Bell's Le Contrebassiste
As the final & boldest in the series, Le Contrebassiste blends roasted & lightly smoked malts and is fermented with a special French ale yeast which lends its own distinctive aromatic notes. The beer’s namesake, The Double Bass is reflected in the deep, rich flavors that resonate in this unique offering.
3.5
158 reviews
Comstock, United States
Community reviews
On tap at CBC15. Deep reddish amber with off white head. Aroma is sweet, malty, tropical fruit, caramel, light tart, light acetic and some bready toffee notes. Taste is fruity, sweet, acetic, slight lactic, dark fruit and caramel.
Draught@CBC2015 (blue session). Amber colour, small white head. aroma is fruity, floral, some wooden and mildly herbal notes. Flavour is fruity, wooden, some tobacco and mild toffeeish notes.
May 1, 2015. On tap at CBC, Blue session.
Dark amber with a small creamy off-white head. Aroma is sweet malt and berries with toffee, raspberries, hints of banana, some spicy yeasty notes, earthy and citrus. Taste is smooth, ligth ot medium sweet, soft bitter, hints of berry and citrus tartness.
FInish is sweet berries and toffee, light earthy, herbal notes and hints of citrus.
Medium bodied, soft carbonation.
Quite good and easy drinkable.
Very good malty, biscuity, wood(?). Good shit. ---Rated via BeerBuddy for iPhone.
Light purpley reddish, light tan head. Sweet vinous, lightly tart raspberry. Slightest bit of earthy spice. Some oak. Pleasantly tart, sweet. Finishes substantially more dry, longish, clean. Medium body. Very good.
Aroma is sweet, tropical fruit, turns to vinegar and sour. Appearance is dark rust, off white head. Taste is fruity, sweet, dark fruit, not as sour as I’d like. Mouthfeel is thin, light carbonation. Overall, a little disappointing.
Pours a light purplish color with a thin tan ring. Aroma is somewhat faint with a tart fruitiness. Taste is semi-tart fruit but not as sour as the "Wild One" This is much smoother with a nice smoky earthy undertones surrounding the fruit. Very enjoyable but could have been a bit more sour or fruity to be better.
On tap at Bells on 8/7/15. Pours clear red with a thin off-white head. Malty nose with some butter and fruity sourness. Malt and butter flavor giving way to sour fruit before a creamy finish.
Draft @ CBC 2015. Pours a pale amber orange color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty spicy yeasty weak floral aroma. Fruity malty spicy yeasty weak bretty flavor. Has a fruity spicy yeasty finish.
Pours mostly clear amber with a beige head. Aroma is a bit dirty from the Brett with light funk and sweet malts and tea. Flavor has the light tartness with some sweet tea as well on a lighter but full body for the style.
CBC. Hazy brown with off-white head. Aroma is malt, fruit, caramel, yeast, spices and a little toasted. Flavour is malt, fruit, caramel, yeast, toasted, wood, hop and medium sweet.
Draft. Pours a brownish amber color. Aroma and taste are tart with fruit, some caramel, and some sweetness.
On tap: The aroma consists of light caramel, cola, fruit, and a touch of toasted nuts. It’s a mostly transparent dark orangish-brown with a small off-white head that eventually fades to a thin film outlined by a thick ring. There is some spotty lacing left on the sides of the glass. The flavor starts light caramel and cola flavors. There is some light sour cherry and toasted nuts in finish. It’s light-medium bodied with light-moderate carbonation.
I respect this beer, but it's not really my cup of tea. Has tons of dark fruit, caramel, and Belgian like yeast notes.
Draft at fireworks Arlington. Pours golden with a thin white head. Doesn't leave much lacing. Has a bit of a fruity note on the nose. A bit of sweetness on the tongue. Finishes clean. Solid but not spectacular.
Sample at Boulevardia 2015. Comes a somewhat cloudy reddish brown with a decent eggshell head. Aroma of malt, fruit, yeast, and spice. Taste is malt, caramel, fruit, berries, yeast, and spice. Different in a good way.
