KOTBR Review #17: Bell's Hell Hath No Fury Ale

The Knights of the Beer Roundtable met up on Indy's better (south) side with special guest Jim Schembre of World Class Beverages to check out the amazing selection of beers on tap at Shallos. My notes said it well enough: "I'm overwhelmed."

Chris got lost on the way to reviewing the Hell Hath No Fury thanks in part to Shallos' amazing selection and the 21% ABV of his warm-up beer, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. He added " I'll give it 5 mugs based on ABV, but I can't really remember what it tastes like!"

Jim safely made his way to the Hell Hath No Fury, which he gave a 4 mug rating: "It's dark brown in color with a fruity nose.... aroma I got was a slightly spicy, raisiny one... I expected the Fury to have a little bite to it. But to my surprise, the Fury is quite drinkable."

Jason lauded Shallos selection, thought up a new name for the Hoosier Beer Geeks, and agreed with Jim in giving a four mug rating: "I think there were plenty of roasted malt scents, like coffee, chocolate, caramel, and the like... in a way, it smelled like a chocolate-covered orange... Bittersweet. With a little bit of spice. And I found some clove after the beer is swallowed... I was surprised with how creamy smooth it was, making it easy to swallow. Makes me think of a nice porter."

Kelly was last to weigh in - she was too busy being a successful human being. But after all the bragging she shared her thoughts and gave the Hell Hath No Fury 3.5 mugs: "Wow... totally opaque, very thin head that dissipated almost instantly... could smell the toasty, malty smell before I even got my nose near the glass... I was expecting a pretty bracing and snappy beer. Not so with this one... it went down smoothly with a lot of coffee, caramel, and a bit of spice and fruit... this beer... was the perfect thing for me on a happy spring evening. I give it 3.5 mugs, with another .5 mug for the completely awesome server who name-dropped with me about people we both knew from my hometown."

All the Geeks wish to again extend our thanks to Jim Schembre of World Class Beverages, who bought us a round, and taught us about the business side of craft brew distribution in Indiana. For more about that, and further pearls of wisdom like you've come to expect from the Knights, click on the individual reviews.

The Exciting Ride to Hell

Thanks to a couple of exciting pieces of news last Thursday afternoon (new car! promotion! gratuitous use of exclamation points!), I arrived at Shallo's a bit bouncy and a bit behind schedule. I settled in quietly with a Brooklyn Brewery 2006 Winter Ale (the warm-up beer of choice, it appeared) while Jim Schembre of World Class Beverages gave an incredibly interesting discussion about the mechanics of craft beer distribution here in Indiana.

I'll admit, I'm next to clueless when it comes to the technical aspects of craft beer. I know what I like, I'm lucky enough to have easy access to it (thank you, Hop Shop!) and my friends are all pretty well versed in the good beer realm. But Jim's statistics on precisely how much of a death grip the Bud/Miller/Coors trifecta has on our state were eye-opening. Thanks to folks like World Class Beverages, though, the market hold is shrinking and more people are starting to be exposed to the good stuff. Easy does it, I suppose.

So back to the (yeah, I'll say it) exciting stuff: the beer! My Brooklyn Winter Ale was a bit underwhelming. I was expecting more of a spicy, wassail-type nose. Unlike Jason, I like that type of thing. :) And like Jim, I was expecting a little more... something... to make it rival the other BB brews I've had in the past.

After finishing up the discussion with Mr. Schembre (and scoping the awesome calendars he gave us!), we settled in for a round of the Bell's Hell Hath No Fury Ale.

Wow.

The dark glass I was handed was certainly not what I was expecting-- totally opaque, very thin head that dissipated almost instantly. I could smell the toasty, malty smell before I even got my nose near the glass, so like Jim, I was expecting a pretty bracing and snappy beer. Not so with this one-- it went down smoothly with a lot of coffee, caramel, and a bit of spice and fruit.

It's no secret that I'm a fan of the malty-type beers, and haven't yet garnered the appreciation for the hoppy end of the spectrum like my KOTBR counterparts. So this beer, with its drinkability, it's unusual taste and distinctive smell, was the perfect thing for me on a happy spring evening. I give it 3.5 mugs, with another .5 mug for the completely awesome server who name-dropped with me about people we both knew from my hometown.

Now that's exciting!

Shout out to GBS

Just wanted to quickly say thanks to JeffreyT at the Good Beer Show - our award-winning, podcasting, beer geek compatriots up in Muncie - for putting up our new logo on their site.

FYI, JeffreyT and I are trying to find a mutual good date for us to do another cross-collaboration up in Muncie. We'll let you know when we have something worked out.