Kitchen Table Beer Diary #1 - Gina and Mike

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout


The likelihood of me ever buying this was pretty much at nill - Leinenkugel is the brand you pass over at the grocery store on your way to buying Sierra Nevada or New Belgium - so when Gina picked it up off the shelf at Stoney's (recommended if only to be surprised at what's on the shelf) I had to wonder what was up. In any case, I'll try anything.

Big Eddy is one of those deep dark no-light-getting-through-this sort of stouts, with a thin little head and a nose that goes off the deep end of chocolate right into cough medicine. When cold, the beer doesn't reveal all that much, really - a thin front leads way to a bitter chocolate middle and a lingering sweetness, but all told it's not exactly a huge flavor. Once warm the beer opens up a little bit, revealing a smoky touch and a hint of gameyness. A little more warmth brought out a hint of banana and maple syrup in the nose.

You might have read all that and thought "there's a lot going on in there", but actually the beer just sort of falls flat. It's not that it's a bad beer by any means, but there's not enough of any of those elements to make it stand out. I'm not sure I need a four pack in my fridge. But it's there anyway.

I picked this up because I remembered reading good things about it. And for under $12 a four pack, I thought "why not?"

We poured this pretty cold so the nose was completely metallic. It turned more to caramel and smoked malt once it warmed up a bit. It also had a strong aroma of booze, which ended up being somewhat deceptive to the actual flavor. The mouthfeel was full and the flavor was smoked malt with a slight citrusy tinge.

In the end, the price point is nice, but I can't say I'll be seeking it out.

Bell's Batch 9000


Seven months on this since release, and rumor has it that this is getting better with age. Deep brown, thin head, and a big brandy nose lay in wait. The first most striking thing about the beer is its mouthfeel, a silky smooth almost syrupy gift that's a pleasure to drink. There's a sweetness throughout, with more brandy flavors: caramel and a hint of oak, combined with hints of fudge and a rich raisiny sweetness.

This is indeed drinking well right now, I recommend a bottle at room temperature if you kept any. But I'll remind you that this is still a big rich beer - perhaps best shared with a friend.

This is drinking really excellent now. The fizzy pour is the only indication of a head and that goes away rather quickly. The nose is bright and full of wonderful bourbon and caramel scents as well as the ones that Mike mentioned. The sediment in the glass and the sharp, sweet flavors are all that's left after the beer is gone. I would love to see what this would be like as a glaze over some pot roast, but I am not willing to give up the remaining bottles I have.

Bell's Batch 10000


After the hype and wait that surrounded the release of Batch 9000, you might expect Batch 10000 to be an even bigger and better beer than its predecessors. That certainly looked to be the case with its list of 42 million ingredients, but at first sniff the nose seems less impressive. Of course any beer that uses 90 hops (seriously) should have some sort of hoppy nose, and 10000 provides a poutpouri of citrus notes - more muddled than individualized. Following up with sips proves that the nose isn't lying - what we have here is a sort of found object collage in a glass.

The beer is a mess, really, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing - there are repeated hints of orange and salty Worcestershire, smokey malt and peat - let's be honest, I can almost say anything here and you'd have a hard time making an argument against it.

There's no way that Bell's could have had any idea what they'd get with this beer, and the end result shows. There's a reason you don't throw everything in the brew supply shop in a beer. Having said that, the beer does drink remarkably smooth, and actually rewards repeated sipping. I urge you to find out for yourself. You certainly aren't going to have anything else like this any time soon.

The aroma of this is strong with hops, orange zest, and a scottish-style malt base. The flavor is heavy in citrus and cut wood characters. I cannot wait to see how this one ages. With the list of ingredients, it will be fun to see how the flavors change over time. There are a ton of hops in here, but as this ages and the hops fall out, it will be interesting to see what direction the other ingredients will take the beer. Unfortunately, with the limited supply being made available here, it may be difficult to get that opportunity.

KOTBR #101 - Bell's Batch 9000 and Friends

I don't know if you've heard, but Bell's Brewery has brewed a couple batches of beer. A couple THOUSAND batches of beer. Make that NINE thousand batches of beer.

Anheuser-Busch might snicker at that total, but count me impressed. I've brewed a few batches of homebrew and every single one is a bitch. Ok, fine, maybe it isn't a that bad, but I'm sure as shit never getting to 1000 batches.

It's a good thing Bell's is prolific so I don't have to be. Every time Larry Bell and his crew reach the magic threshold of one thousand batches, they mark the occasion by brewing a one-off Commemorative Brew creatively named for its batch number. Hence we have the Bell's Batch 1000s series.

I've been holding onto some of these Batch 1000s beers for several years -- no, I haven't had Batch 5000 in my possession for 8 years -- and I might have opened some earlier had I not expected an impending release of Batch 9000. You might recall that I made a logical, bullet-proof prediction about the release date for Batch 9000. I was only off by a full year.

Having finally, mercifully come to the release date of Batch 9000, I've been able to open up my stash of Bell's Batch 1000s beers.

Batch 5000
Style: Old Ale
Release Date: February 2002
ABV: 9%

Strange is about the best word I can use to describe this beer. The nose emitting from the glass is of alcohol and smoke. The taste goes from sweet to sour to sweet again in one fell swoop. The mouthfeel is mostly warming with a bit of puckering astringency. Though not necessarily my favorite of the verticals, it was amazingly complex and I am happy to have had the opportunity to try it after such a long time in storage.

