Bells Hopslam

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

(Bottle at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. on 2009-04-12) Amber and lightly hazy. Small white head. Lots of hops, grapefruit and grass in very strong aroma. Full bodied and dry palate with medium carbonation. Hops, grass, malts, grapefruit, fruitiness, light sweetness, bitterness and more hops in taste. Lot of hops, some bitterness and malts in aftertaste.

12 oz bottle. Pours a unclear amber with a small white fizzy head. Huge grapefruits up front and some orange as well. Smells like Cascade hops.Taste is hugely spicy and bitter up front with a massive fruitiness. Finishes very dry with a wicked hop bite that is actually quite satisfying. Very good for the style.

Bottle from Shady McGrady’s. Pours a slightly hazy amber color with no noticible head. Awesome giant grapefruit aroma, a mix of sweet and sour. Super tangy at first, big citrus body, dry hop finish. Grapefruit is prevalent throughout. An outstanding brew.

355ml Bottle from Cracked Kettle. This’d better live up to its reputation and be worth the €6,50 I paid for it. Pours a slightly hazy golden amber colour, white head. Bitter hop aroma noticed upon opening the bottle, strong grapefruit and pine bitterness, some citrus and a little sweet note. Flavour is soft sweet, grapefruit, malts, sweet fruits, a hint of honey. Bitter sweet finish. Medium to fullbodied. Very smooth drinking for a 10% beer, alcohol is barely noticed. A bit too smooth, I would have liked a bit more edge to the beer. Wouldn’t buy it again for this price though, but it’s really good nevertheless.

Pours a deep tequila gold with short yet stubborn soapsud foam and spastic lacing. Enchanting hop aroma is stanky with pine, grapefruit, tangerine and herbal notes, and flowers. Sweet/malty/fruity flavor has a bittersweer pineapple aftertaste… more sweet than bitter. Dangerous abv manifests itself as an actinic ethanol blade; that plus a peppery hop nip smoothly cleave the medium-full mouthfeel. Although a “sweet” beer, the sweetness is fruity rather than sugary, and thus stands apart from the more typical syrupy DIPAs. I craved another glass. Hopslam is like a cute librarian who secretly wears crotchless panties under her work clothes and has a whip in her purse.

Bottle. A damn good, powerful IPA. Intense hop aroma and strong hoppy flavor. Flavor is mostly pine and citrus, very bitter that turns slightly sweet. A very unique, recognizable taste that sticks out from other IPAs I’ve had.

Bottle. Just a touch of sweet saves this hopmonster from becoming too much for me. Hoppy bitter and a generous slam of alcohol pervade. Definitly a man’s man’s beer.

Pours a clear golden with a shade of amber and a high, creamy head. Has an incredibly rounded hop nose, with a notable lack of citrus strength, balanced every slightly toward pine/earth. It’s like taking a walk through the woods but for the tickle of fusel that escapes as well, betraying the alcohol lurking beneath the foam. As for the flavor, the alcohol comes through very well there too. Slightly sweet, warms the stomach, and the hops add a certain piney spiciness that blend into an experience not unlike drinking (very palatable) whiskey. Not for me. It’s a bitter bomb of alcohol that overwhelms the palate.