Bell's 25th Anniversary Ale - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

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BA SCORE
85
good
-
463 Ratings

rAvg: 3.75
pDev: 12.53%
Reviews: 340
Hads: 123

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Bell's Brewery, Inc.

Michigan, United States

Style | ABV
American Strong Ale | 8.50% ABV

Availability: Limited (brewed once). bottle (340).

Notes:
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.

No notes at this time.

View: Beers (75) | Reviews (159) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by joeblackasnite:

joeblackasnite

Michigan

3.25/5 rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Deep ruby to tan in the glass with no collar of foam to speak of. Sweet toffee and caramel on the nose, very malt driven with some baking spice notes. Sweetness on the aromas are confirmed on the palate, some earthy hop notes come through on the back end. Bitterness lingers with a long finish. The alcohol comes off sweet, not enough hop presence to balance to beer out however. Overall I like it but definately don't love it. I am glad I bought one of them and not a six pack.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2010 21:19:53 | More by joeblackasnite

More User Reviews:

Bill235

Ohio

4/5 rDev +6.7%

05-11-2013 00:24:16 | More by Bill235

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.75/5 rDev 0%

04-23-2013 04:50:19 | More by Kelp

bluestem

Iowa

1.25/5 rDev -66.7%

04-10-2013 01:04:21 | More by bluestem

tectactoe

Michigan

3.61/5 rDev -3.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Thanks to Mike for letting me have one of his, otherwise I don't think I would've ever gotten my hands on one of these. Pours an elegant blend of amber and copper with a very slight, rustic orange tint to it. Light translucency clings to the edges, but this beer is mostly opaque throughout. A small khaki head forms after a pretty aggressive pour; some carbonation was possibly lost during this beer's three year journey.

The aroma is familiar yet different and kind of hard to pin down. It's pretty sweet with lots of light, brown sugar notes floating about. I'm picking up some candied, dark fruits, like plums, grapes, and dates. It's got that "sticky sweet" kind of aroma to it, although there's something cutting through the sweetness that tames it just a bit - maybe a light, earthy hoppiness. Caramel and molasses in the finish are most likely consequences of the malts used. It almost smells like a barleywine, but it's not quite there. Not as sweet, not as rich. A little enigmatic overall.

Malts pave the way first and foremost upon taking a generous swallow - caramel and toffee with a bit of sweet molasses quickly following them up. The malts also lend some bread and butter type notes that are a bit more subtle. Lots of seemingly residual sugar, although again, the sweetness is actually controlled pretty well. Brown sugar-covered dark fruits; plums and figs pop out the most. There's a light oxidation in the finish that brings out a mild, wet cardboard flavor. The booze is noticeable but not abrasive. You can definitely tell this is 8.5% ABV, but even after some warming, the boozy flavors never become too hot or uncontrollable. Body is on the medium-thick side with low carbonation and a somewhat sticky and oily mouth feel.

For a 25th Anniversary beer, being such a "big" milestone in the lifetime of basically anything, I would have expected just a little more from a brewery so well defined in so many categories. "American Strong Ales" always seem like such a "catch-all" category, so you never really know what you're gonna get. I feel like this one might have been a little better fresh, maybe a stronger hop presence would have made it a bit more lively. Nothing stands out, but it definitely wasn't bad. The problem is that Bell's has already set the bar too high for themselves! Thanks again to Mike for this one.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 21:41:55 | More by tectactoe