Thinks Bell's is Vastly Overrated?

Yeah, I'd give it another try if you can find it fresh...would love to hear your thoughts afterward. It really is a special beer, IMO.

 

I love everything from Founders.. I've only had two hearted and black note on one occasion and Hopslam a few times.. But from my experiences they were all definitely fuckin fantastic. Founders and bells are two breweries that never seem to disappoint. Cheers

 

Since half of this thread love Bells or think it's underrated and the other half thinks it overrated I would argue that Bells is properly rated as a really good brewery.

 

Hmmm, well I guess you are the "HOP_KING" so I guess I need to bow down to the referencing of that little tidbit of info...

 

If you are saying that all of their regulars aren't world class, then you'd be right. That could be said for all breweries. However, the BA 9000, Black Note, and Hopslam are fabulous and top notch (insert judge smails here), top notch beers!

Back to my beer...

 

I prefer Founders as well, but Bells is a fantastic brewery who I don't feel is overrated at all. 2H is one of my go-to's, Expedition has a nice cache in my cellar, and Hopslam is one of my favorite annual releases.

 

The only way Bells can possibly be considered overrated is if you compare all their beers as a whole and compare them to a brewery like FFF or Founders. Founders doesn't really have a quality control issue because they only have 14 beers in their entire lineup. All of their beers are above a 84 on here. However, they only have 4 year round beers now with Red's Rye no longer year round.

In comparison Bells has 8 year round beers and 23 beers in their lineup not including special beers like Black Note, etc. I'd say Bells definitely has more variety than most top breweries out there. It's just that all their beers aren't consistently in the B or above range.

 

Why exactly is this thread a thing? When FFF makes a beer that's actually really good that isn't hoppy, let me know. I'd love to try it. (leaving their barreled stouts out of this) When Founders can make something hoppy worth my time, let me know. Bell's is solid at a minimum in each style.

 

Yes, in my opinion they are overrated. Nothing negative intended. Nothing either brews is bad but nothing worth going out of they way to drink. For every beer they brew I can find a local beer that is easier to find and just as good.

 

Thx for trolling

 

You live in Maryland, none of this is true.

 

Not knocking the OP's opinion at all, but I'd actually consider Bell's to be underrated. As THANAT0PSIS (shout-out to William Cullen Bryant) noted, I think it's because Bell's isn't very flashy. I've long considered Bell's to be a "jack of all trades" brewery because I feel like they make good-to-great beers in every style they attempt to brew. At the same time, that may be an inaccurate label because of the whole "master of none" part. It could easily be argued that Bell's has mastered a trade or two in their day. Two Hearted is my go-to beer; I can always count on it to be awesome. Their lineup of stouts is top notch in my book. That doesn't even include beers like Third Coast, HopSlam, etc. etc. Simply put, I know that when I see the name "Bell's" (Founders falls into that category, too, for that matter), I can expect a quality offering every single time.

 

Harvest Ale. Bell's doesn't really have a wet hopped IPA yet

 

I have had two seperate batches of two hearted in the past week. One was two weeks old, the other two months. If I would have had the older one first, I would probably not have bought it again. But the fresh one was so good. With just the aroma immediately I could tell the vast difference between fresh and a little age. Obviously I am a huge fan of hopslam too and like to support a good family run brewery.

 

Arguing Bell's is overrated is one thing, but suggesting they could be "vastly overrated" is nonsense imo.

 

I prefer Founders Wild Ale to Bell's. Wait, nevermind, they don't make one. Viva Wild One and Raspberry Wild One.

 

wet-hopped IPAs fuckin suck anyway...honestly.

 

Fair enough. Harvest Ale is good stuff. Forgot about that.

 

Pretty close to what I said above. It's just that not everything they do is the high 80s and above which brings them down just a little bit. But then again it's nice they have a lot of variety so that brings them back up a notch.