{"id":1711,"date":"2010-09-30T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2010-09-30T14:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/?p=1711"},"modified":"2021-08-26T11:41:50","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T16:41:50","slug":"review-bells-25th-anniversary-ale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/review-bells-25th-anniversary-ale\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Bell\u2019s 25th Anniversary Ale"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Bell’s says:<\/p>\n

“Brewed with Michigan barley, generously dry-hopped, and fermented with Bell’s signature house yeast, 25th Anniversary Ale combines malty caramel & toffee notes with a fragrant hop character.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bell’s 25th Anniversary Ale
\nAmerican Strong Ale, 8.5% ABV
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Sayeth the Guys:<\/em><\/p>\n

Karl:<\/strong>I\u2019m afraid I don\u2019t have much to say about this one. Not because I\u2019m burnt out on reviews…there\u2019s just not much to say about this beer. You\u2019d think the Bell\u2019s people would go for broke on their quarter-century celebratory brew, and if they did, you couldn\u2019t tell from this bottle.<\/p>\n

The nose is hop-happy on the open of the bottle, moreso than either of us would have expected. Honestly, I don\u2019t know what we were really expecting, but whatever it was didn\u2019t show up. The 25th is extremely light-bodied, almost watery, with mostly just hoppy bitterness across the palate. I mean, it\u2019s basically an IPA to me, with something flat and dull about the flavor profile. And I could be crazy about this one, but I also tasted…toast. Nice, dry, perfect toast.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s it. I\u2019m amazed that this is all I have to say about a beer from Bells, but I could wrap it up even tighter by saying, \u201cIt\u2019s kinda like a Two Hearted. But cut it in half.\u201d That\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n

Ryan:<\/strong> After having Bell’s Batch 9,000<\/a> and the 2009 Eccentric Ale, both dark and heavy and in need of time in the cellar, I expected the 25th Anniversary Ale to be the same.\u00a0 I was imagining a beer that I had to coax out of the bottle like Heinz Ketchup.\u00a0 It would smell like bourbon, molasses, chocolate and unicorns.\u00a0 The taste would be so strong that I would have to toss the rest in the cellar and forget about it for five years.\u00a0 Instead I got an American Strong Ale that was light in color and in body and insanely hop-forward.\u00a0 I duped myself.<\/p>\n

You are going to notice a resounding theme in this review; unexpected.\u00a0 This beer poured far lighter than I imagined and had a nose that was nothing but hops.\u00a0 Take a sip and you get hops; overbearingly piney, citrusy, I-think-I-just-swallowed-a-bunch-of-pine-needles…hops.\u00a0 Not much malt or caramel, but definitely hops.\u00a0 And as quick as the hops burst on to your palate they fade away just as fast leaving very little aftertaste.<\/p>\n

You could imagine with my lofty expectations I wasn’t crazy about what actually came out of the bottle.\u00a0 But it was good.\u00a0 And I think I would like it on its own if I wasn’t imagining a Batch 9,000 clone.\u00a0 I’ve got a hunch this may not be a good candidate for the cellar.\u00a0 So some night, with a clear mind and a clear palate, I will try this again and maybe even revisit this review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For this review of the Bell’s 25th Anniversary Ale, you are going to notice a resounding theme in this review: unexpected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[954],"yoast_head":"\nReview: Bell\u2019s 25th Anniversary Ale | Guys Drinking Beer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For this review of the Bell's 25th Anniversary Ale, you are going to notice a resounding theme in this review: unexpected.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/review-bells-25th-anniversary-ale\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: Bell\u2019s 25th Anniversary Ale 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