Brewery releases planet-inspired line

Brewery releases planet-inspired line

Venus, the limited-release blonde ale by Bell’s Brewery, is part of the seven-beer line The Planets. Photo via fb.com

A brewery has begun releasing a line of beers that honors a classic orchestral piece and the planets around us.

Bell’s Brewery in Galesburg released Venus this week as the second beer in its limited release seven-beer lineup, The Planets, which is inspired by Gustav Holst’s piece “The Planets.”

Venus beer

Venus is a blonde ale brewed with honey, apricot, cardamom and vanilla.

Despite its light color, it packs 7.5 percent ABV, surrounded by tart apricot flavor, finishing with vanilla sweetness.

More than 60 pounds of vanilla beans were used to make the beer.

The precursor

The first beer in The Planets line was Mars, a double IPA released in August.

The 10.1 percent ABV beer was full of tropical fruit, pine and citrus, with more than three pounds of hops in each barrel.

The rest

Mercury, a Belgian single, will be released in December.

February will see the release of Jupiter, a brown ale.

A bourbon barrel-aged barley wine will be released in April as Saturn.

Uranus is a black double India pale ale set for release in May.

Neptune will round out the series in July as a stout.