Bell's Batch 9000 - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

Bell's Batch 9000Bell's Batch 9000

Displayed for educational use only; do not reuse.
BA SCORE
90
exceptional
-
696 Ratings
THE BROS
N/A

-
send 'em beer »
rAvg: 4
pDev: 14%
Reviews: 519
Hads: 177

Ratings Help


Brewed by:
Bell's Brewery, Inc. visit their website
Michigan, United States

Style | ABV
American Strong Ale |  12.50% ABV

Availability: Limited (brewed once). bottle (483), on-tap (36)

Notes:
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.

"Black, dense, and rich, this is a great ale for the cellar."
View:  Beers  (75) |  Reviews  (159) |  Events  (0)

Reviews

Sort by:  Latest | High | Low | Top Reviewers  | Show Hads:
« first ‹ prev | 1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75  | next › last »
Reviews by cameraman:
Photo of cameraman
cameraman

Kentucky

4.35/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a black opaque color, with a beige to caramel colored head settles on top at an eighth of an inch high, dissolving away quickly. A chocolate fragrnce at first scent, with sugary sweet scent with touches of dried fruit. The malt flavor is striking on the palate, bringing sweetness with the added touch of molasses. Then blending to a dried fruit flavor and finishing with a tartness and a twang of alcohol. A medium heavy feel, with a touch of booziness, the backend is a touch dry but not over bearing. This is a strong stout with a sweet flavor and dark color, with a fragrant aroma makes this a one time to try beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2011 21:42:34 | More by cameraman
More User Reviews:
Photo of Zbeetleman
Zbeetleman

California

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

05-15-2013 06:24:01 | More by Zbeetleman
Photo of jkane101
jkane101

New Jersey

4/5  rDev 0%

05-14-2013 00:27:16 | More by jkane101
Photo of egrace84
egrace84

Illinois

4/5  rDev 0%

05-12-2013 13:57:55 | More by egrace84
Photo of fredmugs
fredmugs

Indiana

4/5  rDev 0%

04-29-2013 10:53:31 | More by fredmugs
Photo of ObeMaltKinobee
ObeMaltKinobee

California

4.25/5  rDev +6.3%

04-23-2013 04:53:46 | More by ObeMaltKinobee
Photo of Kelp
Kelp

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev 0%

04-23-2013 04:50:33 | More by Kelp
Photo of BeerBucks
BeerBucks

New York

4.25/5  rDev +6.3%

04-21-2013 22:32:59 | More by BeerBucks
Photo of dapatte2
dapatte2

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -25%

04-17-2013 01:37:48 | More by dapatte2
Photo of Pat316
Pat316

Michigan

4/5  rDev 0%

04-16-2013 00:33:58 | More by Pat316
Photo of angrybabboon
angrybabboon

Rhode Island

3.75/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Consumed 4/6/13

Cheers to Goblinmunkey7 for sharing this beer

Appearance: Mostly clear, dark brown with some dark amber and red tones - small, light cream head - fades to virtually nothing, which is understandable given the ABV

Smell: Potent, concentrated, ridiculous - dark, rich, and malty - burnt sugar, dark caramel, molasses, toffee, black licorice - dark fruits - a ton of alcohol (honestly smells beyond 12.50%), kind of smells like a port, or some kind of ridiculous dessert wine - dark chocolate notes as well

Taste: Unrestrained madness - rich, heavy dark fruits - like grape and plum skins - sweet, dark chocolate, fudge - roasty and burnt notes - molasses, toffee, maple syrup (sans maple, if that makes sense), black licorice - lots of alcohol in the flavor, very boozy, like port

Mouthfeel: Full, syrupy, heavy body - very smooth, minimal carbonation

Overall: Vegeta. What does the scouter say about his power level?

Nine thousand! This an absurd cocktail of dark fruits, chocolate, and sugar. I'm splitting the bottle, and it's going to take a long time for me to sip this.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 02:30:13 | More by angrybabboon
Photo of Goblinmunkey7
Goblinmunkey7

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Deep rich brown with some dark red tinge. Pours with a small off-white head that drops to a non-existent he had and a tiny tiny collar. Some tiny spots of lacing. Very still, almost no carbonation.

Smell: Super dense malts. Incredibly sweet, but not sugary. Caramel both malts and candy. Toffee, molasses, brown sugar, and some raw sugar. Crazy cooked malts. Syrupy. Some backing bready elements. Vanilla, raisins, even some oak. Sharp bite of alcohol. Booze soaked fruit. Fig and candied plum. A touch of maple.

Taste: Sharp alcohol. Crazy sweet with layers of cooked sugars. Runs the gamut from raw sugar to caramel to brown sugar to molasses. Some vague notions of citrus hopping. Vanilla and booze soaked raisins. Some slight oxidation adds a touch of sherry. Warming smooths everything out a touch. Rich. Slightly hints of oak

Mouthfeel: Smooth with a medium-full body. Almost no carbonation to speak of. A bit smooth.

