Bell's Winter White Ale - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

bifrojm

Illinois

3.68/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle poured into an imperial pint glass. Hazy straw color with a decent white head.

Smells of yeast and bits of banana and some lemon citrus

Tastes much the same with a nice bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is creamy and slightly thick with good carbonation.

ABV makes it very drinkable, but I'd prefer to switch to something else after a couple. Push comes to shove, I could shove these down all night.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2010 02:41:07 | More by bifrojm

MelissaJ

Indiana

3.78/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle to conical pint glass
A: Pours a light cloudy yellow with a thin white head that quickly dissipates

S: Lemons, spices, wheat

T: Strong citrus and wheat taste followed by lemon and spice (coriander?) notes

M: thick body, light carbonation

O: awesome drink-ability, but not very interesting, pretty basic. Definitely a spicy/winter drink. It's nice, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2012 00:14:03 | More by MelissaJ

chiefthreebeers

Vermont

2.5/5  rDev -31.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Bell's Winter White is a good addition to the white beer category. The beer itself does not scream winter to me. White beers are known for being warm summer month beers. I give Bell's props for bucking that trend and releasing a white for winter. Also, now that I think of it "white" could be a clever play on words for a "white Christmas".

A- Meets all the normal characteristics for a white beer. Cloudy, golden brown color with a white lace.

S- Strong aromas, abundantly sweet and citrus

T- This is where I tend to get off the bus a little. While it has the spice of orange and coriander I am accustomed to, there seems to be little else and a watered down sour apple flavor.

M- Any sweetness is masked by an ever present sour feel. I always like a little tang on my white beers but here I find myself waiting for a spicy flavor and only getting a watery sour finish.

D- Not bad, thought it was more alcoholic than 4.5, seemed to have a little more zing. Overall drinkable, find myself wanting to
put an orange slice in there, not a good sign.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2008 23:42:29 | More by chiefthreebeers

archiespeck

Michigan

3/5  rDev -18%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Had this out of a bottle and it just left me cold (no pun intended). I'm usually the biggest Bell's cheerleader around, but this is a massively disappointing beer. The smell and taste are extremely average. That's all you can really say about this beer. It's not terrible, but the 9.99 price tag is not justified in the least bit. You can do better than this, Bell's.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2010 18:26:57 | More by archiespeck

RonJon24

Michigan

3.55/5  rDev -3%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Golden light color, little head. Not super attractive beer to the eye when poured out of the bottle.

S - Lots of yeast! But for this style, smells how it should.

T - Great Belgian taste! I get a bit of the yeast flavor coming through, but also some great other flavors I cant put my finger on.

M - Quite light, light on the carbonation too.

D - Good, I could drink plenty of these. Goes down very easy.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2011 02:22:58 | More by RonJon24

LupulinDevil

Michigan

3.35/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the local hang out. Poured with a nice cloudy body and slight head. Aroma was nice with a definte Belgian tonality. Flavor was a bit disappointing in that it was a bit too direct on the Belgain profile of fruit. Pleasant mouthfeel as it is very drinkable and well balanced. A good recommendation for the Oberon fans that get too much of the Michigan winters and long for their "fix"--addicts! hee hee

Serving type: on-tap

06-25-2008 05:22:11 | More by LupulinDevil

CReilly

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

1/14/09

Bell's Winter White Ale:

App: Orangey yellow haze sits quietly under a slight white head which dissipated within the first 30 seconds... a nice effervescence was seen throughout the life of the beer however somehow did not contribute to head

Aroma: Classical wit character of sweet wheat, coriander and a slight citrus nose.. Pleasant overall

Taste: Slight spicey coriander with sweetness derived from a nice wheat backbone, and a mildly hoppy bitterness to round it out

Mouthfeel: Medium light body that was broken up by the more than adequate carbonation. this beer ended with slight bitter sweet mildly hoppy end that almost seemed dry to a small degree

overall the taste was good but the head retention awful... barely any head to begin with.

