Game Day Beer Review: Bell's Brewery Big Porch Ale American Amber

(6.00% ABV).  Poured from a bottle into a pilsner glass, Big Porch Amber Ale is noticeable only in its mild smell; there's almost nothing there. It's exactly the color you'd expect with its name: amber, and maybe slightly darker orange near the top. It's mild tasting, too, infused with a malty sweetness.

This is not a very complex beer, but it's well suited for when you want to just kick back and relax -- tailor made for vacation. Big Porch is very mellow, and definitely recommended for sipping in the summertime while sitting in a big rocking chair on the porch of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, overlooking Lake Huron in the distance. Soak it all in: I'll give it a B.