Bell's Batch 5000 Ale
Bell’s Batch 5000 Ale is a smoked strong ale, brewed to celebrate Kalamazoo Brewing Company’s 5000th batch. It is brewed with 26 % German, beechwood-smoked malt. It is very lightly hopped which showcases the rich caramel tones of the malt body that balances the assertive smoke flavor throughout. Batch 5000 would be a wonderful pairing for robust cheeses, sausages and smoked salmon. While drinkable now, Batch 5000 has an ageing potential of several years. The interplay of flavors will mature and develop subtly with time. Avoid any extreme temperatures, and keep at a cellar temperature below 65 °F. Single Batch Release - January, 2002 only.
Re-brewed for Bells 30th Anniversary in 2015
Re-brewed for Bells 30th Anniversary in 2015
3.7
245 reviews
Comstock, United States
Community reviews
My notes on this beer are primarily on speed dongs and fast fallacies. This seemed to have held up remarkably well though. Consumed mid 2011. Some doughy molasses and high meat smoke. Though smoke character seems to have faded. Good. Wish I could have tried this fresh, but I was even younger and stupider back then.
Bottle courtesy of ryan. Clear orange-yellow pour with very little carbonation. Tons of smoke on the nose with notes of toasted caramel. Flavor has a light sweetness and is meaty, almost with the flavor of miso. Smokiness throughout with a bitter finish.
355mL thanks to ryan. The pour is a flatter, clear, deep amber. Yellow bubbles. Nose is toffee, caramel, miso soup and seaweed. Lots of savory miso soup (odd). Taste is savory with big miso soup, mild smoke, ash, orange mint, sweeter toffee. Very soft smolder. Not too smokey in that sense. Comes across much more as a soft smolder atop olderbarleywine.
Bottle courtesy of ryan, thanks! Bright and clear amber brown, no head. Aroma of cigars and cigarettes. Taste starts sweet than rapidly sets itself on fire and smoulders. Fascinating.
12 oz. bottle from drewbeerme- thanks again, Andrew! The pour depends on what part of the bottle you get- the first half is a clear cola brown and the second half is a super muddy brown, neither of which have any head to speak of. Aroma of smoke, cream, caramel malts, rusted metal, and pork. Flavor of smoked pork, cream, caramel malts, fruit, and tons and tons of brown sugar. Smoky, sweet, milky mouthfeel with no carbonation and a medium body. Weird beer, and wonder what this would have been like closer to January 2002. Still glad to try it.
Pours department ruddy brown. Nose is light smoke and malt. Flavor goes more To the smoke side, like a camp fire with dried fruit.
Shared by drewbeerme at RBSG. Pours a deep and murky auburn brown with wispy head. Nose is sweet and caramel with some smoke in the distance. Light soy notes and cocoa as well. On taste, completely different experience. The smoke hangs on strong with a great campfire note that goes well with the robust caramel notes. I can’t believe this is 6.5 years old and still going strong. Perhaps on its way downhill, but phenomenal nonetheless.
Some awesome person poured some of this into my glass at RBSG 2010. Pours a dark reddish brown with some semblance of head. Very cool to try this. Aroma is still smokey, surprisingly, after all this time. A bit of sweet malt, maybe some cherry. Flavor is meat and liquid smoke. Really surprised it’s still smokey because I’ve always thought that smoked beers lose the smoke quickly. This is pretty nice. Obviously, not as great as it must have been so many years ago, but still. Wow. Awesome beer.
Sampled on tap at RBSG ’10 (Grand Rapids, MI). Pours a nice murky rusty brown, fairly opaque, some lighter edges, small carbonation. Dies to near nothing. Aromas are decent smokiness, biscuit, cherry wood. A decent saltiness and cured meats. Initial is fairly smokey and salty, a good biscuty malt with toffee, malty sweetness anf cherry wood and smokey meat smoke. Not bad, a decent oxidation sends it for the worse and a touch of bandaids follows through. A touch of biscuity mellow, Ok, the smoke is still bringing the power, but the beer itself appears to be past it’s peak. Smoked beers are definitely a secret love though and wins it a point or two overall. Cheers.
Not sure who was kind enough to open this at the 2010 RBSG Grand Tasting but thanks a ton! Poured a dark cloudy brown with a small grayish brown head that dissipated to the edges. Aroma was full of smoked malts with dark grains a bit of a jerky note. Flavor started out reserved with dark grains with smokey notes really grow to a very smokey finish and after taste. Definitely some smoked meats come out in this.
The Dan Journal #343. Tasted 4/1/10. 12oz bottle. Filtered with a lively body. Webbed off-white head. Aromas of sweet malts and smokey raisins. Lotta dark dried fruits. Big burn in the nostrils. Full bodied and totally sweet. Mild effervescence and a thick body. Dried fruit. The great smokiness really blends well with the alcohol burn. Lingering sticky finish. Still good after all these years. Tasted as part of a 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000 verticle!
poured with a tan head, slightly hazy dark amber; lace. aroma smoke dark ripe fruit, one of the best smoke/rausch beers i’ve ever had. balanced with body and a little sweetness. not sure on the alcohol. nice finish considering the huge flavor. big beer! not a session beer.
Amber pour. Aroma is smoky as hell with some bacon notes and bandaids. Flavor is really sweet with a good smoked bacon flavor profile. This one showed no signs of oxidation at all.
Bottle 12fl.oz. @ home.
