Roundhouse Ale - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

SportsandJorts

Michigan

4.46/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: a deep reddish orange. a touch hazy but mostly clear. a foamy off white head that hung around for a long time.

Smell: citrus hops, toffee, caramel malts. the sweet and bitter are both strong

Taste: again its a battle between big bitter hops and strong sweet malts. citrus hops, toffee and caramel, a nice little touch of alcohol. Nicely balanced and definitely delicious

Mouthfeel: starts of with a slight bitterness but quickly gives way to an extremely nice sweet and creamy feel. not overly hot or heavy.

Overall: Bell's should release their imperial red ales more often and in bottles. This beer is amazing and so is this one goes to eleven. a beer similar to these as a seasonal release would be killer

Serving type: on-tap

04-26-2013 15:32:34 | More by SportsandJorts

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

4.13/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the Eccentric Cafe, served in a plastic cup (to enjoy on the patio!).

Hazy dark red in appearance, with good retention and mild lacing. Nose has some berries, grapefruit and other citrus with caramel malt notes tossed in. Palate is dominated by big caramel malt notes, and a ton more citrus with a bit of pine and citrus rind in the finish. Moderate lingering bitterness, medium full body and medium carbonation. A really solid hopped up red ale.

Serving type: on-tap

05-25-2012 21:50:45 | More by liamt07

elNopalero

Texas

4.93/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I kept thinking about this brew long after I had it. In fact, I went back to the Eccentric Café on Oberon day of all times hoping for another pint of it. Alas, they removed it from the board. Here’s hoping it comes back—in bottle form, so I can take some with me to share and enjoy!

This pours a dark ruby-amber color. I get a thick resiny grapefruit-pine hop aroma. The flavor strikes a pleasing balance between malt and hop, with a great piney-resiny flavor that emerges. I thought this brew was simply wonderful, an all around enjoyable RedPA that raised the bar on my expectations for the style.

Serving type: on-tap

03-30-2012 20:08:13 | More by elNopalero

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

4.45/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap @ Bell's.

A - Medium amber colour with a small amoutn of white head.

S - Sweet caramel malts at first followed by, citrus and floral hop aromas with a good bitterness present.

T - Good balance. Sweet caramel malts that are well balanced by floral, herbal and light citrus hops. A good bitterness is present.

M - Light to medium body. Moderae caronation.

O - An extrememly well done beer that is second only to nugget nectar for the style in my experience.

Serving type: on-tap

03-12-2012 14:01:01 | More by TheSevenDuffs

b3shine

Ohio

4.4/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Draft to pint at Eccentric. Let it be noted that this is a india red ale, not an irish red ale. There's just no category for this new style...yet. Appearance is great. Reddish with the core of a good IPA. Smell is good; hops ans malt are both present. Tastes great! The balance of the malt and the hops is excellent - with a red twist. The mouthfeel was great too. I was worried it would be too heavy, but it's not. Overall, a great in-house brew and one of their best that isn't bottled.

Serving type: on-tap

09-16-2011 21:37:45 | More by b3shine

mgbickel

Pennsylvania

4.53/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the Cafe...12oz pour served in a pilsner glass.

Wow...this is a good deal darker than I thought it would be. Crystal clear and dark amber/ruby in color. Served with a thin layer eggshell head that vanished quickly.

The nose is a hop bomb...lots of resin on top of a sugary-caramel, toasted grain backbone.

As the nose indicates, your palate is smacked with the pine-ness of the hops right away. They fade toward the center where the sweetness of brown sugar and malts emerge. At the end of the drink, the bitterness of the hops take the lead again.

Medium bodied, semi-slick with medium carbonation.

Man...this is a great beer...very much in the same ballpark as Nugget Nectar. Complex with bunches of layers in the taste and nose. Bell's needs to get this one in bottles ASAP!!

Serving type: on-tap

09-16-2011 02:45:32 | More by mgbickel

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed on tap at the brewery tasting room. Pretty pretty good for the style. A very good hoppy nose. Yellow body surprisingly. Like an IPA with a good malt, and citrus edge. A little acidic. Like a 1.5X IPA in bitterness with malt backing. Above average mouthfeel.

Serving type: on-tap

09-09-2011 21:12:08 | More by northyorksammy

Thorpe429

Illinois

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

On tap at the newly-remodeled Eccentic Cafe.

Pours a moderately-dark red color with a good off-white head that lasts around for awhile. Good spotty lacing as it eventually falls. The nose hits with hops right away. Good notes of pine start the show off, followed up by some citrus and earthy hops. Good balance between everything. The taste hits hard with the hops as well and adds in a bit of slightly-sweet and bready malt. Mouthfeel is fairly full and pretty bitter in the finish. Drinks quite well. This was labeled as an India Red Ale when I was there. Not sure if this is a change in recipe.

Serving type: on-tap

02-25-2011 20:04:17 | More by Thorpe429

homebrew311

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed at the Eccentric Cafe. I don't think this beer is intended to be an Irish Red Ale, rather a India Red Ale..so I have reviewed it as an American IPA.

A: pours red and clear. Thin head and no lacing. All of the taps at the cafe seemed to be coming out under carbonated... this one appeared the same.

S: big aromatic juicy citrus hops: mango, pineapple; notes of pine and resin, along with some malty notes of caramel. This smells delicious!

T: some bittering hops up front followed by juicy tropical hops. Sweet bready malts in the middle. This beer reminds me a lot of Surly Furious in balance and hop character.

MF: medium body, smooth

D: this is an excellent beer. This was my highlight while visiting the Eccentric Cafe. Would love to see this in bottles!

Serving type: on-tap

02-17-2011 09:45:07 | More by homebrew311

jrallen34

Illinois

4.38/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at the Cafe, drank from a pint glass. They call this an IRA, India Red ale. This was the star of the day...A dark copper with amber, clear, good looking. A tax head with good retention and lacing...The aroma is GREAT. Hoppy pine resin balanced perfectly with rye and a caramel malt backbone. Essentially a malty ipa with some rye...The taste is equally good, caramel with rye with a pine hop finish. So drinkable and really good.

High recommendation.

Serving type: on-tap

02-01-2011 23:57:35 | More by jrallen34

adamette

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Review from notes. Poured from tap at Eccentric Café into a clean, clear glass.

A Dark amber with creamy head. 4.0

S Dark, potent amber smell with a kick of alcohol. Strong, confident smell. 4.0

T Strong medium roast malt amber, tart, a bit rough with barley, hops and the alcohol is not really well hidden. 3.5

M High mouthfeel with that harshness, alcohol presence. 3.5

D Moderate as the harshness would drive the drinkability down for me. 3.0

Serving type: on-tap

10-19-2009 03:36:22 | More by adamette

luciusgilmer

Michigan

3.68/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I saw the Roundhouse Ale listed on the Bell's Eccentric Cafe board, where it is described as an Irish Red Ale. Their cafe has an actual roundhouse (something to do with the railroad industry) right outside, near where you park.

Tasting based on beer from tap poured into a glass (pilsener style).

A: really nice rich red copper color.

S: A floral aroma, nice hops scents, though they don't dominate.

T: Rich and malty, if not as distinguished as a few other of their beers. A bit bitter.

M: Really solid feel in the mouth, it's nicely carbonated, it goes down well and tastes good.

D: Easy enough to drink several, and just interesting enough to try more than one.

Serving type: on-tap

02-25-2009 03:33:25 | More by luciusgilmer