Bells Hopslam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

My favorite hop-bomb beer! There is just nothing negative to say about this, other than availability...Happily, I have many cases of 2011 HS, enuff to easily last me until the 2012 batch comes out. Bottles, wonderful golden hue with white two finger head, AMAZING aroma, of fruits, grapefruit in particular, honey, and hops. As soon as you open the bottle, the entire area around you suddenly smells wonderful! The taste is just like they describe: It bashes the front of your tongue, with hop-bitterness, lots of tropical fruits, slight honey, but the 10% ABV leaves almost NO alcohol taste, hence a super-smooth finish, with zero "hop-buildup". This beer is just wonderful!!

12oz bottle at Broney’s in Athens, OH (from the bottle, they didn’t do the courtesy of pouring in the cup so appearance can only be judged as 3/5). Huge hops taste, but suprisingly not as bitter as I expected. I let my friend taste though, she found it bitter. The hops taste was so pronounced that I think I detected a bacon aroma, which can only be another plus. Less bitter than I expected honestly, maybe because I am a hophead. 10% ABV was a big surprise, this did not taste like an Imperial IPA at all, just like a regular IPA with a greatly enhanced aroma. This is truly hops at it’s best. The aftertaste is a joy, it buzzes against my palate as I wait for long periods to take the next sip. I sat down to a really chatty girl at the bar, and the long and pleasurable aftertaste on this beer made time fly. I wish I could have had 3 more of these.

Hops, honey and golden malt make this very drinkable considering the abv. Need to drink as fresh as possible. I have noticed that some people freak out for this beer.

Pours a hazy reddish-orange with a medium white head. Lots of lacing. Aroma of freshly-cut pineapple, orange and grapefruit juice, sweet malt and honey. Powerful blast of hoppy goodness followed by sweet malt and honey. Amazing brew.

Bottle thanks hugely to Reakt. Thanks Ang you are a star. I missed out on this when miketd opened a bottle at ZBF 2008 and it has been one of my most wanted beers ever since. Drunk to celebrate Manchester United reaching the European Cup Final 2011. Orange gold colour with slight haze and thin lasting white head. Big huge hop aroma with lychee and stunning yellow grapefruit. Some sweetness on the aroma. Some sweet pink grapefruit as well. Touch of honey toffee. And a touch of hot pepper. Lovely aroma. Its even better in the mouth with a touch of biscuit as well. Unbelievably smooth in the mouth thanks to the honey I guess. Not overly bitter on finish more sweet grapefruit honey and toffee. No real alcohol heat just a touch of burn on the finish. With these top beers you say "go on then, impress me" and this one does. I have just burped pink grapefruit. Brilliant really. Just a tad sweet on the swallow I guess. Loved it. Thanks Ang so much.

Apr 23, tap @ Excentric Café. Pours clear dark amber with a small off white head leaving some lace. Aroma is sweet, apricot, malty and nicely hoppy. Peppery fullbodied mouthfeel. Pungent, peppery, sweet, fruity, alcohol and apricot flavor. Fullbodied hoppy palate. Finishes well balanced and longlived tart bitter.

I’m no expert, but I drink a lot of IPAs and they are my favorite. I’ve never tried the Russian River IPAs though, which I understand are excellent. That said, Bell’s Hopslam is hands down the best beer I have ever had. I’ve had other IPAs that were similar in price, that were just "good" (in my opinion), so I was a little skeptical at the $17 per 6 pack price and thought "Ok, I’ll try it". Needless to say, my beer spending went up for a while as a result (I say a while, since Hopslam is seasonal). Hopslam is worth the price. If your local beer store sells by the bottle, and when Hopslam is available, I highly recommend trying it. Due to the high alcohol content and the great taste and smell, it’s the first beer I’ve really sipped, or drank more like a wine. Usually I drink it out of some glasses I have that are more like a brandy snifter. You don’t chug this beer, you actually savor it, if you ask me. The only other beer I’ve had that I actually raved about (although Ive only had it once) was Poppaskull, which I’m not sure is an IPA. Just throwing that out there for reference.

Light orange coloured beer with a good holding white head. Also it sticks nice to the glass. Very hoppy, citrus, floral. Slightly a bit of sweetness finds his way trough. Good biterness that holds a very good time. One to enjoy at a summerday for sure. Good balanced, if you like some hoppy-biterness at your beer.