Consecrator Doppelbock - Bell's Brewery, Kalamazoo

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.

This bottle of Bell's Consecrator pours a rich copper color with a dull brown tint to it. It's a cloudy beer with bits of unfiltered goodness suspended throughout. The head on the Consecrator is somewhere between minuscule to nonexistent. With no head and no lacing there's not a whole lot to look at when it comes to this beer. The aroma is far more exciting, with lots of caramel and Scotch Ale characteristics. There's definitely a caramel maltiness that one should expect to find in a "good" Doppelbock, but I wasn't expecting this to be so similar to a Scotch Ale. I'm not complaining at all, that's a style of beer I really enjoy.

The flavor of this Bell's Consecrator is much more bold than I was expecting. The flavors aren't far from what I was hoping to find, they're just stronger and more pronounced. Again, I mean that in a good way. The first thing you notice when this beer hits your tongue is that caramel Scotch Ale. It's a great flavor but something I've had a million times before in all of the Scotch Ales I drink. That being said, it hasn't gotten old at all. As this beer lingers on your tongue for a bit you increasing get a grainy, slightly bitter malted flavor that balances out that caramel sweetness and makes this beer more Doppelbock than Scotch Ale. All around, this is one delicious beer.

I would recommend this beer to anyone who enjoys a good Doppelbock or Scotch Ale. It's incredibly smooth and easy to drink considering the bold flavors and 8% ABV.