Bell's Beer
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store

Bell's BeerBell's Beer
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From:
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Bohemian / Czech Pilsner
ABV:
5.3%
Score:
79
Avg:
3.36 | pDev: 17.26%
Reviews:
32
Ratings:
33
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 16, 2023
Added:
May 24, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Ratings by bros:

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Photo of elNopalero
Reviewed by elNopalero from Michigan

4.14/5  rDev +23.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Original recipe, on tap at the Eccentric Café, Summer 2023.

Tasty light lager. This throwback classic came across as somehow timely and contemporary, at least among the lagers I’ve come to appreciate and enjoy.
Sep 16, 2023
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3 by rolandboy from Michigan

Oct 20, 2012
Photo of kimcgolf
Reviewed by kimcgolf from Georgia

2.96/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours to a light yellow, with halfway decent carbonation and little head or lacing. Aroma is skunky if anything, mouthfeel balnd, and taste grainy. Not surprisingly, this leads to a finish that is short and metallic.

Unfortunately, a very disappointing offering from Bells.
Sep 09, 2009
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.7/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Enjoyed on tap at the brewpub.Neutral aroma, very pale staw colour, but also fresh and lacey. Well carbonated, well balanced. Average mouthfeel. Refreshing for coming off the hot and dusty trail. You can make a good drinking pils without Saaz hops.Sessionable and smooth.
Aug 09, 2009
Photo of JohnQVegas
Reviewed by JohnQVegas from Tennessee

3.66/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours an effervescent pale yellow with a thin, creamy white cap.

Nose is grassy, just a bit skunky.

Taste is crisp and grassy, with a dry, cracker-like malt note. Leads to a light, lingering bitterness on the clean finish.

Light body and light carbonation, but never watery. Nice pils. Would be in my regular rotation during the summer if I could get it.
Mar 29, 2009
Photo of hopdog
Reviewed by hopdog from Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
12oz bottle acquired in trade with Styles (thanks!).

Poured a light straw and see through straw color with an averaged sized white head. Aromas of grass, light grain and honey. Tastes of grass, honey, and light citrus. Thin body.

Notes from 11/6/06
Nov 13, 2008
Photo of JDV
Reviewed by JDV from Texas

2.96/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
Bottle thanks to alexgash i think... If not, probably gregis on RB. Hell, thank you both either way...

Pours pale yellow with a nice big lasting white head in a pilsner glass. Smell is pleasantly malty with a grainy almost slight corn like sweetness. There is an actual, nice hop presence in both the smell and taste. Good balanced mild malty/light bitter hops to it. Nice bitter bite and a nice mouthfeel actually. Slightly thick but crisp carbonation as well. Simple, but nice.
Mar 15, 2008
Photo of beerking1
Reviewed by beerking1 from Virginia

3.36/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Nice malty aroma, with a faint hop that is noble but not Saaz. Medium gold with a small white head. Flavor is clean, hoppy, and with a decent malt backbone. Hops have a slightly harsh edge, esp. in the tail. Body is a good medium character. It does smooth out as it warms up a bit.
Feb 23, 2008
Photo of Dogbrick
Reviewed by Dogbrick from Ohio

3.5/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This brew is a hazy honey color with a medium thin white head that dissipates steadily. Stringy lacing. Floral hops, grass and light malt in the nose. Light body with moderate carbonation. Saaz hops character alongside malt, straw and yeast flavors. The finish is bitter hops and bready malt with lingering bitterness. Above average all around.
Dec 18, 2007
Photo of Beaver13
Reviewed by Beaver13 from Colorado

3.01/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
12 oz bottle. Pours a clear golden with a thin white head that goes to a thin film that laces the glass.

The aroma is doughy, slightly sweet malts, with some grassy hops (Saaz?).

The flavor is mostly noble hops (Saaz) that are slightly metallic, but provide more bitterness than expected. A little sweetness from the malt comes out as it warms. The mouthfeel is medium and kind of watery.

