Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

This is about as close to perfect as you can get. Pours a nice clear gold/light orange color with a small white lace head. Aroma is tons of grapefruit, citrus, orange, mango and some pine. Taste is a hophead’s dream with loads of citrus and tropical fruit flavors. The malt presence is definitely there, but the honey lightens the body enough to make this beer very easy to drink. Amazingly smooth, and at 10% ABV, you have to fight the urge to drink the whole 6-pack in one sitting. It’s expensive, but buy it in bulk if you can find it.

For one month a year, this is my favorite beer in the world! It’s gotta be in the 1rst month of the release, or nothing for me as this beer does fade fast. This is an oily slightly malty honey touched dream of an IIPA. Get it if you can, if you can’t get ready for Jan., and trade for a 6 pack!

(bottle 6/20/10). Cloudy copper color. Medium off white head. Moderate citrus hop aroma. Flavor of the same, with light sweet malt. Avg duration. Light alcohol finish with light bitterness. Slick texture. Moderate carbonation. Good lacing.

Note: this is an old rating that has just been entered. Serving glass: Poured from bottle into Nonic Imperial Pint. Appearance: Slightly hazy honey-gold with white head and nice layers of lacing. Aroma: Mango, sweet orange, grapefruit, peach, honey and pepper. Quite complex. Taste: Exceedingly hoppy with orange, mango, grapefruit and a touch of pine. Nice counterbalance of semi-sweet mead-like malts. Considering how hoppy this beer is, the finish is surprisingly only slightly bitter. Palate: Moderate carbonation, relatively light body from the honey, extremely smooth and creamy with a very dry finish. Overall: Insanely drinkable and very dangerous at 10%. Hoppy beers do not get any better than this.

Poured into a Sam Adams Boston Lager glass, a massive 2 finger head immediately appears and doesn’t dissipate quickly. Looks like a standard DIPA imo, a dark-straw coloring with a fair amount of carbonation. Smells of grapefruit, hops, and booze. The hops hit hard in this one, but not overly so, unlike what I’ve heard from many others. I’ve had several beers that were just as hoppy or more so. ABC Outta Focus, River Horse Hop-a-lot-amus, and Stone Ruination. Taste consists of citrus, namely orange and grapefruit, honey (slight), and flowers, or how I imagine a flower would taste. Palate is more than coated and feels right. Aftertaste of hops and heat lingers around for minutes before fading into oblivion. Overall a pretty typical DIPA, not overly impressed by this one. Not necessarily getting the hype. 15/20

Served on-tap at Al’s of Hampden into a Bell’s tulip. A - Pours golden amber orange with a light white film of head, dissipating down to almost nothing, leaving little to no head down the glass. S - Tons of piney citric hops mix well with hints of honey, mildly toasted light malt, and a bit of booze. It kind of smells like a hoppy caramel apple. One of my favorite smelling DIPA’s. T - Tons of grassy citric hops up front giving way quickly to a mix of honey sweetness and caramel malt. Finish is honey sweet with some lingering hop bitterness. A nearly perfect balance of flavors. One of my favorite DIPA’s year in and year out. M - Medium body and flavor with moderate carbonation. Sticky sweet feel with plenty of citric hop bitterness in the finish. D - Very high. I look forward to this every year. I just love how balanced this one truly is. I can have a few of these no problem. One of my all time favorites.

Light medium aroma (not full) of grapefruit, citrus, melon. Orange color, white foam. Not exceedingly bitter. The residual sweetness is apparent in both flavor and mouthfeel. This is a good brew -- much like a more alcoholic version of Lagunitas’ Hop Stoopid, which has about the same amount of sweetness and bitterness, a similar hop spectrum but is appreciably more aromatic.

I adore this beer, and the fact i can get a case if i drive a bit and know where to go. The tropical fruits blow my mind, the aroma leaps from the glass of grapefuits and pineapple, mango and tangerine, and finishes with a soft touch of honey sweetness that completes the whole package. a wonderfull IPA i could session all summer.....and do.