Miasmatic Review

Bell's Christmas Ale.

This review is a couple of weeks late. I meant to do it on Christmas day, but time got away from me. So I’ll be doing it tonight. Bruce donated this beer. He, like Petey, is trying to get a second enabler glass. Tonight I review Bell’s Christmas Ale from Bell’s Brewery Inc in Comstock, MI.

It came in a standard 12 oz brown bottle. The label has a picture of a field with a lone Christmas tree on it. The company’s logo is above the tree. On the back label there is a brief description of the beer.

The color is a nice rich amber. It has haziness to it of an unfiltered beer. After a while the beer starts to become clearer. Light passes through easily. When poured into a glass a thin off-white head forms. It fades quickly to a film on the top of the beer. There is some lacing.

Roasted malts give the scent a slight biscuity hint. There is an indiscernible fruit scent. The scent is pretty week and makes identifying the individual components that bring the nose together. The taste starts off with caramel malt and a hint of bread flavor. There is a good level of citrus hops that compliment the rest of the flavors. Due to the nature of the beer, there is also a slight yeastiness to it.

This is a medium bodied beer with a nice level of carbonation. Very easy to drink.

I found this to be a pleasant beer to drink. It’s supposed to be a Scottish Style ale, but it doesn’t have a lot of the characteristics associated with one. I enjoyed it, but it isn’t something I’d go out of my way to get. Then again I could see this being a good anytime beer. I give it 5.5 out of 10.