Bell's Lager Of The Lakes - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

Kelsiemoeller

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: settled a lot, a bit hazy at first. hard to see past the dark bottle

Smell: vague aroma, difficult to pick up smell in bottle

Taste: fresh crisp & smooth

Mouthfeel: Crisp and Balanced.

Overall: Very drinkable and refreshing. Good Lager!

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 18:17:04 | More by Kelsiemoeller

Thaddeus

Michigan

3.1/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Light golden yellow in color with an average white head.

Aroma & Taste: Round crisp beer with moderate bitterness and an average duration. Pilsner style with some bitter hoppy notes, mixed with some toasted malt grains. Round, full beer with some earthy tones to it.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 16:04:05 | More by Thaddeus

noahallington

Michigan

4.13/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This lager is a pale brilliant gold. It smells a lot like apples, and in fact, tastes like them too. The front of the taste is very sweet and appley, while the hops bring up the rear for a nice balance of sweet and bitter. The front of the taste almost reminds me of a white wine like a pinot grigio.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 23:06:31 | More by noahallington

Durtdiggler

Illinois

3.64/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

12 ounce bottle pours into pilsner glass very light golden clear a lot of lacing, 1 finger head settles quickly.

Aroma is very bready biscuity but don't pick any other additions.

Taste is Czech style upfront with alot of bread. Missing the bitterness, or any tanginess of citrus or even sweetness.

Mouthfeel is good. Light bodied law mower beer. Very smooth. Easy.

It's a good lager for macro fans to try but doesn't inspire me. I did enjoy it but a lot of tasty options for the money. If its summer your outside doing something active, would be a choice.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2013 23:29:35 | More by Durtdiggler

rlee1390

Indiana

3.6/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

A-Clear-ish yellow, nicely carbonated, one finger head that doesn't last long but somehow leaves behind some lacing.

S-Some skunky notes, malt, bread and wheat.

T-Very malty. Bread and wheat, nice balance. Semi-sweet and a tad bit of grass.

M-Heavier than I was expecting and some carbonation.

O-A boring run of the mill lager. Nothing stands out.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2013 00:38:51 | More by rlee1390

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of grains and malts. Taste is crisp, lots of grains, some malts, earthy, bitter at the finish. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a good session beer, probably better enjoyed during the summer.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2013 20:08:25 | More by tone77

screamking

Ohio

3.01/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

12oz bottle poured into snifter.

Appearance- gold-yellow but more yellow, thin uneven head which disappears quickly. 2.75

Aroma-grainy,light hops, not a lot here, small lemon,light malts, light smells all around. 3

Taste-dry malts, bitter hops, bit of corn liqour, not a lot else coming through. 3

Feel-carbonation up front, very grainy, leaves mouth very dry. 3.25

Overall- not worth the price at $10 a sixer, this is as average of a beer you can get. The only plus I can give it is its easy to drink. 3

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 00:23:45 | More by screamking

SportsandJorts

Michigan

3.46/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Type: 12 oz bottle
Glass: Pint
From: Meijer in Ann Arbor
Price: ~$8 a 6-pack

Appearance: straw-yellow color. completely clear, almost watery. small half a finger of head that fades pretty quickly to a small lacing.

Smell: very nice smelling beer. bread, grainy malts and some grassy hops.

Taste: drops off a bit from the nose. sometimes i get the skunky, cheap american lager taste. other times it is much more subtle with grainy malts, a slight pepperiness, followed by slight grassy hops.

Mouthfeel: light just like it should be. the carbonation is a bit lacking to me as i would looking for something a bit more crisp and refreshing. finish slightly bitter

Overall: I like it, but i get too many skunky sips. its really a good tasting beer but sometimes it just goes down wrong. It shouldn't be spoiled as it was bottled a month ago and refrigerated at the store.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 20:48:52 | More by SportsandJorts

Alextricity

Michigan

3.29/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottled 11/21/12

Appearance: Looks like a decent APL ought to look ... a light amber color. Completely clear. No head to speak of, patchy lacing, and some nice carbonation.

Smell: Pepe Le Pew, is that you? Super skunky ... smells like an adjunct, and I can't say I'm too fond of it. Super skunky + malt aroma. It also sort of smells like rubber bands...

Taste: The skunk/rubber band comes out a bit at the front of each sip, but it goes away and the finish leaves a nice bit of hops and even more malts on the finish. Subtle, but not too shabby. I wasn't expecting a good taste at all after the smell. Considering the style, this isn't too bad at all for a pale lager. The feel is pretty light with some prickly carbonation... to be expected.

