Michigan

In terms of hype Bell's Hopslam is right up there with Pliny the Elder and Dark Lord. An important difference here is that Hopslam is actually available down the street from me, even if it sells out in a matter of hours. I've had both Pliny and Dark Lord and only one lived up to the hype. I could see myself happily standing in line for Dark Lord with a thousand other beer nerds. Pliny was a different story, it was good but I prefer a dozen similar style beers, I just didn't see what the big deal was. Pliny is similar in style to Hopslam so I was a bit hesitant to drop nearly $20 on a six pack, but here we are...

One of my favorite beers of 2010 was Bell's Batch 9000. It was a beer that tasted like nothing I'd had before. It was extremely rich, sweet and strong. I only had one six pack of the Batch 9000 and those bottles didn't last very long between sharing and my own gluttony, so it seemed like the 9,000 was gone before I got to fully appreciate it. I wanted more, but there simply wasn't any... Here we are, 8 months later, and Bell's final batch series beer is out on shelves. I jumped at the chance to get two six packs of the Batch 10,000 before it too was gone forever.

I try to a point of reviewing beers that I haven't had before, or at least I haven't drank many times before. Every once in a while though, a beer like Founders Breakfast Stout slips through. This is a beer I've had at least a dozen times, mostly bottled but I've had it on tap a handful of times. I first had this beer about a year and a half ago at a birthday lunch for a good friend of mine. I later went out and bought a few bottles, drank them and then eagerly awaited the return of Breakfast Stout this year. After drinking through a four pack of Breakfast Stout it finally occurred to me that I'd never done a formal review for this beer...

Stouts are great. I often find that my one complaint with Stouts are that they are a little too dark, too roasted and just too bitter for my tastes. What I like about the Cream Stout and Milk Stout styles are is the added lactose sugar really mellows out the big harsh malts. Bell's Double Cream Stout sounds like it could be the best idea since Left Hand Milk Stout if it really is twice as sweet or twice as creamy as some of the other Cream Stouts I've had before. I'm a little apprehensive because it is possible to have too much of a good thing, I'm not looking for a dark chocolate beer... I still want there to be plenty of Stout in this Double Cream Stout.

Bell's brews some pretty great beer. I can't think of anything from Bell's that I genuinely didn't enjoy. Then again, Bell's brews some expensive beer as well. So there are a lot of beers from Kalamazoo that just don't make it into my fridge. Each time I drink a pint of Bell's I think to myself, "I need to drink more of this, it's really quite good." For some reason though, I never follow through on it. This bottle of Consecrator Doppelbock, for example, has been sitting in the basement for a year. I haven't been waiting for a special occasion or anything, I've just been busy with other beers. Other beers that aren't as good as what I've had from Bell's.

I've had samples of Founders Dirty Bastard at several beer fests and tastings but I've never really bothered to bring home so much as a bottle. About two months ago I saw a couple bottles of Dirty Bastard sitting on the shelf of a build your own six pack section and figured it was time to give this beer a formal review. Recently I've been on the look out for more Scotch Ales and found this bottle sitting in my basement so I chilled it, poured it into a nice tall glass and here we are... Founders beer are a bit pricier than the competition so I tend to expect a bit more. Previous experience has taught me that Founders beers don't always meet those expectations, so I'm trying to keep an open mind with this Dirty Bastard.

Stouts can be hit or miss for me. Like most people, my first Stout was a Guinness. I thought it was too dry, too bitter, too... dark. I've grown to appreciate not just Guinness but more complex Stouts. There are still some that I find too dry or bitter, but when I find a Stout that has the perfect balance of flavors, it's like there's nothing better. When I first had New Holland's Dragon's Milk, it was a bit like that. I remember this beer having some really strong Stout flavors, but getting them balanced so well that nothing was overpowering or too harsh on your palate.

Founder's calls this beer a Triple IPA. Triple IPA isn't a generally accepted style of beer... it's part marketing and part one-upsmanship. Without waxing philosophical about beer styles I'll just leave it at this, you have IPAs and Double IPAs and that's it. If you start calling beer Triple or Quadruple IPAs then where does it end? A 60% ABV beer that's arbitrarily called a Septuple IPA? It's ludicrous. But I digress. Founder's Devil Dance is a Double IPA that's been pampered with hops until it has reached 12% ABV. That's no small feat for any beer really, considering most double digit ABV beers are usually Stouts.

Founders beers are like cranberries or goose, I only consume them on special occasions. These beers aren't available at every liquor store in these parts and they're quite pricey... almost prohibitively so. I've had a good time with the Founders Breakfast Stout so it seemed like a given that I'd enjoy the Kentucky Breakfast Stout. The one thing that turned me off about the KBS is that it's barrel aged. It seemed like every specialty beer I had this spring was barrel aged... so after a while they all started to taste alike. So I decided to wait about a month before having my first KBS, hoping that my fondness for barrel aging would return...

Everyone I've ever talked to about Bell's beers has nothing but nice things to say about them. Their beers have been hit or miss with me... I've not has a beer from Kalamazoo that I've hated but there are been plenty which have been forgettable. When I first hear about the Batch 9000 I was intrigued. First because this beer was a limited release to commemorate the 9,000 batches of beer brewed at Bell's, but also because it was brewed with molasses and licorice... that's something you don't drink every day.