would give it another try

poured into a small pilsner glass

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2009 04:12:31 | More by CReilly

dougriddle

Missouri

3.28/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a wide pilsner glass, this "winter white" displays a lovely dark to lighter golden sunburst color, when in lower light conditions. I poured looking for a more vigorous head, and am a little disappointed with how low the retention is. After a couple of drinks, there is absolutely none to be seen, nor is there any lacing after a couple of drinks.
After a quick sniff, I get a hoppy, citrus blend that is characteristic of most wit beers.
Once this beer hits the mouth, one can notice a fair amount of carbonation. But once the beer is swallowed, it leaves behind a film on the back of the mouth that reminds me of Schlafly's Saison Ale. Unfortunately for me, I do not like this feeling.
As far as taste is concerned, the hop combinations are fairly subtle throughout, but then leaves a strong hop after taste.The spice use is also very subtle. On the whole, this has more of an earthy taste to it, but not a lot of strong flavors. I want something more to jump out at me here. Again, this tastes closer to a Saison style than a wit-hence the "Winter white" moniker I suppose.
Overall, this beer is very nice to look at in the glass, but I need something more from this beer, especially if it is going to be priced at $10.99 for a six pack. You fooled me Bells. I would much rather save $3 and get any Saison six pack.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2009 05:13:20 | More by dougriddle

KRAUSEMAO

Michigan

3.78/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

It has a nice wheat color. Poured to a two finger head which dissipated quickly. Banana is the most pungent scent cloves are also present. The winter wheat has good mouth feel and has a bit of inconsistency(which is a good thing). There is a nice hint of nut and banana that linger as the aftertaste. It is a smooth beer that isn't over-spiced. I suggest it. Its a tasty beverage

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 04:04:23 | More by KRAUSEMAO

jcsandlin

Georgia

3.73/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: It pours very clear with a light golden color. The head is a crisp, bright white and very full, and it lasts a good length of time. It leaves a little lacing as it recedes, still leaving a thin layer of foam on top that is full of very tiny bubbles.

Smell: There is a very nice smell, very bright and vivid, full of citrus and lighter spices. Cloves and lemon are most noticeable, with a background of wheat and malt present.

Taste: It tastes almost as bright as it smells. The spices are less prevalent but more varied than the smell, with a bit of hops showing up too. The citrus is in the taste too, but there is more orange on the tongue than lemon. There is a fair amount of lighter malt flavor in there as well. The taste is about as sharp as the nose suggests, but not overly strong.

Mouthfeel: It has a lighter body, and just enough carbonation to tickle the tongue without being too fizzy. Very crisp and refreshing.

Overall: It's light and refreshing, and very drinkable. It manages to be bold enough to miss being boring, but it isn't that exciting, either. This is a decent beer, but that's all: I would drink it again, but I'd be more likely to try something else first.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2011 22:01:19 | More by jcsandlin

tommiller819

Indiana

3.93/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

1st review for the site, so prepare for somebody who loves beer but doesn't know how to talk about it yet. Poured from a bottle into a pint glass, batch 10218.

A - hazy amber color, with some sediment floating in the glass. About half an inch of off-white head, which dissipated pretty quickly.

S - mostly fruity aroma going on here. A lot of banana to it, a bit of apricot and some coriander.

T - the tropical fruit and spice is right in front, with little bitterness. Very refreshing taste, great for a 90+ degree day. I'd be more inclined to reach for a Kalamazoo Stout in the winter, but who am I to say ;-)

M - fairly strong carbonation, but not enough to make it seem overly harsh. A little on the dense side for a Witbier, but still easy to drink.

Overall - a satisfying and nicely spicy wheat beer with enough complexity to set it apart.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2011 21:58:38 | More by tommiller819

CreamAleDrinker

New York

4/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

A delicious hefeweizen crossed with belgian yeast, I typically do not like american hefeweizens (perhaps I haven't tried enough) but this one was a pleasant surprise with the scent of clove and banana nut bread, starts off sweet in the mouth with a hint of mild bitterness after swallowing, delicious. What a great twist to use belgian yeast yet not over doing the flavor keeping the delicate balance and mouth-feel that a good hefeweizen should have...

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2008 14:51:59 | More by CreamAleDrinker