Overall: Sometimes power levels over 9000 aren't the best.

A crazy complex beer. A bit too sweet with a massive amount of alcohol hear even with the extended aging. Good, but feels a bit heavy handed for Bell's.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 02:26:14 | More by Goblinmunkey7
Photo of funkel81
funkel81

California

3.75/5  rDev -6.3%

04-01-2013 17:39:02 | More by funkel81
Photo of stevec32
stevec32

New York

3/5  rDev -25%

03-31-2013 17:12:47 | More by stevec32
Photo of mattsander
mattsander

Alberta (Canada)

4.24/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A: Opaque with reddish edges, a great looking strong beer. A ring of carbonation but nothing else.

S: Big sticky-sweet profile of toffee, dark fruit / raisins, licorice, booze. Despite how big and strong this is, it has a very refreshing quality.

T: Molasses, butter-tart, sweet raisins, cherries... this is delicious.

M: Its as big and syrupy as it should be, a 2 hour sipper.

This is a great beer, I can't imagine how the barrel aged version must be.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 03:49:50 | More by mattsander
Photo of vonnegut21
vonnegut21

New York

3.86/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A: Pours a deep black with a slight tan head.

S: Bitter chocolate, molasses, fig and winter fruits.

T: Molasses, brown sugar, toffee and fig. Lots of winter fruit flavor. Almost belgian quad-like.

M: Thick and creamy. Well carbonated and boozy.

O: A decent brew. More dark belgian than stout, but not a bad beer at all.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 03:10:44 | More by vonnegut21
Photo of Jamison85
Jamison85

Indiana

5/5  rDev +25%

03-27-2013 05:04:39 | More by Jamison85
Photo of Sparky44
Sparky44

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -6.3%

03-23-2013 21:18:12 | More by Sparky44
Photo of seplo
seplo

Connecticut

4/5  rDev 0%

03-18-2013 17:56:40 | More by seplo
Photo of ssimpson89
ssimpson89

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

03-17-2013 00:50:15 | More by ssimpson89
Photo of NoleDoc
NoleDoc

Florida

4/5  rDev 0%

03-14-2013 05:35:31 | More by NoleDoc
Photo of ravot
ravot

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +6.3%

03-14-2013 04:57:51 | More by ravot
Photo of Etan
Etan

Illinois

3.91/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

12oz bottle shared by Marco. Thanks!

A: Pours a dark maple color with a small, soapy off-white head.

S: Smells of molasses and birch and raisins. Brown sugar and licorice are apparent as well.

T: Rich maple and toffee in the taste. A bit of leafy old hoppiness, some dry cocoa, a bit bready. Not much alcohol apparent.

M: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation.

O: Sort of like a maple-y barleywine. A bit similar to Batch 10,000, but much better.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2013 18:09:45 | More by Etan
Photo of tectactoe
tectactoe

Michigan

3.86/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Thanks to Jeff for cracking this one with me. Pours a deep and dark, dark brown with a little bit of light shining through the top. A fine-bubbled, dark tan head foams up and settles quickly to nothing but a bubbly skin atop the beer.

The aroma is heaviest with melty brown sugar - it gives way to the sweetness of this beer right from the start. There's a mild oak presence that keeps hitting my nostrils, too, though I'm not sure this beer spent any time on wood. Some milky and creamy cocoa drifts in and out, and it stays more on the sweet side than the roasty-bitter side. It's got a nice and pleasing aroma for sure, but I'm fearing that it might be edging towards the unbalanced side of sweetness - something I'm not particularly fond of.

Batch 9000 hits my lips and my sentiments that this wanna gonna be a sweet beer are confirmed - it's damn sweet. Brown sugar, heavy and thick molasses, super-milky and sweet-ass cocoa. It seems this trifecta of flavors are really the only notable things, and they all kind of compound on the sweetness factor to produce a diabetes-inducing beer. Don't get me wrong - the flavors are nice and the beer is good. But it's just a bit too sweet to enjoy it thoroughly... I don't think I could finish more than six ounces. I actually am pulling through some of that wood flavor that I was getting on the nose, but it's still pretty buried underneath the sweetness. Medium-heavy bodied, thick and borderline syrupy, low-medium carbonation.

Good flavors, and not enough to be called a disappointment (Bell's rarely disappoints) but I just wish the sweetness was toned down a bit. I'd love to try the Bourbon Barrel 9000 - I think it would tone down the sweetness or at least add some other offsetting flavors.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 21:36:02 | More by tectactoe
Photo of kjkinsey
kjkinsey

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

03-03-2013 22:46:18 | More by kjkinsey
« first ‹ prev | 1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75  | next › last »
Bell's Batch 9000 from Bell's Brewery, Inc.
90 out of 100 based on 696 user ratings.