Chris: 4.15 Mugs | Rod: 2.3 Mugs | Jason: 2.75 Mugs | Mike: 4.2 Mugs | Gina: 2.5 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.18000 Mugs


Batch 6000
Style: American Barleywine
Release Date: October 2003
ABV: 10.5%

The year 2003 was a big year for sequels. The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Terminator, X-men, Bad Boys... all of these movies had sequels in 2003 that captured 6 of the top 10 movie slots for the year. Now money isn't everything, so you can argue about the artistic success of these sequels. But it goes to show: we love a sequel.

So it's not surprising that people go ga-ga over verticals. They return again and again to see how things have changed since the last installment. Technically, this beer is the 5,999th sequel in Bell's long running series, but we're focusing just on the thousands. So I was happy to find that Batch 6000 was nothing like Batch 5000, which tasted like leftover Chinese restaurant beef in a bottle.

Batch 6000 is a barleywine. It had a tart, sweet nose that gave just a hint as to what you were in for with this beer. Butterscotch. Caramel. A bit of chocolate and dark fruits. It was thick, like a syrup. It didn't have the alcohol heat that you would expect from a 10.5% ABV beer, but I'm guessing that is what 7 years of aging will do. For me, this was the best of the evening's sequels.

Chris: 3.6 Mugs | Rod: 2.0 Mugs | Jason: 4.06 Mugs | Mike: 2.70 Mugs | Gina: 3.4 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.15000 Mugs

Batch 7000
Style: American Double/Imperial Stout
Release Date: September 2005
ABV: 12%

When a beer gets this old, there's a pretty good chance something is going to go wrong with it. The question is "did this go wrong in a good way?"

Batch 7000 is a dark brown beer, with minimal lacing. Notes of boulion, wet dog, molasses, and pretzel are evident in the front and middle, with a finish that jumps up with grassy and earthy and still hoppy flavors. Mouthfeel is chewy, and the beer still has quite a bit of alcohol heat. This might be a candidate for further aging.

I have no frame of reference for how this beer started, but I know it's pretty good right now. And if it's gone wrong, it's also gone right. 4.35 Mugs.

Gina: 3.00 Mugs | Chris: 3.27 Mugs | Rod: 3.0 Mugs | Jason: 3.7 Mugs | Mike: 4.35 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.46000 Mugs

When you've got a lineup this motley,
you need a board to keep it all straight.
Batch 8000
Style: Witbier (according to Beer Advocate), Wheatwine (according to Bell's rep Veronica)
Release Date: July 2007
ABV: 9%

The Bell's 8000 Batch received a bit of negative fallout in the beer community because of the explicit warning to drink this beer fresh. Many people like anniversary beers to be big and able to stand the test of time. Despite this trend, Bell's brewed a Belgian Wit for the 8000 Batch that leaned toward the imperial side.

Throwing caution to the wind, Chris decided to age this one anyway and I'm glad he did. This beer developed into a sweeter, complex Belgian treat. The smell brought to mind a hybrid of Tripel and Wit with the familiar qualities of coriander, orange, pepper and lemon zest topped off with sweet honey. This beer definitely lived up to what its aroma advertised, maintaining all of the expected fruits and spices but with a pleasantly spicy cinnamon finish.

Maybe it wasn't designed to be aged, but it has certainly held up well. I think I enjoyed the aged variety more than I did when it was fresh. 3.7 mugs

Mike: 4.37 Mugs | Gina: 3.3 Mugs | Chris: 3.9 Mugs | Rod: 3.7 Mugs | Jason: 3.68 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.79000 Mugs

Bell's Batch 9000: HBG Tested, Mother Approved.
Batch 9000
Style: American Strong Ale
Release Date: February 2010
ABV: 12.5%

For all the time we've waited for Bell's to release this beer, the table seemed to agree that Batch 9000 is not quite ready. But what the hell, we're here to review beer.

This beer is the brand new baby in the series. And, my god, this baby is hot, sweet and thick! The smell is of dark fruit and brown sugar (no doubt from the molasses used in this brew), with a hint of coffee. Licorice comes through in the taste, along with toffee and raisins. It finishes on the dry side with a slight alcohol burn that lingers.

Batch 9000 is a huge beer and, like its brethren, should age well for years and years. But don't let that stop you from trying a bottle now!

Mike: 3.1 Mugs | Gina: 3.3 Mugs | Chris: 3.4 Mugs | Rod: 3.9 Mugs | Jason: 3.49 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.44000 Mugs


As of April 7th, the most recent batch in Bell's online system is Porter. It was packaged March 26th and is considered Batch 9645 -- only 355 batches to go until Bell's next Commemorative Brew!

Bell's Batch 9000 Release Date

Don't get too excited, I don't have any official information about Bell's next 1000 batch celebration beer. I've just decided to simultaneously wear my beer geek hat and my regular geek hat while attempting to determine when Bell's Batch 9000 might come out.

As you may know, every bottle of Bell's beer contains a batch number on the bottom of the back label. If you take that batch number and head over to Bell's webpage, you can enter that number (top-left corner) and figure out exactly when that beer was bottled. Using this system, we can make a pretty good guess as to when Batch 9000 will come out. Here are some bottling dates we can get out of the system right now:

Batch 8000 -- July 26, 2007
Batch 8750 -- September 17, 2008 (Porter)
Batch 8769 -- September 30, 2008 (Two Hearted Ale, most recent batch in the system)

The number of days between batch 8000 and 8750 is three-quarters of the way to batch 9000, so if we assume that they will continue bottling at the same rate we can make a guess for Batch 9000. There were 419 days between batches 8000 and 8750, so there will be about 559 days between batches 8000 and 9000. 559 days from July 26, 2007 is February 4th, 2009, the approximate bottling date for Batch 9000.

Now that we've got a birthday for Batch 9000 what special recipe do you think/hope Larry Bell will use for this batch?