it. Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2009 04:23:23 | More by badbeer

hopdog

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottles acquired in a couple of trades.

Poured a medium orange color with a large sized off white head. Lots of very small, suspended floaters. Aromas of bananas, spices, yeast, light caramel, and wheat. Tastes of wheat, fruity, yeast, spices, and some citrus. Last pour gave it tons of bigger chunks and made it very cloudy and murky. Very interesting for a Barleywine!

Notes from 4/11/07

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2008 01:07:03 | More by hopdog

flexabull

California

4.43/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Batch #7155 (Dec. 2005)

Bottle is courtesy of leftmindedrighty, thanks again!

Beer pours a bright and very slightly hazy gold color, with a good white head.

Aromas are a bit sweet, with a cidery and spicy apple like note.

Taste is quite interesting. Beer starts out with a subtle creamy malt flavor, kind of sweet, and hard candy like. Flavors then become subtle... mostly some soft bread dough, a touch of green apple, and a clean, full, and only slightly crisp finish.

Mouthfeel is excellent. Feels just how I want a beer to feel like in my mouth. Very full, soft, and thick. Not too thick though, and with a nice amount of carbonation.

Drinkability is very good. I am very impressed. I really hope Bell's brings this one back. It's a top notch Wheat Wine. Funny... I love this style, but for some reason I didn't think this would be all that great. I still wanted to try it, but I thought it would be a step or two below my favorites... not so! This is a very good brew.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2008 05:31:09 | More by flexabull

demitriustown

Michigan

3.63/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle: Cloudy orangish/ yellow pour with very small white fizzy head. Aroma of yeast, heavy wheat notes, quite good malt notes as well, and lightly fruity. Flavor is nice malt tones, fruity, wheat, and lightly spiced. Palate is bitter and lightly carbonated. Overall, nice for a change. Recommended definitely.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2008 20:25:43 | More by demitriustown

Beertracker

Oklahoma

4.18/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bell's Wheat Love pours up sublime with a generous white head that sits atop a brilliant deep peach golden-pale orange body. Very lacy with lots a tiny streaming bubbles. Nice! The moderately spicy (phenolic) aroma has notes of freshly cut lemon verbena, cracked peppercorns, and crushed coriander along with subtle hints of perfumey continental hops. The underlying wheat berry character is simply amazing and supports the yeast born spiciness extremely well. Alcohol noted. The sustainable flavor starts off mildly phenolic with a nice graininess that's marked by a touch of spicy bitterness that carries into a big warming, honeyish finish. This medium bodied wheatwine has a wonderful creaminess, good carbonation, and some notable warmth. Slightly chewy with some nice complexity from the different yeasts. This is a finely crafted brew from Bell's that I certainly would "love" to see brewed again. Give me some Wheat Love baby! Here's to the crew from Kalamazoo!

CHEERS! Beertracker

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2008 06:10:15 | More by Beertracker

KingNoonan

Wisconsin

4.18/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer poured very thick into my glass with a gorgeous golden orange color in its body. The head of the beer came up to a nice three quarter inch, cream-colored, foam that held in the glass for over two minutes. Preliminary nasal investigations yielded strong scents of wheat malts. There were also very strong scents of citrus fruits, most likely lemon and orange, as well as nice hints of ripe banana. Further scent based research discovered notes of coriander and cloves. The first taste has a huge burst of flavor, at first it is a little overpowering, but then it subsides into a very pleasant beverage. The opening tastes in the glass are strong wheat malts with a hint of barley malt to back it up, a moderate flavor of clove, and a slight citrus zest, almost if someone has scraped the peel of a lemon into the bottle. The beer definitely had some kick to it, though the flavors balanced out the alcohol nicely. Further down the glass, the head dissipated into a thin film around the top of the beer, however the carbonation stayed at a nice moderate stream through the whole glass. At first, you are overwhelmed with the strong wheat malts, with little kicks of various flavors. A few sips into the glass, strong notes of lemon and clove appear. Later in the glass, a nice banana-like flavor develops along with notes of pepper and coriander. The glass ends with sweet notes of honey and even suggestions of nuts, maybe almonds or hazelnut.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2008 00:10:55 | More by KingNoonan

BeerTruth

Connecticut

3.78/5  rDev -6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I'm pretty sure I got this one from Josh, thanks man.

12 oz. bottle poured into a snifter, batch 7155.

Pours a rich copper hue with a white one finger head that quickly dies down to a thin layer which lasts throughout. Stickiness doesn't exactly exist, but I'm not entirely sure if it is supposed to for this style. Smell is a yeasty aroma mixed with fruits, almost like a Belgian style. A full burst of grapes seems to emerge most, I guess that's where the "wine" part of the style comes from, maybe? Taste is once again fruity; apples, grapes, lemon, grapefruit, and pears. A bit of caramel malt comes forward towards the end, balances it out quite qell...in a unique sort of way. Mouthfeel is medium to full and creamy with a good amount of carbonation. Not a style I entirely enjoy, but glad I had the opportunity. Probably won't seek out this style again, but glad I gave it a shot. Definitely something worth trying. If I had to pick one word to describe this beer, it would have to be "interesting".

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2007 00:28:49 | More by BeerTruth

klewis

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev -8%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to BeerBeing for this one.
Batch 7155

A: Pours a very murky apricot color, looking more like a hefeweizen than anything else. No head, just a few bubbles. Barely any lacing. Doesn't look very appealing in any aspect.