Multiple ~3 oz sample at the Boulevardia Taps & Tastes in Kansas City, Missouri. The pour is a slight haze copper brown with a small off white head. The aroma is dough, semi sweet caramel, nutty and a hint of roast/toast. The taste is very much the nose, a pleasant balance of the dough, nut and caramel malt along with a pleasant yeast floral herbal. Bit of the roast and toast in the finish. The palate is medium bodied, softer carbonation and the yeast floral roast finish. Different and fun beer.
Draught. This is a deep rich and tart BDG with a really well honed smokiness and refined nose.
Keg at the 4th Copenhagen Beer Celebration, Session 2, 01/05/2015.
Lightly hazed orange amber with a decent off white covering.
Nose is strawberry, tangy citric rind, berry fruit aroma, light spice.
Taste comprises strawberry jam, raspberry pips, lemon rind, damp hay, light spice, faint tropical vibes.
Medium bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close.
Decent.
From tap at CBC 2015. Dark amber colour with an off-white head. Arom and flavour of malt, fruit, hops, yeast and spice.
Pours a reddish brown with medium khaki head. Aroma has cherries and kiwi, some roasted malts and a bit of smoke. I ordered this in a restaurant, not knowing what style it might be, only that I didn’t like the sample of a beer named after a jazz organist, so I asked for the bass player instead. (Jimmy Smith made work tougher to find for bass players). Taste is fruity yet bitter, with some funky yeast. Body is medium with soft carbonation and an almost oily mouthfeel. I was looking for something different and unexpected and found it.
Healthy brown pour with a healthy red hue, half inch khaki head. Sweet aroma of kiwi. Sweet aroma of kiwi, light tart cherry, honeydew, deep sweet malt and lactose is barely detectable. Soft carbonation, mouthfeel slightly acidic and thin, tingly dry finish. Flavor of funky brett, accompanied by caramel/woodsy/light chocolate, a bit of tart cherry, grape, leather too. New favorite form Bells, what I would imagine wild one would taste like with some age on it.
Draught @ CBC 2015 [ Blue Session ]. - Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2015, Sparta Hallen, Gunnar Nu Hansens Plads 11, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
[ As Bells Le Contrebassiste ].
Clear medium amber orange color with a small to average, frothy to creamy, good to fair lacing, mostly lasting to diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, tart, moderate yeasty, saison yeast, butterscotch. Flavor is moderate sweet and light bitter with a average duration, caramel, yeasty - biere de garde - saison yeast - grain, tart notes. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20150501]
Tap@CBC 2015, Blue Session - fuzzy amber with white head. Sweet malty and fruity aroma and taste, caramel and some yeasty notes, grassy and floral.
Draft at Ei8ht Ball. Pours a cloudy, dull amber color with a small off-white head that eventually settles into a ring. Tons of funk throughout this, with earth, brown sugar, faint smoke, plum, flowers, mild spice, sweet malts, and slightly sour berries. Light-medium bodied, with moderate carbonation and a sweet, funky mouthfeel. Really unique.
CBC. Hazy amber with an off-white head. Aroma is sweet, malty, caramel and sour fruit. Flavor is quite sweet and light acidic. Dry and light acidic finish. 010515
On tap at Ei8ht Ball in Cincy/Kentucky: copper pour with thin light tan head and minimal stick. aroma of faint vinegar tart, yeast, maybe a touch smokey. tastes are sweet caramel, nutty, roasty, smokey. clean, even. palate is little on weak side. good overall. grew on me. 7.4
[5/1/15] Draught sample at Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2015. 2nd session. Amber-brown. Aroma of caramel, oak, fruitiness, pedio. Sourish-sweetish flavor with caramel, fruits, oak. Medium-bodied.
Tap @CBC2015
Ruby-brown color, good creamy off-white head. Strawberry fruity aroma, a bit cellary. Medium-bodied. Soft fruity beer, strawberries, some cellar.
Draught sample at CBC 2015. Amber orange colour with a thin, off-white head. Fruity aroma with toasted malts, light smoke, bread, caramel malts and a yeasty note. Taste is lightly sweet. Medium body with a creamy texture. Finishes dry and fruity with gentle smoke and yeasty notes. Okay.