bell's brewing

Lucky’s Celebrates 1st Anniversary with Tapstravaganza

March 9, 2012 By Lisa Grigsby Leave a Comment

“Drew Trick had a vision: A comfortable place where people can enjoy a wide variety of draught beer and eat fresh food with their friends and family, as well as see couple-hundred model cars. On October 23, 2010, Trick made this dream a reality, purchasing what is now known as Lucky’

Taproom and Eatery, located in the Oregon Arts District.”

Read the rest of this Sept 2011 article here/

Now a year later, there’s no doubt that Lucky’s has established itself as a destination in the district for great craft beers! And what better way to celebrate their first anniversary than by tapping specialty beers all day Saturday. You can even visit with brewery ambassadors like Clay Cooper from New Holland Brewing, Greg Pilch of Bell’s Brewing and Massie from Left Hand Brewing.

The celebration begins at midnight Friday, March 9th with:

Bell’s Hell Hath No Fury Ale

Left Hand’s Week Sauce porter

Saturday Morning Tappings (10am)

New Holland’s Dragon’s Milk

New Holland’s Farmhouse Hatter

Bell’s Sparkling Ale

Founder’s All Day IPA

Founder’s Porter

Founder’s Double Trouble

Boulder’s Mojo Risin on Nitro

Plus a couple of others TBA

12 noon (Small Batch Beer ~ Only Keg in Ohio)

New Holland’s Who Ate My Cookie? Porter

2pm (Small Batch Beer ~ Only Keg in Ohio)

New Holland’s Golden Mean Trippel

4pm

Bell’s Third Coast Barleywine

6pm

Founder’s Curmudgeon’s Better Half

8pm

Left Hand’s Ambidextrous Imperial Oatmeal Stout

10pm

Left Hand’s Widdershins Barleywine

The crew will be Brian (aka Pickle), Erin, Cortney, Kathy, Zach and Drew will probably walk around acting like he owns the joint (well-he does). Stop on in and toast this little gem in the Oregon District! We’re sure glad to have you around!

Bell’s Black Note Stout Review

February 22, 2012 By Max Spang Leave a Comment

Black Note Stout from Bell’s Brewery, Inc. is a blend of their Expedition Stout and Double Cream stout. It is then aged in retired bourbon barrels for months. I was lucky enough to try this beer on tap at Chappy’s Taproom. This beer was recently released in bottles in extremely limited quantities for the first time.

From the Bell’s website:

One of the most sought-after stouts in Bell’s history, Black Note Stout blends the complex aromatics of Expedition Stout with the velvety smooth texture of Double Cream Stout and ages the combination in freshly retired oak bourbon barrels for months. The resulting harmony of flavors captures the finest features of all three components: malty notes of dark chocolate, espresso & dried fruits, all buoyed by the warmth and fragrance of the bourbon barrel. Aimed squarely at the stout and bourbon aficionados, Black Note makes a grand statement about the art of the dark.

Alcohol by Volume: 11.5%
Original Gravity: 1.112
Shelf Life: N/A

APPEARANCE

Well, what do you expect? It’s black as night, and sat under a mocha-colored head that dissipated quickly. There was no lacing, but the beer had some pretty apparent alcohol legs. There wasn’t any light coming through on this one. With a name like Black Note, would you expect anything else?

SMELL

This is heavy on the bourbon in the nose, which brings notes of vanilla and toasted coconut. There is a lot of nice complexity that ranges from sweet to slightly boozy. A hefty amount of chocolate and licorice comes through, and brings a bit of coffee and roasted malt with it. This is the type of beer that you get full from by just smelling – there is a LOT going on!

TASTE

First off, this beer is remarkably smooth. The bourbon is not as strong as it was on the nose, but it is definitely present. With it, the bourbon brings notes of vanilla, licorice, and toasted coconut come out. Surprisingly, the alcohol is very well hidden. The beer starts off milky sweet, with smooth caramel and toffee characteristics, then finishes with a nice hoppy bitterness. The bourbon lasts a long time after the swallow, making this beer have an absolutely amazing after taste.

MOUTHFEEL

This beer drinks like a pillow – it’s smooth! It has a velvet-creamy mouthfeel, sort of like melted chocolate. There isn’t much carbonation, which adds to the creaminess. The beer has a nice big body which makes it a sipper. The intense aftertaste lingers for an extremely long time.

OVERALL

This beer is incredible. It can hang with the big boy bourbon barrel aged brews and hold its ground. It’s a special beer from a brewery that is arguably one of the best brewers of stouts. I wouldn’t say that this is the barrel-aged stout to end all barrel-aged stouts, but it is absolutely incredible and worth seeking out.

Cheers.

SCORE: ★★★★ 4/5

This review can also be found at Snobby Beer.

Bell’s Hopslam – Video Review

January 24, 2012 By Max Spang 3 Comments

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEsjL3FTXgs’]

This is the Snobby Beer review of Hopslam from Bell’s Beer, Inc. in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Hopslam is an American Imperial IPA ( or double IPA ) that gets tons and tons of hype when it is released each year. Hopslam is brewed with six different hop varieties and honey to create a complex flavor and body.

There’s also a nice little shout out to the guys at the Better Beer Authority! Cheers, guys!

From the Bells website:

“Starting with six different hop varietals added to the brew kettle & culminating with a massive dry-hop addition of Simcoe hops, Bell’s Hopslam Ale possesses the most complex hopping schedule in the Bell’s repertoire. Selected specifically because of their aromatic qualities, these Pacific Northwest varieties contribute a pungent blend of grapefruit, stone fruit, and floral notes. A generous malt bill and a solid dollop of honey provide just enough body to keep the balance in check, resulting in a remarkably drinkable rendition of the Double India Pale Ale style.”

Questions? Suggestions? Let me know what you think! Grab a beer and leave a comment.

This post can also be found at Snobby Beer.