The Oracle - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

ypsifly

Michigan

4.9/5  rDev +15%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

12oz poured into a goblet.

Hazy orangish amber with about a fingers worth of light tan foam that slowly falls to a veiled ring.

Strong aromas of citrus and tropical fruits. Grapefruit and pineapple with oranges and a good measure of pine sap. Faint fusel background that blends in with the other aromas. The abv let's itself be known without coming across as harsh or incendiary. Very inviting.

Very fruity then bitter upfront. The bitterness stays and seems to intensify throughout the tasting, while a nice backbone of malty sweetness accentuates the fruits while balancing out the extreme hop flavors. A dash of pepper in the back from the alcohol that melds with the ever present bitterness. Long dry finish that is strong on hops without any oils. There's plenty going on, but not too much. This beer has a perfect balance of flavors. Power and precision.

An almost creamy mouthfeel that is balanced by the drying bitterness and proper carbonation. The drinkability is dangerously high. I would drink more of this if it were not so strong and rare.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2009 02:00:02 | More by ypsifly

alexgash

Connecticut

4.83/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz. bottle. Batch 9306.

Slight haze in a tangerine body. Index finger of dense, creamy, light beige head. Great lacing. Nose is ablaze with outrageous hoppy goodness. Huge pineapple and tropical fruits mix with pine pitch, resin, and a citrus fruit salad. The hop aromas are so fresh and in your face that I can't stop huffing from this tulip glass! Crazy.

If the nose wasn't enough to meet my hophead cravings, then the taste puts it over the top. Intense herbal hop bitterness right off the bat. Pine and mint flavors follow, as sweetish tropical fruits trickle in, forming a solid malt base. Big pineapple and mango flavors crescendo before the hops takeover for good. Strong herbal, citrus, and pine notes completely stun the palate and numb the tongue. Some candied fruit sweetness resurfaces in the otherwise dry, bitter finish, but this is all about crazy fresh hop flavor and intense bitterness. Full-bodied with a creamy feel. As much as I love Hopslam and Big Head, this is the new king of Bell's growing DIPA line-up!

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2009 01:34:09 | More by alexgash

midlifec

Michigan

4.83/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Received my one bottle allocation this evening on the way home from work.

Highlights for me:
Smell has strong citrus aromas, an opaque amber gold in color. I could taste tangerine and grapefruit. Lingering taste of grapefruit after swallowing; hides the alcohol extremely well. Did I mention the great smell?

The Oracle is a great addition to Bell's lineup and complements Hopslam. IMHO it is a world class DIPA that matches or exceeds the best West Coast DIPA's.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2009 22:51:47 | More by midlifec

mazdarx

Ohio

4.72/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Grabbed a case at the general store while on vacation in MI. Perfect timing :)

A: nice amber color. pours a off white head with some wonderful lacing.

S: This beer smells so tasty. The fruity citrus smells from the hops are perfect. Some soft floral undertones. Would make a nice air freshener fragrance.

T: No too bitter. Actually the balance between the hops and the malt is damn near perfect. orange, tangerine and grapefruit blend to give a nice citrus flavor with a bit of a floral followup. Taste and smell are married perfectly.

M: med. bodied. not real heavy. nice slight sticky feeling.

D: Be careful. I drank this pretty easily. Not sure on the ABV but this stuff is like a good creeper... drink a few and bam!

One of the nicest of this style i have had. I put this up there with the Pliney in terms of quality.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2009 13:55:30 | More by mazdarx

blakesell

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Got a case this weekend so had to sample a bottle today. Same batch as all the previous reviews poured into a Belgian cereal bowl style goblet.

Appearance- Beer pours an amber gold with a pillowy head of 1.5 finger foam with lace that clings to the sides. Foam lingers for about a minute and a half then dies down to a murk across the top.

Smell- Holy lupulins batman! This smells hoppier than anything I had at the brewery this weekend and they did have hopslam on tap. Just like hopslam this smells to be unbalanced towards the hop and I'm getting very little malt. Unlike hopslam, there's no added honey sweetness from that additive, and a but of our friend the Simcoe cat urine smell, not that they have a bad thing going with that. If I couldn't get Hopslam in OH, I would have picked up a case of that instead.

Taste- Where there is no underlying sweetness in the scent, there is an ample sweetness on the taste and a nice warming tongue blistering pine, and a little spruce type flavor. I have that hop schnapps feeling on my mouth afterward that makes me instantly wonder what the gravity on this thing is.