Overall, a pretty good, albeit one-dimensional pilsener (not my favorite style).
Oct 14, 2007
Photo of hoffman
Reviewed by hoffman from Nebraska

3.27/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Ho Hum...So So...Decent....Mediocre....

Not phrases typically associated with Bell's in this case it fits the bill.

An average looking pils, hazy, tawnee gold, lack luster head, thin and fizzy.

The aroma here is pronounced smooth, sweet, and biting....effervecent herbs...almost like tea tree oil...I was intrigued

The taste follows with the same palate as the aroma, smooth and herbal a bit sweet and stinging like a hints of a plug of Levi.

The mouthfeel is where this one falls down....bad. Very watery not balanced at all, a bit fizzy and then it falls on it's face with nothing in the end...honestly like bottle of Dasani.

Ultra swillable...but not one I want again.
Apr 18, 2007
Photo of DaPeculierDane
Reviewed by DaPeculierDane from Wisconsin

2.6/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
On tap at Maduro.

Very lacking for a Czech pilsener. Feels more like an American Macro Lager in all categories. Feel is too heavy and undercarbonated. Appearance is too cloudy and lacking in carbonation. Aroma lacks hops. Taste is too sweet.

Otherwise, it’s an alright beer. Easy to drink with some subtle but interesting tobacco and herbal hop notes. Flavor is bland but macro drinkers seem to love it.

My least favorite beer form Bell’s to date.
Aug 22, 2006
Photo of orbitalr0x
Reviewed by orbitalr0x from Illinois

3.95/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
On tap at the Eccentric Cafe, stopped in on the way back from the Michigan Summer Beer Fest. Arrives in a 12oz glass, at the amazing price of $1.75, a bright, vibrant golden color with a nice white head. Aromas of crisp, pale slightly sweet malts met by a bright herbal hop character. The fresh hops really jump out of this one.

First sip brings a lightly toasty, grainy maltiness with a bit of sweetness that quickly flows into a nice smooth bitter herbal hop flavor on the way down. Just a really tasty, hoppy pilsner that really shines fresh from the tap. A great warm weather beer or for when you're just looking for something lighter.

Mouthfeel had a touch of creaminess while still being rather light. Went down easy and I could see myself having quite a nice session with this one. Looks like it will be coming back in bottles in September 2006 and I'll be sure to pick some up!
Jul 26, 2006
Photo of granger10
Reviewed by granger10 from Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +33.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
On tap at the Eccentric Cafe. Lightly hazy copper amber color with a medium-small fizzy white head. Good lacing.

Aroma shows that this has hops. Lots of herbal hop flavor in the smell but that is balanced out by a toasted sweet maltyness. This malty flavor almost seemed smoky at times. Some cigar notes perhaps. Raw citric tannins also come out.

Taste is extroadinary. Very clean with no off flavors yet there's a complexity in here I have never had from a pils. A spicy hop flavor comes and goes. A bit of caramel sweetness evolves. Citric qualities lie in the body. Biscuit seems to form a moderate base. Slight fruity sweetness. Hops do prevail however. Earthy raw flavors come out at the end. Finish is long, smooth, and somewhat spicy bitter.

Mouthfeel is solid all around. Hoppier than your average pilsner yet the lagering really helped to smooth it out and the malt balance fits nicely. I believe the yeast lends a slight spicy and fruity flavor which really glides through the palate.

