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

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours a crystal clear deep amber in color. The beer has a two finger tall tense beige head that slowly reduces to a thick film over the entire surface of the beer with thicker patches and a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Significant lacing is observed.

S: Moderate aromas of caramel malts with light hints of nuttiness and light hints of citrus hops.

T: The taste follows the smell, with a body of bready and caramel malts giving it light sweetness upfront. This is followed by some light nut flavors and moderate citrus hops that have a light lingering bitterness.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth.

O: This beer is easy to drink and enjoyable. The beer is well balanced and could be sessionable (though it is approaching a touch too strong in ABV to have more than a few).

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2012 00:38:31 | More by dbrauneis

warnerry

Michigan

3.95/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cask at The Soup Spoon

Pours reddish brown with no head at all. Aromas of caramel malt, a bit of bread and maple, vanila and a faint nuttiness. Taste is similar with a bit of hops thrown in. Pretty nice. I've had this in bottles several times, and it is noticeably more enjoyable on cask. Very smooth mouthfeel with a faintly bitter finish. This is a style I normally don't enjoy that much except for hoppier ambers, but on cask this is pretty enjoyable.

Serving type: cask

06-01-2012 21:55:29 | More by warnerry

BarryMFBurton

Indiana

3.6/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I have a soft spot for Bell’s, but mainly for their big beers: Hopslam, Expedition Stout, The Oracle. It’ll be interesting to try one of their <6% ABV beers, then…

Brewed within the last few months before this tasting (can only make out the /12 of the year on the Packaged On date).

A: This Amber Ale is…well, amber. Slightly red, and with a sizeable white head of creamy bubbles. Retention is thin with slight, spotty lacing.

S: Sweet, satisfying malts first: creamy caramel candy, maple oatmeal, and cookie dough. It’s a subtly earthy graininess mixing with the sugars – cinnamon-sugar and clarified butter on slightly toasted bread – and just a hint of floral hops. Malty, but thin.

T: Leafy malts: maple, cashew, caramel, and toasted grain come together in mild, creamy fashion. Peaches and cream are notable, as well, before the tastes of mild bitter herbs take over. These hops are just a tad astringent and only slightly juicy – characteristic for an amber ale – just prickly enough to be a sizeable part of the palate. It’s a nutty, creamy vanilla aftertaste.

M: A little silk on the tongue and some bubble on the back end. As far as texture goes, it sits quite idly on a medium body.

O: An amber ale that’s all about traditional flavor, not bold, unique character. And in that way, it’s all that it can be. Quite sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2012 03:45:46 | More by BarryMFBurton

kylehay2004

Florida

4.23/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: single finger off white head on a slightly hazy near pure amber body.

S: caramel malts, toffee, brown sugar and light hops.

T: sweet caramel malts and toffee are the major players. grain and earthy hop notes.

M: medium body and moderate carbonation.

Overall: One of the more full flavored amber ales and very drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

05-17-2012 18:33:31 | More by kylehay2004

hmbrewer336

3.73/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: rich amber color with an off-white head about 1 finger thick spotty lacing down the glass.

S: Malt and Biscuit dominate the nose a slight fruity tone come through as well

T: Bready and Biscuit up front with a slightly bitter and fruity hop finish.

M: Medium in body with a moderate amount of carbonation that bites the mouth and is refreshing.

O: Nice beer I can drink this any season and really enjoy Bell's interpretation of this style. I also like the new label

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 21:55:15 | More by hmbrewer336

maleman

Mississippi

4/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Poured true to its name...with a thin head that receded into a thinner cap and oily lacing. Some sediment and better than average carbonation. Very nice nose of malt and resin with a touch of caramel. Taste followed the nose with good bread and some grass. No aftertaste to speak of from this light to medium-bodied brew, tasted toward the back of the mouth. One of the better beers I've tasted recently. They call it the flagship of Bell's and while I haven't had the coveted "HopSlam" yet, it's the best Bell's offering I've had.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2012 00:04:21 | More by maleman

stercomm

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

A - Amber in color, slight bit of haze, nice off-white head, great glass lacing, head recedes after a few minutes leaving a thin layer.