Overall, a fair camping/lawn mower/beach beer, but other than that, eh. Not a terrible beer, but not something that even warrants being poured into a pint glass. The smell's a bit of a turn off, but it's not too bad as a whole. Wouldn't buy a six pack, but would be a fair choice of light beer to have on a hot day in Michigan.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2013 04:29:49 | More by Alextricity

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.88/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

extremely clean light yellow pour with 2 fingers of foamy white head... smells "bologna-ish".. same smell i associate with heineken. bready, sweet scents with a peppery feel. sweet, with a very bready profile.. has almost a pretzel like flavor (minus the salt). this is REALLY good, especially for the style. light body, highly carbonated.. refreshing as a lager should be.

nothing special as far as bell's goes, but as far as lagers, one of the best.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2013 02:40:12 | More by facundoCNB

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.68/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a crystal clear medium yellow in color with some golden yellow highlights and moderate amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a finger tall white head that slowly reduces to a thin film covering the entire surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate aromas of bready malts with some light amounts of grains. Very light hints of grassy hops.

T: Upfront this beer is quite malty but not sweet - bready malts with some additional graininess present. Light amounts of grassy hops but not very much bitterness is present and it fades quickly.

M: LIght to medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Crisp upfront with some light amounts of dryness in the finish.

O: This beer is very well balanced as it does not exhibit the sweetness that you often find with the more malty beers but it is not overly hoppy or bitter either. Easy to drink and definitely sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 01:10:09 | More by dbrauneis

dfillius

Michigan

3.9/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Aggressive pour yields 3/4 finger of white head with fairly good retention. Nearly crystal clear lemon yellow liquid. Pretty, though I wonder why it's not 100% clear. I'd like more head please.
S: Clean grain, all malt I think. Slightly tangy grassy Euro-hop. Pleasant, no skunk or metallic edge. Sublime.
T: Taste doesn't gel as well as the aroma. Slightly rough hops stumble around a pleasantly sweet base. Some metal roams around the edges, but this mellows after I ate a tomato - interesting. Pretty nice actually.
M: A bit too fizzy, metallic twinge not so great. Full feeling, nice.
O: Decent. I might order another, but i doubt I'd buy 6. It's not bad, just not great.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2012 02:21:54 | More by dfillius

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Looks great for a lager the head is a 1/4 inch that seems to stick around for a while. Color is golden with a good amount of bubbles in the body.

S - Smell isn't as hoppy as I hoped but has a good amount of sweet malts and little corn.

T - Sweet, very balanced hops and corn flavor, and some bittering hops. Quite refreshing,

M - Light and crisp easy to drink lager.

Overall nothing I could session or find more than one (got this in an Ohio run) but it's a fairly balanced and tasty lager.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2012 03:49:09 | More by DrDemento456

kangarooAdam59

Maine

3.25/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

From my Michigan haulback to Maine.

Into a pint glass:

A: light golden yellow colored body and gives a white, fizzy, thin head, a fair amount of carbonation rises quickly. Some ever light ringy lacing appears and slides gently down the sides of the glass.

S: malty with a light presence of hops in the background. There is also a strong butteriness as well.

T: basically the same.

M: light, creamy and pretty carbonated on the tongue, fairly sessionable.

O: well, honestly, this one is hard for me since I'm not a big fan of the style, but probably would lean to say that its still a on-par beer for its style. I may have to revisit during the warmer months.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2012 13:51:01 | More by kangarooAdam59

brock146

Minnesota

3.43/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - White, fizzy, thin head that dissipates fairly quickly. Deep yellow/amber with many carbonation bubbles.

S - sweet malty essence with a minimal hop scent

T - Light, refreshing and a little bit sweet at first. Hops become more pronounced later on which lingers.

M - Cremy, smooth, and carbonated. Very nice.

O - Really quite good. It's simple like it should be. A nice and drinkable, refreshing pale lager. What more could you ask for?

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 20:55:04 | More by brock146

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

3.53/5  rDev -3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed from session notes.

Pours out a pale clear yellow with another flash head and minimal lacing. I'm starting to worry I might be pouring too cold. Smells and tastes like a generic blend of breakfast cereals....as it ought to. A dash of lemon peel and noble hopping appears as the glass warms up. Clean-cut and crisp body, perky carbonation.