[ Trade by Bobby91w ]. Unclear dark red amber color with a average, frothy - fizzy, good lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is light heavy malty, smoke - meat, modrate caramel, dark berry - raisin. Flavor is moderate to heavy plum - raisin sweet and moderate to heavy rubber - peat smoked bitter with a long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. Normal i like very much smoked beers but this was strange ! [20090816]
Bottled. A hazy amber beer with a thin white head. The aroma has notes of malt and caramel as well as light notes of smoke. The flavor is sweet with notes of malt and smoke from beech wood, as well as notes of over ripe fruits and alcohol, leading to a dry finish where the alcohol tickles the tongue. Thank a million CaptainCougar for coming to Denmark and bringing this - I’m really happy to try one of the other rare examples of a smoked BW, but I think Ungstrup’s Reserve is the better...
Bottle at Papsø’s - Thanks to CaptainCougar. Cloudy red/brown - white head. Caramel, fruity, nice light smokey, lovely smooth body, sweetness, bacon, sticky body, light syrup, toasted, light roasted.
Pours a cloudy dark brown with just a thin layer of head on top. Aroma is indeed smoky, with sweet malts in the background. Flavor is mostly of honey and malt, with a little bit of smoky liquid meat marinade. Sticky mouthfeel and finish. Overall, good minus.
Hazy orange with a tiny beige head. Sweet and smoked aroma with toasted malt, caramel and overrripe fruits. Very sweet flavour with loads of smoke, caramel, malt and peated malt. Finished seriously smoked.
12 fl oz bottle, courtesy of CaptainCougar. Pours hazy dark orange to brown with a small off-white head. Aroma is dry overripe fruity and with a mild smoked note. Beechwood smoked flavoured, dry and mild acidic flavoured. Dry and bitter flavoured finish.
Bottle 35,5 cl. Courtesy of CaptainCougar. Cloudy reddish brown with a small off-white head. Distinct aroma of Bamberg smoke and caramel. Solid body, low in carbonation, sweet notes of caramel and chocolate with a hoppy finish. The smokiness really shines through. 300809
Special thanks to Northernbrews for hooking up the Bell’s 4000-8000 tasting. All great brews. This one still had a good bit of smoke and ash to go with a little oxidation and some malts. Still a nice beer to sip on.
Gift from a friend. Thanks Trevor!Obviously this one has lost the smokieness with its age. A light light oxidation is present as well. It seems to have taken on an almost barleywine look and taste. Caramel and brown sugar dominate leaving a light alcohol burn. Still, this is not bad.
So this fool is now over seven years old? Awesome--thanks Bobby! I’ve had this a few times before at tastings, but never have entered the ratings--I do remember liking it quite a bit, though. Clear brownish copper with a small beige head, low retention. The aroma still has a pretty good amount of smoke--campfire and smoky salty meats--, but now there’s getting to be a fair amount of oxidation as well, that even a year or so ago, I don’t remember. Also, a little alcohol is present. The flavor still has some oxidation, but the sweet caramel malts seem to mask it somewhat. Full body with light soft carbonation. Not quite as good as I remember, but then again, it is over seven years old. My original ratings had this much closer to a 4.0
Aroma seems to have more smoke than the taste. Taste is smooth and sweet with just the right amount of bitternesss with the smoke. Nice smoke beer for me.
I thought I should rate this since I have been drinking this for the last three years and am down to my last bottle that will be in a vertical tasting when the 9000 comes out. poured dark brown no head. aroma still has that wonderful smoke, malts, still get the caramel, and some hops. flavor This has just the right amount of smoke sort of like sitting around a campfire, dark fruits and malts did not get the hops.
Bottle. This beer has stood up incredibly well for being almost seven years old. Cloudy orange-brown body with next to no head, but what is there is tan. The aroma is filled with leather, smoke, bacon and tart cherry. Hints of molasses, bread, barnyard and alcohol. The flavor is moderately sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes slightly sour/tart with some alcoholic warming. Thin to medium body, watery texture and little carbonation. Reading posts from 2002, many found this beer to be overly sweet and I did not see any mention funkiness. The overt sweetness is now muted and there is definitely a funky smell and taste that is accentuated by the smoke. Different and enjoyable. Thanks SpudClampDawg.
Bottle. Obviously, I am pretty excited about this. Not every day you get to try a 6 year old bottle of something special. I have been putting this off for a while, kind of like I did not want to ruin the occasion or have a big let down. A slight hiss as the cap is removed lets me know it has not gone completely bad and is a little reassuring. Bottle releases a cloudy brown liquid with very little head and sweet brown sugar and caramel aromas. A little bit of oxidation is noticeable and I hope it will not ruin things. I’m guessing this is a shadow of its former self after 6 years, but it still has a pretty good brown sugar and caramel malt presence with quite a bit of dark fruit to make it interesting. A little bit of tartness and a little bit of a salty smokiness are present, but seem to have faded. This is fairly reminiscent of an English barley wine in terms of flavor and texture, and considering how long this has aged it is a darn fine beer.
12oz bottle from either Dukefan or Amorphiss -where are ya, kid?-..... pours a mostly opaque burnt caramel brown with a thin wispy light beige head that i wish would have lasted longer.... aroma of smoke and ash mostly and softer caramel malts .... flavors starts off on a salty note which i really havent tasted before and then the under-rooted caramel notes iintermingle fades, and then the smoke makes its way back in. lightly carbonated and perhaps could have used a little more body.
Courtesy SoLan. Hazy ruddy brown color, virtually no head. Very light smoke aroma, sweet caramel malts, mild signs of oxidation, but overall a nice aroma. Rich sweet caramel malts, mild smoke apparent, mild twang on the finish.
Courtesy MI2CA. Brown. Small tan head. Nose of an old english barleywine with some smoke. Smells great. Same flavor. Great malt complexity with a healthy dose of smoke. Medium to medium/full body, balanced carbonation. Awesome brew, would have loved to try it fresh.