Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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From bottle. Pours a clear orange with bubbly off white head. Nose is herbal with oranges. Flavor has a bitter beginning with herbal citrus flavors. Palate is smooth and not overly thick. A solid DIPA.

From a 12oz Bottle, Batch #7690. Pours a transparent honey peach color with a thin layer of wispy white head. Heavily hopped citrusy aromas of spruce boughs, white grapefruit, and some softer notes of clover honey. Medium bodied, lightly carbonated mouthfeel thats a bit on the heavy side for my preference in the style, but it doesn’t get syrupy by any means. Some lightly sweet honey caramel malts start out the palate before a dousing hop cleansing. Some strongly bitter pine and pulpy white grapefruit finish out the cleanly bitter final smack. The alcohol is very well hidden, leaving only the the fabulous hops reside left to sting the tongue. Thanks, Tom!

12oz Bottle, Obvious hoppy nose per the name, but also quite alot of citrus, taste is very hoppy (duh) and then nice citrus and pine taste, very very tasty in my opinion, no taste of the over 9% ABV just a great beer to drink. However, after drinking another IIPA following after this This seems very much as one of the better IIPA’s but not the best.

UPDATED: FEB 12, 2007 Bottle from trade with OhioDad. Thanks Scott! Pours a hazy orange with lots of carbonation and beatiful white lacing. Earthy, floral and citric hop aroma-a lot of grapefruit. mmm. This is tasty. A bit of pine needles, more grapefruit, fresh chewy resinous hops, and a sharp and efficient malt backbone. A great double ipa with very nice balance. I like hop heavy IIPA’s and this one does it just right. This is wonderful stuff.

UPDATED: DEC 30, 2006 Bottle, poured orange amber, looked like orange pop, very hoppy fragrance, citrus & some flowers, malty, a white head, lots of pineapple, some pine needles, Hopslam is the Big Brother to Two Hearted Ale, one of the scents reminded me of walking through a Pine tree forest in Canada off the shores of Lake Superior, thick chewy ale, taste of malt, biting hops, lots of pine needles, like a pine needle soup, lots of orange & grapefuit, on the tongue, when drinking this Hopslam, I am going up and down a wild roller coaster of hops, leaping and bounding over a mountains of hops, woo hoo!

Unfiltered peach in color. Thin but fully sustained pure-white foam. Hefty hop aromas of cantaloupe, tangerine, mango, and pinesap. Sharp hints of green onion. Delicate honeyed malt sweetness. Vivacious bottle-conditioned carbonation expands on the palate. Body is dense and oily from the get-go, with not a whole lot of brightness to go along with it. Quickly becomes astringently syrupy and borderline cloying, due to the concentration of resinous hops. Sweetness wanes slowly as there’s just enough acidity to lift some of the sappy weight. Crisp, crackery malts generate some cleanliness by imparting a dusty dryness along with fluffy touches of fresh biscuits, as do fresh mangoes and some shimmering citrus qualities, but an unpleasant sweetness and sogginess persists. Finishes remarkably balanced, with plenty of succulent hop flavors gently caressing then deflecting the spicy and grassy hops. Soggy/overripe tangerine notes increase at higher temperatures, but the mango remains relentless and salvages some of the essential brightness. Overall, the aroma could use a bit more cleanliness and more hoppy brightness. The flavor is also on the sweet side, which causes the hops to come across as being slightly muddled. And with the exception of some chewy yeast and slightly tacky textures, the level of attenuation is so close to perfection...just not quite there. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but very close. A few very-minor adjustments would make this a real standout. A solid effort from a great brewery.

Thanks Santa. Pours out a very attractive copper color with a nice lacing head. Aroma is of citrus and some grassy notes. Very nice flavor starts with some citrus hops with some sweet notes to add some balance. Very well balanced beer that was as drinkable as a mild ale, I honestly thought this wasn’t a double IPA until I looked at the ABV.

UPDATED: JUN 5, 2007 Number 600. 12 ounce bottle poured in to a snifter. Texas orange with a short lived creamy color head. Very clear. Orange pith, wet grass, simple syrup, honey, maybe maple are in the nose. Lots of tongue coatig grapefruit and tropical hop flavor the finishes with a pleasant bitterness. Flavor lasted from front to back for several seconds. It keeps going and going. Thin and light on the palate, a sixer of this could go down in no time. My new favorite Bells? It certainly doesn’t beat out Expo, even though its more drinkable. Your night my last longer with Two Hearted. I think Hopslam beats it out though.

12 oz bottle. Massive head, thick golden/orange color...serious lacing and a very nice aroma. Hopslam is a very apropot name for this beer. Strong citrus flavors... grapefruit, orange peels, really bitter... Detected hints of tomato vines, and a little bit of honey. Extremely smooth finish. The alcohol is hidden well. Is this better than 3Fs Dreadnaught? Probably not... but it’s very close. Don’t drink this "fridge cold"... let is warm up a bit to really max out the aroma and flavors. Bells rocks!

UPDATED: JAN 28, 2011 12oz bottle from a trade with Stoutlover72. Thanks Garrett! I figured I’d try this while fresh, and the aroma was huge - serious hop bitterness (mmmm), with a noticeable citrus element. Very fine stuff, if a shade below some of the more widely acclaimed IIPAs.