Midwestern Pale Ale - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

TheSSG

Illinois

2.98/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a big, dense, resiny, white head. Soft malt in the nose, with a nice floral hoppiness. Straw colored. Starts tart, almost. Bright, bitter hops with a citrus note. A medium-high bitterness, moves into a malty finish.

This isn't horrible, but not as good as I've come to expect from Bell's.
The hop profile is just not very good; low aromatics, mostly bitterness, not a lot of hop complexity.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 03:06:41 | More by TheSSG

hemorhoidzz

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +33.1%

05-18-2013 19:56:58 | More by hemorhoidzz

Brenden

Ohio

3.61/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This one is a hazy dark yellow, just a bit lighter than amber. On top rests an off-white head somewhere between one and two fingers tall with good retention. Lacing is deposited in thick patches and in pretty impressive density.
Grassiness is big in the aroma, though some floral notes are part of that. There's a mineral edge that reminds me of particular English varietals, though I imagine that's just how it all plays together. There's a bit of sweetness lent from a citrus element and a pithy sort of dryness coming out with a note of rind.
Much the same can be said of the flavor with a few exceptions. This isn't an especially hoppy pale ale, but bitterness picks up in mostly floral and herbal notes. An underlying grains note remains stronger underneath, and a bit of peppery spice from the hops is also more noticeable. There's a touch more sweetness from notes of fruit.
Crispness comes out strong right up front and stays strong. There's also a moderately smooth feel in the light-medium body. Carbonation may have a little too much bite to it, but it works together fairly well.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 13:26:52 | More by Brenden

MickeyMonk

Arizona

3/5  rDev -11.2%

05-17-2013 02:39:13 | More by MickeyMonk

BurnMeInMyBar

Florida

4.75/5  rDev +40.5%

05-15-2013 21:06:21 | More by BurnMeInMyBar

jwat

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%

05-14-2013 04:47:30 | More by jwat

AmandaSchaefer

Wisconsin

3/5  rDev -11.2%

05-13-2013 22:41:54 | More by AmandaSchaefer

Roman5150

Michigan

3.45/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

bottle into pint glass

appearance: cloudy unfiltered light orange/yellow, huge foamy head

smell: smells more like a lager or a pils than a pale ale, sublte citrus/lemon and faint earthiness

taste: very light flavor, i feel like this is more of a lager than a pale ale, not much hop presence. Watery, and very bready flavors come through in the finish, hint of Rye as well.

mouthfeel: not much carbonation, very very light on the palate

overall: A great summer pils or lager type beer, I don't understand why this is labeled a Pale Ale, probably explains the poor reviews. Either way, if you're looking for a hoppy pale ale, look elsewhere, if you want a smooth summer beer that tastes more like a czech pils or lager (a very good one at that) try this, it has subtle flavors but not much complexity. Great session beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 02:22:48 | More by Roman5150

Bill235

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-12-2013 23:07:55 | More by Bill235

HarmonMW

Michigan

3/5  rDev -11.2%

05-12-2013 00:27:16 | More by HarmonMW

Slay40

Michigan

3/5  rDev -11.2%

05-10-2013 21:30:23 | More by Slay40

Artjsantos

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-10-2013 16:19:54 | More by Artjsantos

george42

Illinois

4/5  rDev +18.3%

05-08-2013 23:36:28 | More by george42

BMart

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -11.2%

05-08-2013 19:06:28 | More by BMart

markcp

Iowa

2.75/5  rDev -18.6%

05-07-2013 21:08:45 | More by markcp

Gatordaddy

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev +10.9%

05-05-2013 01:22:05 | More by Gatordaddy

ZEB89

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -18.6%

05-04-2013 22:30:30 | More by ZEB89

EricReynolds

West Virginia

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-04-2013 01:44:14 | More by EricReynolds

amcaleh

Indiana

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

05-02-2013 12:35:13 | More by amcaleh

stewart124

Ohio

3.58/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Back of the bottles labels this a home grown blonde ale.

Hazy orange to dark gold in color. Nice white lacing.

Nose has plenty of bread in the nose. Spice and light citrus from the hops.

Medium bodied with a tasty dose of spicy hops. Peppercorns, bread and a lemon zest help pull this off. Light in bitterness for an American pale ale but seemingly on target for a blonde ale. Lots of biscuity character that builds well with the noble hops. Sharp finish and a dry spicy bite.

I feel that I should be reviewing this as a blonde ale and not an APA. This is a very nice blonde ale and a mediocre pale ale. I can see why it would review so poorly.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2013 00:42:43 | More by stewart124

bpfrush

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

04-27-2013 02:56:28 | More by bpfrush

yuenglingade

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -3.8%

04-26-2013 12:59:50 | More by yuenglingade

LuckyJohn

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev +3.6%

04-25-2013 02:32:46 | More by LuckyJohn

Maninthearena

Minnesota

3.34/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.25

Appearance- Pale Orange/amber. Pretty Cloudy.

Nose- Citrus and malted barley.

Taste- Some American hop undertones (grapefruit-like bitterness) mixed into some malt and grains. Maybe a little tannin character coming through, but not enough to conjure up the harvest as pictured on the bottle.

Palate- Crisp with some fine carbonation, a little thin for my liking. Could be so much more of a beer with some more heft.

Overall- A decent beer, but not one of Bell's best. Went downhill from pour moving towards the finish.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 00:29:04 | More by Maninthearena

psmith161

Indiana

3/5  rDev -11.2%

04-24-2013 13:26:33 | More by psmith161