Bell's Brewery: Amber Ale

Now that I'm back settled into my little apartment in Philly, it's time to get back to enjoying some of the perks of east coast life, which means a whole new slate of beers to try that we don't usually find out west. For my first pick of the new (and final) school year, I went with a new beer from a brewery that's already proved itself: Bell's Amber Ale.

Bell's does not get props for their naming scheme with this one. Apparently unable to think of a clever moniker for their self-proclaimed flagship, they settled on pure unadulterated generica. But while the name may be a bit uninteresting, the brew itself fares much better.

Whereas most amber ales are marked by pronounced malts and hops (think fat tire, boont), Bell's decided to back off on the hops and really bring out a big malty body. However, the malts tend more towards sweet than smokey, and the beer is pretty well carbonated, which means that Bell's offering in this category is still much lighter tasting than a brown. There's an almost floral bitterness running through the beer that lingers on the tongue for quite a while.

Overall, this is definitely a solid offering, though I would have preferred a bit more hops. Definitely one to check out if you are one to go for big mats, especially sweeter malts.