Batch 10,000 Ale is an American Strong Ale from Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery. Brewed to commemorate Bell’s 10,000 batch of beer, this 9.2% ABV beer is one time only drinking experience.
Batch 10,000 reflects our homebrewing roots and was inspired by the last homebrew of the season. Our owner Larry Bell remembers going through his brewing supplies and making the last homebrew out of whatever malts and hops were left from his brewing months. With this being the motivation behind our last commemorative batch series beer, we combed through the catalogs of many malt and hop suppliers to source 100 different malts, grains, and other fermentables. This is balanced by the addition of 60 different hop varietals between the kettle and dry hopping. The resulting beer presents a deep, chocolate brown hue and offers roasted and caramel notes from the malts mixed with an assertive hop character. Feel free to drink it fresh, or vintage age it as you please.
*Let me start by saying that I don’t think it’s necessary to write out the title of this beer every time I need to reference, so from this point on I’m going to refer to it as 10k.*
10k pours a dark brown with cola highlights. Head is a 1/2 inch of foamy cream like chocolate milk. Lacing rings the entire glass.
The nose is that of floral hops, oak, dark chocolate and booze. Considering I didn’t know what style of beer this was when I drank it, after smelling it I guess it was a bourbon-barrel aged IPA. After doing some internet research I discovered that 10k is an American Strong Ale.
Wow, this is a unique beer! Chocolate powder (like Nestle’s Quik) comes first, then hops, before finishing with bourbon-soaked wood. I kept getting flavors that made me think of off-brand cherry cola. When it warmed I got tastes that reminded me of Vick’s Cherry Cough Syrup.
Mouthfeel is medium-to-thick and definitely syrupy. There’s also a noticeable bubbly/creaminess present.
I didn’t know what to expect from this beer, but I was pleasantly surprised. Flavorful and unique, Batch 10,000 Ale is a great way to celebrate a milestone!
Overall: 8 out of 10
As an AMERICAN STRONG ALE: 8.5 out of 10
FOR FANS OF: Stone ARROGANT BASTARD, Lagunitas BROWN SHUGGA’, Dogfish Head IMMORT ALE,
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