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Best Brown Ale
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
- From:
- Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
- Michigan, United States
- Style:
- American Brown Ale
Ranked #139 - ABV:
- 5.8%
- Score:
- 86
Ranked #18,372 - Avg:
- 3.84 | pDev: 11.2%
- Reviews:
- 996
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Feb 21, 2024
- Added:
- Jun 10, 2002
- Wants:
- 119
- Gots:
- 564
A smooth, toasty brown ale, Best Brown is a mainstay in our fall lineup. With hints of caramel and cocoa, the malt body has the depth to stand up to cool weather, but does not come across as heavy. This balancing act is aided by the generous use of American hops.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ZenAgnostic:
Reviewed by ZenAgnostic from Texas
1.42/5 rDev -63%
look: 5 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
1.42/5 rDev -63%
look: 5 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
12oz bottle poured into Duvel tulip. PKG 08/08/2018 printed on bottom right corner of back label. Rare format, I feel special. Anyway this one is 2 months old so it should still be plenty fresh. Spoilers this beer was shockingly bad so here's some additional info stamped on bottom of the bottle in case it's of some use to the brewery: PRN: 22280. The back label says its shelf life is 6 months so it's still got 4 months left in its life expectancy, unfortunately it may be dead on arrival.
Appearance - Absofu**inglutely massive tan head with great stick and decent retention and thick patchy lacing. Very hazy mahogany brown body with tons of carbonation. Can barely make out shadows on the other side, even with a light source behind the glass. 5
Smell - Dry cardboard. Literally sniffing boxes out here. I mean not literally but trust me. It's some dang cardboard. I'm really disappointed the smell didn't live up to the appearance. 1.75
Taste - Soy sauce. Nasty. This might be infected to be honest. Very dry. Bitter. Cardboard. And as I continue drinking it the soy sauce character recedes into the background behind its other nearly equally unappetizing characters. 1
**WAIT WHAT** Being now thinking this is infected, I look into the mouth of the bottle at the bottom, with a light source behind it. And I see what looks like some kind of thin film of sludge or some kind of strange residue slowly cascading down the bottom of tilted bottle.
Mouthfeel - BLEH. I'm too grossed out to think straight. But it is pretty bad. 1
Overall - Get this out of my face. It's either infected or otherwise a bad batch, or just straight up a terrible brew. 1
Oct 02, 2018Appearance - Absofu**inglutely massive tan head with great stick and decent retention and thick patchy lacing. Very hazy mahogany brown body with tons of carbonation. Can barely make out shadows on the other side, even with a light source behind the glass. 5
Smell - Dry cardboard. Literally sniffing boxes out here. I mean not literally but trust me. It's some dang cardboard. I'm really disappointed the smell didn't live up to the appearance. 1.75
Taste - Soy sauce. Nasty. This might be infected to be honest. Very dry. Bitter. Cardboard. And as I continue drinking it the soy sauce character recedes into the background behind its other nearly equally unappetizing characters. 1
**WAIT WHAT** Being now thinking this is infected, I look into the mouth of the bottle at the bottom, with a light source behind it. And I see what looks like some kind of thin film of sludge or some kind of strange residue slowly cascading down the bottom of tilted bottle.
Mouthfeel - BLEH. I'm too grossed out to think straight. But it is pretty bad. 1
Overall - Get this out of my face. It's either infected or otherwise a bad batch, or just straight up a terrible brew. 1
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Whyteboar from Michigan
4.15/5 rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.15/5 rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Had on tap at Vitale’s in Ada, MI. Waitress stated that it was the freshest tap they had.
Poured closer to an amber color than brown, but the head was a good inch tall and left sheets of lacing.
The taste had light chocolate and caramel flavors along with what I could only describe as nutmeg- I’m sure that’s not right, but I did get something similar.
The feel was very good, almost too easy to slam down.
OA, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, may need to pick up a 6 pack.
Feb 14, 2024Poured closer to an amber color than brown, but the head was a good inch tall and left sheets of lacing.
The taste had light chocolate and caramel flavors along with what I could only describe as nutmeg- I’m sure that’s not right, but I did get something similar.
The feel was very good, almost too easy to slam down.
OA, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, may need to pick up a 6 pack.
Reviewed by Luscious_Malfoy from Illinois
4.24/5 rDev +10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.24/5 rDev +10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
poured from a 12oz can into a half pint glass. pours an extremely light brown and even settles in the glass closer to amber than brown with a two finger off-white foam head. little bit of chocolate on the nose with some earthy hops. taste follows with a medium-full mouthfeel. haven’t had this one in years but enjoy it just as much as i remembered liking it.
Jan 26, 2024Reviewed by AZgman from Arizona
4/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 12 oz can into a pint glass. Nice head and aroma. Definite caramel finish, but not too sweet. This is close to a Sam Smith's Nutbrown Ale which is my go to standard for brown ales, so that says something.
I got this in a Bells variety pack at Costco at a bargain price to boot.
Dec 30, 2023I got this in a Bells variety pack at Costco at a bargain price to boot.
Reviewed by cyclonece09 from Wisconsin
3.93/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.93/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. Pours deep red with a small off white head. Smells of fruit and nuttiness. Tastes of nuttiness and nice caramelized grain. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, good carboation. Overall,
Nov 25, 2023Rated by FredTetusky1952 from Michigan
4.02/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
4.02/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
I love brown ales. This one is great. The flavor has many different tones. Love that roaster barley. Bells knows how to do it! Good job Larry!
Nov 12, 2023Reviewed by GarrettB from Colorado
3.67/5 rDev -4.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.67/5 rDev -4.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
October 30th, 2016 - It is difficult for me to get excited by brown ales. But every once in awhile one comes along that offers something new and exciting, and Bell's American Brown Ale is one of those. I'm drinking it straight from the bottle today, so there's not much aroma for me to parse, but the flavor is excellent, and well supported by the mouthfeel. There's a profound depth of toffee and apple (though not a candied apple), and the flavor leans a little on the sweeter side. But the mild fig touch at the front of the palate eases me into the sweeter brew. The aftertaste is also short, escorting the sweeter notes away quickly enough to just be missed.
Nov 15, 2022Reviewed by DaveMaciolek21 from New Jersey
3.68/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.68/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Muddy brown pour with an off-white head. This is a gentle beer--hints of caramel, a moderate roasty quality that never gets too BIG. Smooth texture makes it silky down the hatch. Great malt/hop balance. This is a wonderful beer to accompany the first falling leaves.
Sep 05, 2022
Best Brown Ale from Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
Beer rating:
86 out of
100 with
3333 ratings
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