Memorable for having slightly more flavor and depth than most American Pale Lagers I've had...but that's not particularly difficult to do in this category.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2012 04:46:27 | More by WastingFreetime

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bell's never seems to disappoint (that I can recall), and this is no exception. As a lager, it's a bit too rustic for my personal tastes, but it definitely works. I have to wonder what this would be like on cask with the character it is presenting. Regardless, this is another good beer from Bell's.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2012 02:23:53 | More by RblWthACoz

tdm168

North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at World of Beer Raleigh. Served in a pint glass.

A - transparent gold with no head

S - lemon, faint cereal grains

T - lemon, cereal grains, grassy, noble hop notes

M - light bodied, smooth, well carbonated

This is a decent, light, easily drinkable beer. It is brewed to style so there is nothing that jumps out at you. It's just a refreshing, lighter offering that is rather enjoyable on a hot day.

Serving type: on-tap

07-27-2012 09:19:14 | More by tdm168

SometimesIfart

Michigan

3.1/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle into a lager glass. Pours a standard lager yellow with about 2 fingers of head. At least, That's what I had gotten out of it. The smell is of strong citrus. And I mean STRONG. An appealing citrus though. The taste is a wee bit of corn flakes with an ever stronger hit of citrus coming through in the end. The mouthfeel is terrible. Tastes like Lemon pledge and soap suds. Overall, This is an alright beer for the summer, So long as you can actually choke it down

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2012 03:37:58 | More by SometimesIfart

davey101

Connecticut

2.83/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Bottled 03/09/2012. 12 Oz. bottle into a plastic cup. Pours a golden straw yellow body. Small white head settles to some thin edging. Smell is sweet, bready, and bland. No hops, just some sweaty off flavors. Nice carbonation and mouth feel. Taste is identical. Not a bad lager, but not a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2012 02:11:24 | More by davey101

lwillitz

Florida

3/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12-oz bottle into thick beer mug

A - 3 fingers of bubbly white head over a crystal-clear yellow body with moderate bubbles of carbonation

S - grain, honey and subdued hops

T - clover honey, grassy hop bitterness, lingering dry finish

M - medium body with high carbonation, carbonation coupled with some astrincency gives this one a bite

O - nothing special

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2012 20:51:28 | More by lwillitz

pearljam118

Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured in a pint glass

A - Pours like any other BMC lager. No head whatsoever.

S - Smells like any BMC lager. Not very enticing.

T - Very slightly fruity, well balanced but still nothing much going on.

M - medium carb. light feel

O - This is better than any BMC offerings but I don't think I'd get it again. I like trying craft lagers but this one did nothing for me.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2012 01:27:51 | More by pearljam118

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle from Siciliano's. 12oz into a tulip, bottled May 9, 2012.

Clear golden yellow with a good bit of carbonation streaming up from the bottom of the glass. Finger or two of white head, moderate retention and OK lace. Toasty, grainy bread on the nose with subtle hopping. Perhaps a bit earthy/vegetal, and doughy. Tastes about the same, grainy and crackery. Crisp hoppiness. Light body and medium carbonation. A simple beer, and nice for the style. I'd take this over their Third Coast Beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2012 22:25:27 | More by liamt07

Zachtheporter

Wisconsin

3.93/5  rDev +8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours out a straw colored yellow with a thin white fizzy head. Has a bit of a sour smell to it at first Very clear with many noticeable carbonation bubbles. Smell is somewhat bitter and hoppy as well. Somewhat grassy with a slight malty graininess to it. Has a nice straight forward pale grassy bitterness to it. The maltiness is more earthy and grainy going along very well with the mild hop bitterness. It has a nice strong flavorfull slightly bitter yet balanced finish. Very drinkable and very awesome if your not quite into craft beer. I would definitely buy this again. It is just a perfect all around lager for any kind of beer lover, and very session-able.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2012 01:43:02 | More by Zachtheporter

JCaweinstein

Ohio

3.78/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pale straw colored and clear with a decent amount of carbonation. One finger white head dissipates rather quickly.
It smells rather grassy, I'm also picking up some bready notes.
I get a nice hop bittering flavor up front followed by a bready dough-like maltiness. Also tasting a slight bit of citrus that makes me think of lemons.
The mouthfeel is very crisp up front from a combination of hops and carbonation, which is followed by a nice malt presence and a slight aftertaste. It's a very refreshing beer.
I really like this beer. For a lager it's tasty, light, and refreshing. I could very easily drink an entire 6er of this after a day in the yard or at the ball park.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2012 16:07:27 | More by JCaweinstein