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

jackndan

Illinois

3.8/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice Amber color (duh).Thick rocky head, with great Belgian lace. Very rich and creamy mouthfeel, with a smooth malt flavor. Very well balanced, heavily malt, but with a noticeable hops bitterness to avoid the beer being too cloying. Very easy to drink, and very well made.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2002 13:03:04 | More by jackndan

ZAP

Minnesota

4.3/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

An exciting amber ale....a nice spicy hop nose...also some malt sweetness on the nostrils....orangish in color...cloudy...chunks of stuff flloating all over...beautifull!! The taste is definitely dominated by the malt sweetness...but it is more of a Belgian style hard candy sugar type sweetness...the herbal hops lend a nice balance...I've had many "amber ales"...most are OK but not real interesting...this one is veritable adventure in tasting...another dandy from one of the top breweries in the U.S.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2002 22:26:15 | More by ZAP

Jon

Illinois

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

This is one great amber ale. Pours a beautiful, deep amber color with a sticky head that leaves big rings of lace on the glass. Has a great, somewhat sweet, but balanced malt taste with enough hops to back it up. It's got great body to it, and is fairly easy to drink, making it a solid candidate for a session beer. It's no wonder Kalamazoo sells more of this than any of their other stuff, and still, it's not even their best!

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2002 15:59:11 | More by Jon

Dogbrick

Ohio

3.45/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Nice surprise for an Amber Ale. I was expecting something along the Killian's line but this produced a hint of hops flavor I was not expecting, which made it taste like a hybrid of some kind. Very interesting. Rich color and good aroma. I am anxious to try Bell's other offerings. The only downside was a faint metallic taste toward the end. Not sure what that was about.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2002 14:47:58 | More by Dogbrick

inebrius

Michigan

4.6/5  rDev +19.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Wonderful nose of unfermented wort and earthy hops on a slice of toast. This here is a beer drinkers brew, this here is what craft and quality taste like. Outstanding! Kalamazoo brewing needs to expand their distribution network.

Cheers to Deuce for the sample!

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2002 22:23:36 | More by inebrius

marc77

California

4.22/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

The dense, thick, rocky and billowy head tops a slightly hazy amber / light orange hued brew. Quite appealing in appearance for an amber. Signature slightly tart and fruity Bell yeast esters hit the nose at first, but light caramel malt and very mild but pleasant diacetyl butterscotch follow. The hop nose is comprised of subtle, but earthy Willamette and/or Goldings notes. Malt flavors are lightly bready and biscuit - like, while a clean light caramel malt sweetness dominates. The well calculated hop bitterness is a hair shy of balancing the malt sweetness, leaving this brew pleasantly sweet. Hop flavor is a touch earthy and floral and British in style. The body is more full than the typical amber, but still is light enough to provide for excellent drinkability. Bell's Amber finishes bittersweet, clean and w/ bready malt notes. This is a flavorful amber, and could pass for a good ESB.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2002 19:16:06 | More by marc77

Bighuge

Minnesota

3.78/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer is cloudy deep golden with orange tinting. Very slight head. Not a lot going on in the aroma. Some sweet malt tones are noted. The beer has that trademark bready yeastiness to a small degree. Pretty good maltiness, but it is not so huge with the caramel malts as some ambers are. This is a refreshing example of the amber ale style. Some nice little spicy hop notes. Fruity tones are also of note. Solid brew, but there are many other Bell's beers that I enjoy a lot more.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2002 19:27:35 | More by Bighuge

Jason

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: On tap, served in a 16 oz. American tumbler glass.

Appearance: Cloudy orange hued amber with a well dispositioned tiny bubbled lace leaving several thick rings on the glass.

Smell: Malty sweet with overtones of fresh toasted grain and a subtle flowery oily hop holding a citric nose.

Taste: Well formed malt sweetness within the medium body, moderate crispness from the carbonation. Faint buttery diacetyl, toffee and toasted malt make for the base of this brew, a tamed yet multi-layered hop runs through a pungent bitterness, an oily flower and a citric flavour towards the end. After taste lingers long and hard with more toasted and citric flavours.

Notes: This is an awesome example of the American Amber Ale Style, robust and very flavourful yet still not a problem having a few or even making it a session beer. Right up there with Full Sail or Anderson Valley in greatness in this style.

Serving type: on-tap

06-12-2002 06:14:19 | More by Jason

Wildman

Ohio

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

@Betty's:
Okay, it has a nice gold/amber color and creates a nice bubbly off white head. A little light for this style, but I beginning to feel this is what this company aims for. An aroma of malt and cirtrus. A flavor of malt, hops and citrus. A good beer, just lighter than I think this style should be.

Serving type: on-tap

06-01-2002 17:27:19 | More by Wildman

ADR

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Man, this brew wants to "rise", head like a custard with "rocky mountains" in the middle...Its a Bell's, so its murky but mostly grainy. Aroma is slightly orangey with a little vanilla. Nice smell... Very rich taste, malts are big and last to the swallow. A bit of butterscotch, satisfying body but also a bit of acidic hops. Well balanced! Big malt and a little sizzle, it has a lot of hand-pulled draught characteristics.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2002 10:28:37 | More by ADR

Viking

Indiana

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

Amber color was a bit 'washed out' looking. Not as vibrant as I would like. Nice lacy head that clings to glass. Sweet (maybe a bit too sweet), malty taste. Certainly not my favorite beer from Bell's, but definitely a good brew.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2002 18:15:28 | More by Viking

proc

Michigan

4.22/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bell's flagship beer and I believe its best seller. Nice hop presence that slightly overtakes the malt in this one. This is not Killian's Irish Red by any means. A red that makes you appreciate a true amber.

-----------Re-rate 8/28/02---------
I've got to bump this beer up. Unlike my earlier review, this beer now seems to exhibit a fantastic balance between malt and hops. You get a full, rich, malty mouthfeel, followed by a very generous, but not overpowering dose of hops. A wonderful beer and one you could drink quite a few of...

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2001 14:56:21 | More by proc

Kenadien

Illinois

4.85/5  rDev +26%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

A nice perfect example of what a good quality ale should taste like.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2001 19:54:15 | More by Kenadien