Bell's Brewery was started in 1985 by Larry Bell. Bell's holds the distinction of being the first brewery founded east of the Mississippi River since before Prohibition. I had the chance to meet Larry a couple years ago and he told me that he started out as a homebrewer, as is common among many craft brewers. When he first started commercial production, he was churning out beer from a 15 gallon soup kettle in his kitchen. Larry today is an icon in the beer world and can take a fair bit of responsibility for introducing the Midwest and eastern U.S. to great craft beer. After establishing a brewpub in Kalamazoo and a production brewery in nearby Comstock that has undergone several expansions, Bell's can easily call itself one of the largest regional players in the American beer market. Bell's is distributed widely in 18 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. While the eastern U.S. is nearly saturated, Bell's only footprint west of the Mississippi River is in Arizona. Their website indicates that they are presently capable of brewing 500,000 barrels per year (1 barrel = 31 gallons). This makes them among the largest craft breweries in the country. They have a solid lineup of great beers, available almost exclusively in six-packs. They are well known for their Oberon, a summer seasonal wheat ale, and for Two Hearted, their American IPA. While these two beers constitute a bulk of their sales, their most highly prized beers include their Expedition Stout, Hopslam, and The Oracle, my beer of choice tonight. They also produce a variety of imminently approachable beers, like their Amber Ale, Porter, Kalamazoo Stout, and Lager of the Lakes. Given that they produce high quality beers at reasonable prices while also maintaining a diverse portfolio that has a beer for everyone, it is easy to see why they are as successful as they are.
The Oracle is one of two Imperial/Double IPAs produced by Bell's. The other is Hopslam, which tends to overshadow The Oracle. Both beers are released once a year, The Oracle in August and Hopslam in January. I'm grateful that Bell's makes both, because it really illustrates the variation possible within a single style. Hopslam is massively citrusy and floral in its hop profile, with a more pronounced malt bill that includes a measure of honey. The Oracle is Bell's attempt at a West Coast style IPA; that is, a lean, dry, highly attenuated beer that makes the malt take a backseat to the hops. I also know that The Oracle's hop profile is different, mixing in piney hops with the citrusy hops. I've had both beers before. I've only had The Oracle two or three times, as its definitely trickier to find. I buy a couple six packs of Hopslam every year, as it is one of my most hotly anticipated yearly releases. There's an ongoing discussion about which is better. Hopslam generally receives better reviews on aggregating websites like Beeradvocate and Ratebeer, but The Oracle has a definite contingent of loyalists on its side. Having had both, I can't rightfully say one is better than the other. They are sufficiently different to warrant being respected in their own right. I will admit my bias from the outset: I know I like this beer. Here I will attempt to qualify and quantify exactly why.
The beer is presented in Bell's all too familiar 12oz bottle. While this format is great for most of their beers, there's a part of me that yearns for the pomp and circumstance of a 750ml cork and cage bottle when approaching a beer with this kind of reputation. The bottle reveals that this is the 11,324th batch of beer that Bell's has ever produced. A printed date indicates that the beer was bottled on Aug. 10, 2012. I appreciate this about Bell's - they bottle date every beer in easy-to-read dates without any cryptic numbering systems. Bottle dates are surprisingly rare in craft beer. I have, more than once, shied away from undated bottles when the freshness of the style, like an IPA, is paramount. Bell's further recommends a time frame in which you should enjoy each of their beers. The Oracle is rated for six months, though I prefer them as fresh as possible. Barely over two weeks is plenty fresh for me. The beer itself pours a vivacious orangey gold color with good clarity and an inch or so of creamy white head that gradually recedes to a quarter inch or so. Lacing appears abundant. Appearance: 13/15
My first whiffs of this beer are glorious. Clean, fresh, bright notes of citrus, pine, and newly cut grass dominate. Almost calls to mind a stroll through a meadow. Also dancing around in there is an unmistakable note of resin. Resin derives from the sticky core of the hop cone. Some highly hopped beers are more resinous than others. I pick up faint notes of alcohol, not burning, unpleasant, or solvent-like and certainly not fusel, but present and assertive nonetheless. More pine after the resin and alcohol. I do detect, buried in there, delicate notes of caramel and biscuit that comprise the malt profile, meager though it is. Nose: 24/25
Upon tasting this beer, I am reminded of why I knew I liked this beer. It is intensely evocative and has immediately transplanted me to the first time I had it, sitting outside at the Cock & Bull Pub in Covington, KY a couple years ago with a friend from high school. I instantly recall the sights, the sounds, the smells, even the conversation. What a special thing this beer has done. I taste more pine than the nose let on, backed by solid citrus, mostly grapefruit and some pineapple. Past experience reminds me that this beer is sweeter than some of its ultra-lean counterparts like Stone's Ruination, but in this moment, its pretty dry. Dry enough that I want to drink it faster than I should, given its quality and alcoholic heft at 10%abv. Traces of caramel and biscuit are there, I suspect the ubiquitous Crystal and Munich malts are the culprits there. The final impression after each mouthful has cascaded down my throat is of underlying bitterness, very apparent cohumulone presence. It leaves behind a marked astringency that, when paired with traces of alcohol and resin, means that the beer doesn't finish as clean on the palate as the nose would suggest. Palate: 47/50
The mouthfeel is mostly pleasant. Full, firm, well carbonated. Nothing especially unique here, just enough to get the job done. Mouthfeel: 9/10
OVERALL: 93/100
Okay, so this is a great beer. Anything rated above ninety is definitely worth checking out. Is it as good as Hopslam? Maybe not. I'll wait until January and do a proper review of Hopslam before rendering my verdict. What I do know is that this beer is a totally different animal than Hopslam. This combined with its greatness means you should check it out. If, however, you can't find it (very understandable) you can wait til Hopslam comes out as it typically has bigger allotments. This is, again, a really great beer. I recommend it thoroughly. Cheers!
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