Mouthfeel- Mildly sticky, lightly warming, I don't think this is a 15% monster, but there is plenty of gravity here to get the job done. I also wouldn't say this is a cloying beer which also wins this one some extra points.

Drinkability- This is a nice drinking DIPA, but it's going to be difficult for me to go through the whole case with this one. Looks like I'll be attending some tastings and doing some sharing!

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2009 00:06:24 | More by blakesell

heliosphann

Indiana

4.6/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

12oz bottle picked up at the Eccentric Cafe. Batch 9306. Served in a pint glass while enjoying Labor Day at a friends house in Ann Arbor.

A: Finger of creamy marshmallow head which hangs around for some time. Pours like a radiant sunburst. There is plenty of active carbonation and lacing is superb for a DIPA.

S: Sweet crushed pineapple, mango, oranges and bouquet of other tropical fruits. Some piney hops round out the enticing aroma.

T: Juicy tropical fruit sweetness hits right off the bat. Followed by big resinous, tongue biting pine heavy hops. Now this is the freshness! Along with the 110 IBU bitter finish, I get a little bit of heat, but it's pretty insignificant considering the ABV.

M: Medium body. A little chewy, but in a good way. Carbonation is just right for a DIPA.

D: For a DIPA clocking in at over 10%, this is one drinkable brew. I could easily kill a few of these back-to-back.

Another fantastic creation by Larry Bell and co. Right up there with Big Head and Hopslam when at their peak. Speaking freshness, I think The Oracle might be a little too fresh? It'll be interesting in a month or two to see if the hops calm down some. That was the only thing holding me back from giving The Oracle a 5/5 for taste. Either way it's still an amazing brew. Word from Larry is we might see this distributed widely next year. I hope that's the case for all the hopheads out there!

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2009 20:24:21 | More by heliosphann

BigAl723

Michigan

4.93/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Thank you to Jerome1929 for hooking me up with Bell's The Oracle DIPA. He purchased a case last Friday the 4th and sold me a few bottles. I've really been looking forward to this!!!

A: Can you say Two Hearted on steroids?!? This baby is bright like a northern Michigan sun. Beautiful like a Hopslam/Two Hearted combo. The head is about 2 1/2 inches thick. Not to mention is leaves a great lacing that lingers until the last drop is gone.

S: Grapefruit, citrus, pine, not like an orange but it's really apple like. Towards the end pinnapple really comes through. This baby smells like fruit big time. Like a DIPA ready to explode.

A: Very bitter but easy drinking. This DIPA is so drinkable it's scary. Slightly different from Hopslam. It's a little bit more hoppy than Hopslam because its lack of honey. The Oracle is straight to the point. Hoppy, bitter, intense, serious, legit, etc. All of the above.

M: Medium to heavy carbonation. Medium in the motuh. Very smooth like a midwest IPA should be.

D: If you like IPA's this is one EASY drinking DIPA. I could probably drink a six pack with no problem. It drinks a lot like Two Hearted. An easy IPA to sip or chug.

Overall, The Oracle is outstanding. I'm so happy to get my hands on this DIPA before it's all sold out. Hopslam and The Oracle are the premier line up of DIPA's in the country. This is very tasty and very complex. Get your hands on this if you can but be careful...you may want to drink the whole six pack or case...whatever you may have.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2009 03:21:26 | More by BigAl723

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: A bright golden apricot with plenty of white head and great lacing as it goes down. Plenty of carbonation visible throughout.

S: It's like smelling heaven--citrus fruits abound alongside plenty of floral notes and a tad bit of pine. Citrus notes--particularly tangerine and a bit of bitter grapefruit--completely dominate this one, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

T: Much like the nose. The bitterness slaps your palate around, but it's one of the finest beatings you've ever taken. 110 IBU's of pure bliss; Pythia prophesied greatness, and greatness was found in a little shop in Kalamazoo. I'd like to talk about the malt, but I can't. The simple fact is that I can't taste it, and I don't mind at all. Larry Bell wanted deliver a West Coast DIPA, and that is exactly what happened. Hopalicious indeed.

M: Moderate carbonation on a light-medium body. I'd like to know more about the mouthfeel, but I can't help but swallow more and more. It's a hoppy assault on every bud in my mouth, but goes down so smoothly. Fantastic.

D: Phenomenal. Simply phenomenal. Pliny the Roman, meet Pythia and the Oracle of the Greeks. Which is better? It's not my place to say, but place either on my lips and I'll never want to stop drinking.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2009 03:24:10 | More by Thorpe429