S - Lots of malts, biscuity, fruity, slight hops scent.

T - Biscuity malts, some carmel, get some citrus, nice balance, very dry finish.

M - medium carbonation, medium bodied.

O - Good session brew

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 21:03:19 | More by stercomm

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle from good ta go beer store in PA for 1.99 - thanks to jfam for this

Appearance - Slightly hazy ambercolour with a large size fizzy/frothy beige head. There is an average amount of carbonation showing and there is some fairly good lacing. The head lasted for over 5 minutes. There are also some particles floating around.

Smell - Malts, caramel, dark fruits, light hops

Taste & Mouth - There is an average amount of carbonation and I can taste malts, caramel, fruits (apples/grapes?), and a bit of hops. There is also a bit of a floral flavour to it. It ends with a sweet caramel/malt flavour with some light fruitiness.

Overall - While tasty, it's pretty run of the mill as far as ambers go. I'd take a stone levitation over this. Still worth a try though.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2012 02:45:11 | More by spinrsx

mdfb79

New York

3.8/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into my Bell's tulip because I can. Bottled on 02/07/12, batch 10918.

a - Pours a deep, murky oranger-brown color with one finger of light tan head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of bready malts, toasted malts, caramel malts, fruity malts, light floral hops, grains, and citrus hops. Ton of malts in the nose, pretty nice.

t - Tastes of fruity malts, toasted malts, bread, grains, wheat, caramel malts, dark fruits, light sweet sugar, and citrus hops. More fruit then the nose and less toasted and bready malts; slightly better then the nose.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation. Smooth and easy to drink.

o - Overall a pretty nice beer. Not my favorite style, but one of the better easily accessible amber ales out there. Not of toasted and bready malts in the nose and some sweet fruity malts in the taste. Very easy to drink, could see a lot of non-craft beer drinkers enjoying this. Wouldn't buy it too often but worth checking out.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2012 01:27:38 | More by mdfb79

denver10

Colorado

3.95/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a rich amber with a thick, frothy khaki head. Wonderful retention and lacing, shockingly so for an amber. A nice sweet bready aroma mixed with a little fruit. A sweet and smooth flavor. Sugary, toffee, a little banana, bread, and a touch of lemon. I usually dislike toffee but they do a nice job with it here, it isn't too strong and dominating. A creamy medium bodied to this, not too much carbonation. A very representation of an an amber, though not my favorite amber I have tried. I've long been wanting to check out some Bell's offerings so glad to have finally tried something by them. Still wish it could have been 2 Hearted instead though!

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2012 00:32:51 | More by denver10

kc44

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep copper hue, a little haze, but a great head that starts out fluffy and then collapses in on itself to stick around and stay thick. Malt and a bit of bread on the nose, I wouldn't mind a little bit of hops and some more complex grainy character. Incredibly delicious beer - the bread shows up here, and so do the hops, the malt doesn't bail. Wow. This beer has a great depth of flavor, and remarkable interplay and balance in the elements of its taste. A real pleasure to drink, decent bodied but doesn't require chewing, carbonated but doesn't try to jump back up your throat. Overall, a terrific example of what basic American microbrewing is at its best. It doesn't need to be crazy hoppy. This is a well-balanced, totally thought out beer. That being said, it is simply not the type to knock your socks off and be a once-in-a-lifetime. That's ok by me -- I'll happily keep this in my mental list of go-to basics for the rest of my life.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 03:28:54 | More by kc44

beagle75

Iowa

3.63/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a nonic glass.

A: Slightly hazy, light amber color with one finger of diminishing off-white foam head. Moderate stepwise lacing remains on the glass and profuse solids hang suspended throughout the column.

