Bells Big Head San Diego Style Ale

Formerly brewed at Bells Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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UPDATED: MAY 14, 2008 Sample courtesy of Sliffy. Thanks dude!
Pours golden yellowish and is mostly clear. Smell is bursting out of the glass even with a smallish sample. Smell is piney, citrusy strong fragrant hops. Taste is citrus rind, pineyness and the alcohol didn’t make itself known to me from my sample which was a bit surprising. Will definitely rerate when I get a full bottle, but this was very promising and nice.

UPDATED: JUN 16, 2008 5-13-08 bottle shared with lb4lb thanks to knight84 and hoppymeal!!!
Glowing orange red that is thick and dense but is crisp and cheery with a superb BIG HEAD. Immediate lacing from the fluffy white amazing head. Smell is fruity goodness - apricots and mandarin oranges play nicely with the bright and bold hops in the nose. Flavor is great - hoppy and has a nice citris grassy effect to it. It actually has a bold hop presence which I crave and adore here. However, the part that makes this beer so wonderful for me is the palate - this is what pulls it all together into one magnificent package. It has this bitter and sharp hop bite but has a creamy and smooth mouthfeel that just balances the flavor so well - it leaves me speechless. It leaves a nice citrisy bitter rind flavor on the tongue that leaves me wanting more and more and more. I got to try this at a tasting prior to tonight and this was nothing like I remember it being then. I thought it was average and not a great DIPA by any means. But tonight, I feel very differently. The more I drink, the more the flavor progresses and the more I want to weep because the glass is quickly becoming empty.

Bottle. Pours a hazy, copper-orange with a frothy off white head. Aroma certainly hit your nose with hops: big citrus, pine, tropical fruits with some light bready malt, and a bit of caramel. Flavors is another smack of big pine and citrus/grapefruit along with pineapple, bready malt, caramelized sugar...a bit of booze and dry yeast. Pretty big body with a forward carbonation...fresh/fruity/piney/bittersweet/resin with a somewhat dry/bitter/fruity finish. The balance card certainly goes torwards the hops, which I think is perfect...who wants a balanced IIPA!? Hard to tell this one is 11% which I imagine is quite dangerous if you have a lot lying around. Really, I wish this recipe was Hopslam, not to say that Hopslam isn’t one of Bells best...it’s just that...well...this one lives up to the moniker a bit better.

Bottle from Sliffy, thanks man! This is like Two Hearted on steroids. It does have balance, but the hops and malt are both enormous--thus the 11% I would guess. Fantastic flavor, pine and citrus for sure. Incredibly drinkable for an 11% beer--you don’t get the alcohol at all. Dry finish to this one. Great beer from Bells, that beats out most West Coast IIPA’s I’ve had to date.

12 oz bottle. Appropriate named beer. The stuff stinks like most good SD IPA’s. Sticky palate, piney and citrus hops and quality malts pack a punch. A great beer.

Whoa! Talk about a Hop Slam! This stuff directly looks to overwhelm the "San Diego Style" IPAs and does it. High, citrus, pine and alcohol attack your nose immediately, and then leaves no prisoners on your taste buds. Unlike the HopSlam, this beer is unbalanced - over alcohol, over hops, over attitude. And is darned proud of it.

bottle from cpferris. Beautiful pour with a huge, fluffy head. Excellent aroma of pine and citrus. Lacing on the glass. Flavor is awesome, but maybe a notch below hopslam. Nonetheless, bells is the best midwest brewer of hoppy brews.

This Beer is not for the WEEK. Dont like Hops? Your going to hate this beer. Hop shortage? Not in this beer. San Diego Look Out, The Bells are ringing. Ding!!!

Thanks Derek for the bottles! Wow, the hops hit my nose as soon as I popped the cap. Poured a deeper and slightly hazy orange color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of citrus, fresh pine, and green floral hops. All hops there Baby! Tastes of citrus, melons, caramel, and pine. On the balance scale, this one definitely tips to the hoppy side, which is just fine with me! I never would have guess this was over 11% - perfect for cracking this one open on our first 80 degree weather day ;) Some lacing left on the glass. Nice hoppy burps...

Light golden color, small foam. Lots of hop freshness in the nose, with ample hints of lemon, pine, spruce, hop oil and alcohol. Oily texture and super hoppy, with lots of resin. Pine, lemon, spruce. Hops at their core. A really well done example of the Triple IPA.