Bell's Harvest Ale - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

SportsandJorts

Michigan

4.19/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Appearance: a deep orange/reddish color. a small off white head that faded to just about nothing. pretty good clarity

Smell: fruity, lemons mostly, floral hops, sweet but not over sweet malts.

Taste: the floral hops come in very weakly, leaving room for strong michigan malts that are mostly sweet and intermingle nicely with light citrusy hops and fruity yeast

Mouthfeel: from the taste i'd expect something very refreshing. this came in quite bitter. other than that a good drinkable feel

Overall: this was a good and tasty beer. i expected a little bit more hops but i enjoyed the balance

Serving type: on-tap

05-03-2013 02:02:00 | More by SportsandJorts

Treebs

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Bell's Eccentric Cafe. Served in a footed ale glass.

A: Pours a dark amber color with a thin, off-white head. it recedes to a thin ring that leaves some splotchy lace down the glass.

S: Fruity hops with some caramel malt sweetness. Light floral notes as well.

T: Same as the nose. Fruity berries with some deep caramel malt. Pretty sweet on the malt side with an increased residual hops bitterness.

M: Medium to light bodied with a medium carbonation level. Really dry finish.

O: Pretty ho-hum. Solid offering, but probably wouldn't revisit. Heavy on the malts and super dry. I'd like something a little cleaner and more refreshing if I was to drink a harvest ale.

Serving type: on-tap

04-07-2013 14:39:33 | More by Treebs

barczar

Kentucky

3.63/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear amber color with a solid one finger cream colored head that lingers, leaving thick lacing.

Aroma is initially toasted caramel malt, with notes of toffee. Herbal hops and subtle citrus are evident. Grapefruit and apricot surface as it warms.

Flavor is far more citrus-forward, with grapefruit and bitter pith dominating. There's a fairly substantial malt backbone carrying herbal hops and pine into the dry, somewhat spicy bitter finish.

Body is moderate, with a moderately high amount of carbonation softening the dry finish.

Decidedly malty aroma, but fairly hop-forward in flavor. Finish is a bit dry, and wish the hop profile were a more complex. There's something kinda odd about the mouthfeel.

Serving type: on-tap

05-21-2012 22:03:46 | More by barczar

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.53/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

With a significant malt presence and enough hop spiciness to balance, the peculiar timing for a "harvest" ale has asserted itself in the spring season.

Rich auburn in color with golden highlights, the light haze offers a glimpse into the pronounced hop character of the beer. Well headed with an egg shell colored cap that lingers and laces impressively.

Malty aromas strike the olfactory sense first with the rich scents of caramel, bread crust, peanuts, and starchy malt. A balance of hops rise with spicy notes of earthy grasses and woods, floral perfumes, and freshly ground white pepper. The hops and malt are pulled together by the estery complex of peaches, apricots, and freshly cut tobacco.

Malt sweetness also plays on the palate with a moderate amount of residual malt sugars, along with dextrin-rich starch, and hearty caramels that trend toward toffee and sorghum. Floral and earthy hops turn to a slight bitterness of pine resin, grass, and spice that balances the beer in finish.

Medium bodies, partly due to the creamy carbonation but also because of the sweetness that the yeast has left behind and also because of the hearty starch character. The beer holds its texture very well until the finish where the semi-dry character of hop dryness and alcohol warmth assist the slowly fleeting malt suppression.

Gaining influence from the popular Amber Ale, Bell's interceeds the beer with earthy European-type hops for an earthy bitterness and taste. However it is unusual to see a "harvest" ale outside of the hop harvest (fall) season. The beer's base style and it's dull and broad hop character doesn't allow the hops to display properly or as vividly as "wet" hopped beers of October.

Serving type: on-tap

05-21-2012 16:27:11 | More by BEERchitect

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.15/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On tap at Bell's on April 27, 2012. Served in a pint glass. Reviewed from notes. Pours a nice golden color that is quite clear with a good white head and a bit of foam. The nose carries a bit of spice and quite a bit of European hops. This smells like an IPA with all European hops. Spice, earth, and herbal qualities coming through. The flavor is very similar. Over-the-top spicy in some ways. I think this would have been better scaled back given the delicacy of some of the hops that seem to be involved. Body is light-medium with a dry bitterness through the finish. Not a huge fan, unfortunately.

Serving type: on-tap

05-15-2012 17:05:46 | More by Thorpe429

ManiacalBilby

Georgia

4.7/5  rDev +24.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A-Nice caramel color with a good head and slight lacing.
S-Nice hope scent but not overpowering, a little sweet.
T-Best fresh hop beer I've had. Nice and pleasantly hoppy with a almost tropical fruit flavor. Low bitterness.
M-Good carbonation. Nice and thick.

Overall- Couldn't have asked for more.

Serving type: on-tap

05-06-2012 17:24:00 | More by ManiacalBilby

drpimento

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Yummmm-O! Served at a good temperature with a lovely, thick, foamy, creamy, light tan-to-cream colored head that settles after a bit and loads of lace. Color is a very slightly hazy, apricot amber with a variety of bubble trails. Aroma is a very volatile blend of hop, caramel, malt, and a little fruit. Flavor is like nose, fairly dry, only a hint of sweetness, slight tang, and just right bitter, great balance. Body is full, chewy with great carbonation. Finish is like flavor, of average length to perhaps slightly long, very easy drinking. I want more!

Serving type: on-tap

04-28-2012 01:17:05 | More by drpimento

elNopalero

Texas

4.03/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From my notes.

This pours a warming amber-tan color with decent foaming.

The aroma is spicy, earthy, with dry, grassy straw notes.

For a harvest ale this doesn’t “pop” the way I had expected. There’s some straw and earthy-orange citrus flavors, balanced enough of a caramel-malt backbone so that nothing really stands out in the combination.

Serving type: on-tap

03-24-2012 04:50:39 | More by elNopalero