S: Smells like grapefruit and bubble gum, but not in the way that you normally get from centennial hops. This smells oddly different and sweeter. Not bad, just weird.

T: Like the smell, tastes like grapefruit, orange juice, and bubble gum. Tastes sweet and even a little tart. A slight minty flavor in the finish.

M: Medium-bodied with plenty of carbonation. Slightly abrasive texture.

D: What an odd beer. The flavor is unlike anything else I've had, and totally unexpected for a wheat wine. Still, quite enjoyable, and it's worth a higher score than my numbers add up to.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2007 03:32:18 | More by klewis

mcallister

Ohio

2.93/5  rDev -27.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a milky orange-ish color. Very unfiltered and pulpy orange juice reminiscent. Much lighter than anticipated.

Hmmm reminds me very much of Batch 8000. Very clovey and full of orange peel and rich yeasty aromas. A hint of apricot with a spicey, wheat smack.

Well this may be past. A hint of a orange zest, wheat riddled spice fades quickly into a gritty finish. Short, simple and to the point. No signs of oxidization but lacking depth and complexity. In a word. Dissapointing.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2007 23:31:23 | More by mcallister

kundabuffer

Indiana

4.22/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Coincidentally my beer was also from batch 7155 (12/1/05), which is the exact same batch someone else reviewed just a bit before me. I don't know how long a beer of this type is usually supposed to last, but for not being that fresh it tastes pretty damn good...I got this in Philadelphia, where Bell's doesn't even distribute, and I figured it would be a little aged. This may explain the almost total lack of head (?)....The beer is a dark gold/light brown color and has a strong and appealing orange smell. Maybe I'm biased at the moment because I made dinner involving oranges, but I think it's there. The wheat flavor in the beer is fully present without being too mealy, and there's a little bit of spice as well. There's a little bit of sourness in the aftertaste that I don't find terribly appealing, but this may be due to the age and doesn't really detract from the overall flavor. This isn't my favorite Bell's offering, but it would be in their interest to bring this beer back again, I think.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2007 06:24:46 | More by kundabuffer

bluejacket74

Ohio

4.33/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12 ounce bottle is from batch 7155, packaged on December 1, 2005 and reviewed on 6/1/2007. Served in the "new" Sam Adams Boston Lager glass, the beer pours a gold/orange color with a small off-white head. Head retention is low, but lacing is good. It smells sweet and fruity, like apricots and oranges, and also like yeast, grain/wheat and some peppery spicyness. The taste is pretty much the same way it smells. It's more sweet than bitter, and it also has a honey, clove and banana taste. Mouthfeel is medium/full with a moderate amount of carbonation. It's smooth and and a bit syrupy. Drinkability is good, I had no problems at all drinking this beer. Hopefully Bell's will decide to bring this Wheat Project beer back, I liked the Wheat Love a lot.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2007 01:09:22 | More by bluejacket74

number1bum

Pennsylvania

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

Part of NEPA BC split #3, and definitely one of the most unique and interesting brews I've had in awhile.

Pors a deep golden color, almost orange. Nice off-white head that leaves a ton of sticky lacing on the sides of the glass. It looks like it's going to be full bodied, and there is a good amount of suspended yeast floating around. Smell is very yeasty, with a lot of fruit, as well. Citrus mainly, also some apricot maybe, and banana. Soggy wheat and some sweetness, as well.

First thing I notice when tasting this is how thick and syrupy it is. The taste is sweet, with a nice honey like sweetness to go with wheat, bready yeast, banana, clove, and some spice. There is a light citrusy fruitiness to it that is maintained through the aftertaste, as well, which is very pleasant. Finishes with a little bit of hop bitterness that balances out the sweetness. Taste is very flavorful and complex overall.

This is definitely full bodied and very smooth and creamy on the palate. I'm not a huge fan of wheat beers but I enjoyed this.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2007 16:51:06 | More by number1bum

BlindPig

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A- About a inch and half white head. Cloudy orange body.
S- Like pear or apricots, orange, wheat, bread, hints of alcohol, some spice also.
T- Follows the aroma. Alcohol is surprisingly warm for the ABV. Wheats with some clove and black pepper come out. Light bitterness left behind from some grassy hops. Pretty sweet too.
M- Full body with low carbonation.
D- I don't think I could drink much of this. It is alright but nothing great. I doubt I will try to find a bottle of this.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2007 02:46:33 | More by BlindPig

shbobdb

Indiana

4.03/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Batch 7155 from 12/1/05. Review date: 4/28/07.

Interesting. Wow. A blast of clove with a distinct sour note supported by a thin, 'fluffy' body.

It is a little soapy, but the sheer blast of weizen goodness is overpowering. Just a blast of clove supported by bananas. The tart finish helps clean the beer out and bam, before you know it, you are done.

Well . . . that is the way it seemed after the first fourth. As I continue to drink it, the beer becomes strangely sweet. A very odd sweet/sour thing going on, with the tongue numbing clove still dominating. Did they put cloves in this thing?

Well, it isn't a bad beer, but I can see why the 'wheat' series met with mediocre reception. Wheat is good and all, and this is a nice beer, but I'm not aching for a sixpack or anything.

Especially from Bell's, they can do so much better.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2007 00:14:00 | More by shbobdb