I have sort of had a love/hate relationship with Bell’s Brewing the past few months. I’m a big fan of many of their beers (Expedition Stout, Two Hearted Ale, Best Brown), but the past few new brews I’ve tried from them have left me a bit perplexed.
Finally trying out their Cherry Stout after avoiding it for a while, I felt it was time to also try another one that I was skeptical of. Hell Hath No Fury is one of those beers that truly had me confused on each and every sip.
Billed as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Hell Hath No Fury comes across like a porter brewed with Belgian yeast strains. It’s definitely an interesting brew to say the least.
Appearance
The brew pours a dark, muddy brown with a large, short-lived dark tan head.
Aroma
Man, this one has a unique smell. There’s a roasted malt aroma giving the impression of a smoky porter, yet there’s also a belying Belgian sweetness and yeastiness that makes itself present with each wiff.
Taste
Well, if I wasn’t already confused with the aroma, the taste certainly threw me for a loop. I’m not sure if it was a bad bottle or if my palate was hosed, but this one came across a bit bizarre for me. It’s not that it tasted bad. It just was so different than what I expected that it literally confused me. The roasted malt came across a little too burnt and then throw in the Belgian flavors — my wife looked at me several times with that “are you okay” look.
Overall
Again, I didn’t not like this beer, but I didn’t really like it either. It’s mixture of flavors from different beer styles is perplexing, yet intriguing. I’m at an utter standstill. I don’t think I would buy it again, but I might just to make sure it wasn’t a bad bottle.
Rating: 3/5