S: Bready, with mild caramel and crystal malt.

T: Begins dry, with refined bread, mild herbaceous hop aromatics, and a whiff of caramel. Acidity is of minor presence into the middle where grain becomes maltier before earthy flavors step up to dominate in the mildly bitter finish.

M: Thin to medium viscosity, wet and slightly astringent on the palate, with moderate carbonation.

D/O: This amber ale is satisfactory in its ability to capture some English plae ale qualities while remaining clean and versatile. Hopping is light but appropriate, while malt components are varied and interesting without being challenging.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2012 17:54:57 | More by beagle75

Vec2267

Florida

3.83/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - murky orange with nice off white head, not much lacing

S - caramel, grass, notes of citrus

T - caramel and toasted bread, grainy, but a surprising hop bite for the style

M - quite creamy

O - I like that the grains and breads are balanced with some hops heft - but not what I was expecting from the style

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2012 22:42:31 | More by Vec2267

mooseo

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle poured into pint glass.

A - Hazy light brown amber with yeast sediment floating around.

S - Light scent of sweet malts and a touch of floral hops.

T - Biscuity malt followed by slightly bitter hops. Nicely balanced.

M - Smooth, medium bodied, average carbonation.

O - Another good offering from Bell's. An easy drinking amber ale with decent flavor.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2012 01:31:40 | More by mooseo

Gladius270

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A- Deep orange, rusty color on this. Good lacing. I had to mark it down because of some "floaties" I have. Not like an unfiltered look... This is floating matter.

S- Sweet and Malty. Not much more to say here.

T- At the beginning it follows the nose. There is a really good consistent bitter backbone here. I enjoy the back-end of the taste ALOT. It's hard for me to describe. It's a heavily caramelized sugar aftertase. much like the aftertaste that I remember from hot fudge.

M- Medium body, maybe leaning toward the thinner side. Carbonation stings on the tongue.

O- At first I was not real keen on this one, but after a few sips, it really opened up for me. This is yet another solid offering from Bell's!

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2012 03:09:54 | More by Gladius270

sweemzander

Illinois

3.33/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz. bottle poured into a nonic. 09/27/11 packaged date.

(A)- Pours a hazy amber color. A small cap of white froth & lace.

(S)- A nice malty backbone with some subtle fruits; grainy.

(T)- Similar to the smell. A nice malty backbone with some subtle grainy fruits.

(M)- A good carbonation level and balance. Simple and straightforward, but smooth and malty.

(D)- A solid, straightforward amber. Malty, but smooth and easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2012 19:23:22 | More by sweemzander

Doughbodyboy

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

it pours a slightly hazy slightly golden amber with a solid head that is hanging around. the malt is solid with a lasting taste. the hopy note is rather light with no real bitterness. it has the right refreshing fell in the mouth. nice and bubbly. i prefer a strong IPA. so this was surprising how good it was to me. i recomend this fine amber ale from bells!

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2012 03:15:13 | More by Doughbodyboy

climax

Kansas

3.83/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This one pours a true amber hue, pretty cloudy, and a nice tan head. Retention is very good and lace is decent.

There's nice balance in the nose. Lemon zest and grass make up the bright hop profile, while buttery caramel and bready grains comprise of the backbone.

The flavor has the malt forwardness of Bell's Oktoberfest, yet adds the extra hop dimension. It's balanced all the way, and not too shabby on intensity either. Sweet caramel and bread are consistent throughout, and the bitterness is always able to keep up.

Plenty of carbonation greets the tongue and lingers throughout the semi-dry finish. The body is on the light side of medium and the feel is slightly thin. There's no doubt this makes a good well-balanced session beer with enough flavor to stay satisfying.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2012 00:35:38 | More by climax

Jerone

Florida

3.98/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Hazy amber in color with a one finger cream colored head that fades to nothing relatively quick, very little lacing.

S - Slightly sweet malt flavor mixed with a touch of floral and citrus hops, some biscuity aromas in there too.

