Bell's Best Brown Ale

Brewed By: Bell's Brewery, Inc. in Kalamazoo, Michigan  

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Meijer in Urbana, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: American Brown Ale, 5.8%

Reported IBUs: ?

Woo! Fall beer! About Bell's:

Bell's Brewery is one of the biggest names in craft beer. Once you get past the Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, and Stone phase, you start hearing about breweries like Bell's. Bell's began as a home-brewing supply shop, founded by Larry Bell, back in 1983. Bell's sold its first beer in September 1985. The brewery has humble roots like many of the first craft breweries, and the beer was originally brewed in a 15-gallon soup kettle. The beer was originally self-distributed, bottled, and delivered by hand during the company's first four years. In 1993, Bell's became the first brewery in Michigan to open an onsite pub. The brewery currently has two facilities, one in Kalamazoo, and one in Comstock Township, Michigan.

Reviewing Brown Ales is like giving tasting notes for condiments. Thankfully, Bell's upped their game for this...but still. The Best Brown Ale is described as a smooth, toasty brown ale. This beer supposedly has hints of caramel and cocoa, and some American hops show up to provide balance. And that's all she wrote...

Bells Best Brown Ale

In low light, the beer pours a reddish/orange color that is kind-of brown, but not really. The beer kicks up a finger of lightly tan/khaki head, and that gives way to some nice lacing and a cauldron effect. It must be the glass. In bright light the beer remains a deep orange, and the head soaks up some of the caramel colors. There's a nice ring of carbonation around my glass.

The aroma on this is surprisingly aligned with the description on Bells' website. You get a ton of toast, earthy nuttiness, and some big cocoa and caramel/syrup. The cocoa/syrupy chocolate note is very welcoming and mild. There's also a hint of earthy/floral hops way down in the mix.

As with the last beer, the taste follows through with the aroma very nicely...you get a lot of cocoa and chocolate syrup sweetness up front, with lots of toast. The middle section lays on some mild, earthy, and floral hops...and there's some toast and earthy nuttiness on the finish. 

This is standard stuff...light-bodied to medium-light in terms of mouthfeel, with okay palate depth and complexity for the style. At 5.8%, this is stupid drinkable, as it should be. You get some hop kisses and then big toast, hints of fruitiness, and cocoa up front; that rolls into huge cocoa and Hershey's syrup sweetness; that finishes with lingering toast and cocoa. It's restrained but tasty.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average on this, almost approaching Above-Average thanks to the strong presence of cocoa and substantial malts. This is a nice Autumn Brown Ale...almost Bock-like in execution. It's very clean, and the toast and cocoa that you do get is balanced by mild and earthy/floral hops. You could pair this beer with lightly spiced anything, including burgers, vegetables, or whatever. This is basically a more malty Pale Ale. 

Random Thought: I went to a wedding this weekend...which was fun. However, their open bar selection was Bud, Miller, and Crispin. I ended up drinking more wine than usual, which is hardly a bad thing. DAE wine?