Third Coast Old Ale
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store

L- burgundy, opaque, deep amber in the light

S- sweet candied molasses & figs and dark fruits

T- follows the nose and then finishes with an herbal-piney note

F- medium to full, little to no carbonation, a still sipper for sure

O- I adore this beer, a stellar showing of an American Barleywine

 

Bottle from ‘22, enjoyed late ‘25.
The he pour is brown like breakfast roast coffee with garnet highlights and a 2 finger manilla head that leaves sparse lacing.
The taste leads with caramel and leather and is immediately countered with a hoppy edge I didn’t expect after 3 years. The balance between the two is very good.
The feel is lightly viscous, almost ideal for the style.
OA, this is a very good Barleywine that I will definitely enjoy again and again.

RB transfer

 

 

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a New Belgium globe glass.

2020 vintage

The beer pours a muddy brownish amber color with minimal ruby(ish) highlights. An aggressive pour yields a light tan head that lingers for a while leaving behind a small cap and moderate lacing.

Boozy and surprisingly hoppy aromas with a nice amount of caramel, toffee, dark fruit, and mildly toasty malts . I am surprised at the amount of hops present after 3 years in the bottle!

Bold flavors of toffee and caramel with a pronounced booziness. The beer is still, even after three years in the bottle, hop forward giving a nice balance to the huge malty base. Medium/heavy body, and lightly carbonated, the beer finishes slightly slick on the tongue.

Overall, this is a phenomenal beer, that ages very well! Such a treat! Thanks to @Whyteboar for this one

12 ounce bottle dated Sept 11/19, purchased at Bell’s General Store in Kalamazoo.
Pours a slightly ruddy reddish mahogany colour with thin short lived khaki head.
Nose initially struck me as a bit vinous but this blew off with caramel, brown sugar, oak, with earthy slightly piney hop aromas.
Tastes of burnt caramel, toffee, brown sugar, and bourbon but despite four years of age the hop presence is still strong with an earthy, piney bitterness.
Medium full mouthfeel with low medium carbonation and a creamy consistency ending with a warming booziness and a lingering bittersweetness.
Wonderful sipping barley wine.

Bottle is dated 10/10/15. Enjoyed 10/9/23.
Cellaring courtesy of my brother, Buddy.
L: dark brown. Thin head settles and disappears quickly. Sediment floating throughout.
S: thick caramel. Old wood. Dark rum.
T: pleasant non sweet caramel alcohol flavor.
M: smooth with no carbonation
O: aged very well.

 

Bottled 9.21

Poured at about 40° into a stemless wine glass.

Pours a caramelly bourbon brown with slight clarity and a deeper sandy tan head. 4.25

Big malt and boozy aroma, surprised at how boozy it still is almost 2 years later, though not overwhelming, just clear and forward that it's a boozy one. 4.25

Malt bomb but not un-dynamic. Caramel, boozy heat and burn, and slight creaminess. 4.25

Body is warming, subtly carbonated and has a syrupy thickness to it. 4

Overall an excellent Barleywine that though I haven't tried fresh aged terrificly. 4.25

 

Bell's Third Coast Old Ale rocks.. I am so happy I was able to find it in my hometown after looking for it relentlessly for weeks... this stuff is the shit. Oh so sweet maltiness...dark amber color.... medium head. ... malty sweet alcohol aroma.. sweet brown sugar, pecan pie, bourbon, cranberry, black currant, mild black licorice, molasses, bitter maple sugar.. complex.... phenomenal! Will kick you right in the ass at over 10%.., love this beer (or barley wine I should say)! Big thumbs up!

L: Very dark maroon, off white head. Strong lacing @room temp

S: red berry, dark fruit, caramel, spices. There’s also the smell the alc, which takes away from the smell a tad bit imo

T: starts off with red berry and caramel, then moves into hops you might find in a dipa (I’m no hop head so no idea which ones). Has a hit of sweetness a few seconds after the hop flavor goes away. Never had barleywine but it’s taste has shades of brandy which is really cool to see in a beer.

F: fairly heavy yet smooth, complements the beer very well

O: If you have any ounce of self control, age a least a couple 6 packs of these. The added depth and removed alcohol bite would easily give you 12+ world class beers.

 

2014 bottle tasted almost exactly 8 years later. Poured at fridge temp. Pours a nice dark brown with minimal head. The nose is full of caramel, raisins, prunes, figs, a touch of maple, and a slight note of almonds. Incredible!

The taste is a great mix of sweet toffee, dark fruit, and hops. The hoppy bitterness is clearly a shadow of what it once was, which is just fine with me! I like my American barleywines with some age to trim some of that hop bite. Grass, pine needles, leather, hay, figs, toffee, raisins, plums, brown sugar, and maybe a touch of coffee grounds/tobacco. Very smooth and easy to drink. No sign of the ABV. A treat indeed.

 

 

Holy cow, this is extremely hoppy. So if you like very, very hoppy ales, go for it. For me, I couldn’t finish it. Way, way too hoppy for me. Like overwhelming. But, if hop is your gig, maybe you’ll fall in love. I

Bottled on 09/23/2021. Enjoyed on 02/24/2022.