After my first one of these on a hot summer day out in garden I needed many more. Easy drinkability for sure. If you go to Bell's, give this a try fresh from the tap.
Jun 25, 2006
Photo of aforbes10
Reviewed by aforbes10 from Iowa

3.93/5  rDev +17%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
had this on tap at the eccentric cafe. clear, orange with a bubbly, quickly gone head. light malty odor. very crisp and hoppy flavor. overall a very easy drinking, great beer for a bar. it says that this is only available on draft and i think that they should stick with it that way. dont ever bottle this because its just too good straight from the tap.

edit: now, looking at the other reviews, it seems they do bottle it. well, then, to everyone out there reading this...only drink it on tap. i can't imagine that it would hold up when bottled (and it looks like theres a real disparity in the reviews between draft and bottles confirming my worry).
Apr 24, 2006
Photo of DrunkMcDermott
Reviewed by DrunkMcDermott from Illinois

3.28/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Draft, at Bell’s Eccentric Café. So with all the amazing brews they make, there’s one they simply call "Beer." Nice golden pilsener color. Served perhaps a bit too cold in a plastic cup (my choice there, I only wanted a 16 oz. serving), so the head was light, and it may have been too cold to get the best experience. But there was an interesting bitter aftertaste that takes a minute to sink in. A nice hoppy smell, and a sharp hop character that mellows out toward the end.
Aug 18, 2005
Photo of Brian700
Reviewed by Brian700 from Michigan

3.5/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This one pours a nice straw color with a white head that doesn't sit very high. I didn't really like this one the first time I had it but just bought a 6 pack of it and its starting to grow on me a little more now.(I should state that I wrote this review a long time ago and am just now submitting it. You can no longer buy bottles of this style Bells). It smells grainy and sweet. The taste is grainy and sweet like the nose and there is a light hop after taste. It has a good mouthfeel with light-medium carbonation. It is a drinkable beer but I am still not all that impressed with it.
Apr 25, 2005
Photo of nomad
Reviewed by nomad from Kansas

4.07/5  rDev +21.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Apparently this is a completely different beer on-tap than from a bottle. I am beyond surprised in reading the descriptions from others below.

Pours a deep golden yellow with a very light haze - seems to be more yeast than chill born. Props a clean and even head that leaves some lacing on the glass. Smells of herbal hops through and through with soft but opposing hay and mint like accents. Behind this zing is a slightly husky pale malt base. Straight ahead and definitely true to form.

From first sip to last the hop flavor on this beer persisted. Exposure to air, warming up, some food, it did not matter - the Noble spice stayed on, though it seemed more like American-ized varieties than, say, Saaz straight from Bohemia. Bodied was smooth, well-rounded, showing soft water and a firm base of pale malts with a hint of something else in the malt department. This pils certainly had a malty body, maybe not exploding with intrigue, but supporting better than most microbrewed lagers and coming in handy with the hop onslaught. In other words, the occasional hints of sweetness were appreciated.

A great discovery and served well at Zingerman's restaurant in West Ann Arbor.
Apr 11, 2005
Photo of francisweizen
Reviewed by francisweizen from Washington

3.18/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Dissapointing. A cloudy amber tinged brew with a nice cap of white foam. Aromas are sickly sweey and a tad bit overwhelming. It's that famous bell's yeast going to town, I bet! The taste is sweey, and very caramelly, this stuff is reminiscent of bubble gum or cotton candy...better yet, this stuff is very much like butterscotch hard candy! (Think worthers original!). The hops are in there on the finish, but they do not do enough to salvage the flavor of this brew. The mouthfeel is creamy and smooth, but it does not mean much at this point! However, despire all of its noted flaws, this brew still drinks pretty damn good! This is probably Bell's worst beer, and it is still not that bad!
Apr 01, 2004
Photo of oberon
Reviewed by oberon from North Carolina

3.18/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Well Iam lover of Bells but this beer leaves alot to be desired in my mind.Pours a lighter shae of gold with a decent head that leaves some light lacing,aroma is ver slight some light maltiness with a few whiffs of herbals hop.Taste is also subdued a little grainy with some grassy hop but neither are real persuasive on your taste buds.Not a horrible brew my any means but way to average compared to other Bells brews.
Feb 15, 2004
Bell's Beer from Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
Beer rating: 79 out of 100 with 33 ratings