T - malts > hops, some sweet lightly toasted malts that have a biscuit and toasted bread flavor, with a touch of floral and citrus hops in there. The finish starts out with some hop bitterness but fades to a lingering flavor of malts.

M - Light body with low carbonation.

O - A solid beer that tastes good and is quite enjoyable, I would recommend it. I also wouldn't recommend going out of your way for it because imho there are slightly better amber ales that can be found quite easily.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2012 20:31:27 | More by Jerone

B967ierhunter177

Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer pours a bold, clear amber with a thin head and lace lasting to the end. It's aroma is of sweet, roasted malt, dough, pine and straw. The flavor is fruity with notes of roasted nuts, bread crust, and a hint of toffee in the background. There's a smooth hop bitterness in the finish and aftertaste. The mouthfeel is medium. Bells Amber Ale is a good brew, refreshing and very drinkable. Recommended!

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2012 23:54:12 | More by B967ierhunter177

OleJohnnieAle

Minnesota

3.93/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Poured an amber color with finger of tan head. Very minimal lacing left behind.

S: So sweetness from the rich malts.

T: nice sweet malts hit you up front with some nice biscuity flavors.

M: medium body and moderate carbonation. Well balanced and crisp finish.

O: seems just an average amber, nothing special but a decent beer worth another shot.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2012 03:09:12 | More by OleJohnnieAle

muletrane

Pennsylvania

3.28/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bottled on 9/12/11

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a nonic.

A: Pours a very hazy amber color. 2 fingers of egg shell head. Tight bubbles. Decent retention and lace.

S: I'm getting alot of sweet fruity malty notes. A slight touch of Belgian yeast qualities in the nose as well.

T: Slightly sweet malts up front. Biscuity notes on the back end. Finish is pretty dry. Not alot of hop character here.

M: Crisp, clean and dry overall. Moderate body and carbonation.

Overall this is an average amber ale. Not a bad beer by any means. Taste isn't bad and its easy to drink. Nice nose on this beer as well. Just nothing great. I'll review again when I come across a more fresh bottle.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2012 15:05:44 | More by muletrane

jayhawk73

Maryland

3.95/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours an orange/copper color w/ a thin off white head. Good lacing on the side of my snifter. Lots of yeast hanging out in this brew- just enjoying life living in a Bell's beer. The nose is sweet malt, fruit, yeast. A very nice smelling brew- very balanced and pleasant. The taste follows the nose exactly, with hops being added to the mix. Very tasty for the style. Feel is medium, creamy, with a nice full finish. Overall, another solid brew from Bell's. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2012 17:16:52 | More by jayhawk73

dexterk1

Illinois

3.6/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from bottle into a pint glass. Color is little hazy reddish brown. Head was small and dissipated relatively quickly.
Odor is pleasant and is malty and sweet with some caramel notes.
Taste is good overall. First you get some malt and toffee. Finish has some hops bitterness and a little more malt.
Mouth feel is not too bad. Does not linger too long and feels a little light on your tongue.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2012 22:05:38 | More by dexterk1

VaterRoss

North Carolina

1.63/5  rDev -57.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

12oz bottle into tumbler, bottled 12/15/11

Pours a mostly clear amber with a nice off-white frothy head. Looks good so far. Not much going on in the nose, a light biscuity malt and hint of hop spiciness. Oh my, what happened here; taste starts aright with some mellow malt biscuit and some hoppiness, then I am hit by the distinct taste of soap (ugh). Mouthfeel is even worse with the smooth.creamy, and very slick texture of soapy water. Not even the nice maltiness can save this one as it is buried in soap.

This beer tastes like very mild soap (this could be the diacetyl) and that is not a good thing. Starts off tasting fine and then turns into dishwater. This is one of the more unpleasant beers I have had. Perhaps this was just a bad batch?

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2012 17:39:17 | More by VaterRoss