Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

I will start this review off by saying I am a huge IPA fan.  Overall, the IPA style seems to be the ideal outdoorsy beer.  IPAs provide a nice punch (higher alcohol content) relative to volume than most other styles, and for some reason IPAs seem to taste better lukewarm than almost any other type of beer.  That is what drew me to the Two Hearted in the first place.  That, plus the slogan written on the can – “Well suited for adventurous trips to the Upper Peninsula”.  SAY NO MORE!

At somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 for a 4-pack of 16 oz cans, this is not the cheapest beer you will ever take on an outdoor adventure (unless this is the only beer you ever take on an outdoor adventure…which it should be!), but the cost is well worth the delicious beer inside.  I also LOVE the fact that these cans are 16 oz instead of the standard 12.  When I am camping with beer (which is always), I feel like 12 oz is not enough but 24 oz is far too much.  A sixteen ounce can is the “Baby Bear” of sizes because it just feels oh so right.  The fact that a 16 oz can towers over lesser meeker cans, much like a Sasquatch, is just icing on the cake.

As far as taste goes, I like the fact that this has a more mild taste than many other IPAs, which lends itself to sharing (a good thing?).  The beer goes down smooth and crisp and is the perfect complement to any number of Sasquatch Family Favorite trail meals.  The only complaint I have with this beer, as I almost certainly would with any IPA, is the dry feeling you get in your mouth after drinking it.  A little water solves that issue splendidly.  For a more thorough review on the taste of this beer written by people much more qualified than myself, check out the Beeradvocate page devoted to Two Hearted here.  They all seem to agree with me that this beer is truly special.

To find out if you are among those chosen few who are lucky enough to have Bell’s beer distributed where you live, just enter your zip code into Bell’s Beer Finder.  If you aren’t, then add Isle Royale National Park to your life list and grab a 4-pack on the way to the trailhead.  Michigan is the ancestral home of Bell’s Beer, and from what I hear, it flows like water up there.

SASQUATCH RATING:     5/5 – SASQUATCH DRINKS!!!