Bell’s Batch 8,000 Ale

Bell’s Batch 8,000 AlePrice: $13.99 for six
Serving: 12 fl. oz., 1 bottle
Calories: 283
Alcohol: 9.00% ABV

*****

Bell’s Brewery says: Batch 8,000 is part of our commemerative series celebrating our progress with special brews. Our 8,000th batch is a special recipe to be brewed only once. It is a wheat ale spiced with Coriander, Orange Peel, and Paradise Seed. Best consumed fresh.

Joe says: Most breweries are somewhat hit and miss with their beers, but Bell’s is one of the few that, for me, consistently makes an enjoyable beer. Maybe there’s something special in the water out in Comstock, Michigan, or maybe Larry Bell just really knows what he is doing. Either way, Bell’s Batch 8,000 Ale is a once-in-a-lifetime event that certainly lives up to the quality that I have come to expect from Bell’s beers.

At 9% ABV, I was expecting this beer to zing like other similarly strong beers that I love (e.g. Bell’s Third Coast Old Ale). I was, however, pleasantly surprised by its smoothness—Batch 8,000 is so smooth that it almost drinks like a 5%. But be careful with this refreshing beer, because while it goes down easy, it still kicks like a kangaroo.

The combination of the coriander, orange peel, and witbier style gives Batch 8,000 a very autumnal flavor—it almost tastes like those dried apricots you see next to the raisins and dates in the supermarket. The actual taste probably sits somewhere in between Blue Moon (original) and Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale, but a bit stronger, beerier, and better. And, while it doesn’t approach the fruity blast of the delicious Pyramid Apricot Weizen, it hints at fruit just enough to make this the perfect compliment to a traditional US Thanksgiving turkey dinner.

At $13.99 for a case of six, the price is really the only factor that would rule out Bell’s Batch 8,000 as a staple beer for me. However, since this is a one-time limited release, I am going to buy some more while I still can—if I can track down a store that has any left.

October 1, 2007 | 6 Comments 
Filed Under Bell's, United States, Five Stars, Fat Free, Beer

Miller High Life

Miller High LifePrice: $3.69 for six
Serving: 12oz., 1 bottle
Servings Per Container: 1
Calories: 143 per serving
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 0%, 7mg
Protein: 1g
Carbohydrates: 4%, 13.1g
Fiber: 0%, 0g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 per bottle

***

Miller Brewing says: Miller High Life, the “champagne of beers,” is a timeless American beer dating back to 1903. Miller High Life is a classic American-style lager recognized for its consistently crisp, smooth taste, classic clear-glass bottle and its famous “Girl in the Moon” symbol. Miller High Life embraces its rich heritage and is positioned as a refreshingly authentic beer. For our target consumer, Miller High Life is a refuge for the real in an increasingly pretentious world. As the best beer value in America, we encourage our target consumers to “Take Back the High Life.”

We say: Right now Miller is running a campaign in which delivery men walk into Dean and Deluca look-a-likes and take all of the Miller High Life. They are the anti-delivery men and they are taking back the High Life from snooty stores.

As though they even sell the High Life there.

Why not take the Sarah Maclachlan music video guilt trip route and just say “Miller High Life: $3.69 for a six pack. And by not making a commercial we brought water to 7 African villages.”?

Yeah, that’s the whole ad campaign. Or don’t make ad campaign. Be like Trader Joe’s and make High Life the next 2-buck-Chuck, relying on word-of-mouth to boost sales. Oh wait, word of mouth campaigns rely on a product being good, whereas this beer is just cheap.

So, if you’re looking for a relatively cheap way to get drunk, pick up a six-pack of Miller High Life. You’ll seem semi-classy because it comes in bottles, though if you’re anal about recycling (like us) that will probably suck for you because you’ll be forced to put the bottles back in your messenger bag and take them home where they can be properly recycled.

Give us a break, we’re from Oregon.

[If you aren’t familiar with the Miller High Life Delivery Guys commercials, here’s the restaurant version:

We love the part where the delivery man scoffs at the $11.50 hamburger, saying “$11.50 hamburger, y’all must be crazy.” The first time around, we (being East Coast people) didn’t get it, thinking ‘Yeah, $11.50 is a bit much for a hamburger, but not if it comes with guacamole, cheddar cheese, bacon and a side of tater tots.’

Maybe these commercials aren’t for us. Maybe these commercials are for people who eat at What-a-burger, people who laugh at the idea of $11.50 hamburger, people who go apoplectic when they visit New York or L.A.]

September 1, 2007 | 2 Comments 
Filed Under United States, Miller Brewing, Alcohol, Fat Free, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Beer, Three Stars